Federal Court fines telemarking company $120,000 for Do Not Call breaches

A Queensland-based telemarketing company has been fined $120,000 for breaching the Do Not Call Register, after making more than 12,000 marketing calls to people who had placed their names on the list, the media regulator said yesterday.

While the Australian Communications and Media Authority has previously handed down infringement notices for breaching the Do Not Call Register, with nine fines totalling $438,300 since 2007, this is the first time such action has been taken to the Federal Court.

The Court found that FHT Travel and its director, Yvonne Earnshaw, breached the Do Not Call act by making over 12,000 marketing calls. ACMA had received complaints in the past about FHT’s behaviour, and a warning had been issued, but the behaviour persisted.

The fine is also significant for its size – since 2007 the average fine has stayed below $50,000, but FHT has been ordered to pay $120,000.

However, previous companies hit by fines for not abiding by the Do Not Call register include Telstra, forced to pay $101,000 and Dodo, which was ordered to pay $147,400 – this was the largest fine of its kind at the time.

Westpac has also been given a warning regarding breaches of the act, but has not yet been issued a fine.

ACMA executive manager of unsolicited communications Vince Humphries says the case is unusual given that most companies end up amending their behaviour once they receive an infringement notice.

“I suppose the circumstances here are not typical of what we see. In most companies we get complaints about, when we simply tell them we’ve received complaints four out of five times we get a change in behaviour straight away. When they don’t, we do investigate those particular findings.”

“What we see here is a case where all the warnings are ignored. We issued an infringement notice, it wasn’t paid – most companies would react, this one didn’t.”

Humphries says the case is a reminder that the court will impose harsh penalties if infringement notices are not abided by.

The Federal Court has bound FHT and Earnshaw from making certain types of marketing calls without contacting ACMA first for the next five years.

ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said in a statement the case should act as a warning for other telemarketing companies to ensure they are not breaching the rules.

“This case and the penalty imposed should remind telemarketers of the serious consequences of breaching the Do Not Call Register Act… must respect the choice of people who have opted out of receiving their calls.”