UCP Directive, Telemarketing Code Update
Telemarketing volume estimate now finalised at 236M€
Telemarketing
will be introduced in the official ad spending figures beginning from
last year. As part of the Marketing Communication Spending Study, we
commissioned Suomen Asiakastieto and Kuulas Millward Brown to estimate
the market volume of telemarketing. The estimate shows that
telemarketing services were bought with 236 M€ in 2007, with a 4.4%
growth over 2006. Although the figures are conservatively estimated,
telemarketing is greater than magazine advertising and almost as big as
TV. In-house calling is excluded from the figures. The new ad spending
study will be published shortly.UCP directive implemented - minor changes
only
UCP directive has been implemented into the Consumer Law and it has been in force since the beginning of October. Unlike other Nordic countries Finland didn’t attached any relevant additional national regulation to the package (although during the process Consumer Agency wanted new regulation related telemarketing, unaddressed mail and more strict supervisory powers to the Agency). Only additional regulation put in place were some widened wordings related to marketing to children and using violence and other kind behaviour-effecting elements in marketing. A couple of TV advertisements cases related has been raised by Agency after those new provisions but similar cases has been already raised also during old regulation.
Widened scope covering now trader's conduct in a customer relationship hasn’t yet seen in the supervisory actions even Consumer Agency is continuously delivering the message of better service for customers mainly pointing out some poor service levels in customer centers. The Consumer Agency has been emphasizing that the customer service related to the customership is part of the purchase by the consumer and an essential part of the agreement. Agency has indicated that it will renew some of their basic guidelines according to new provisions but nothing has been drafted yet.
Consumer Credit regulation under change
Working group set by Ministry of Justice has just started to implement the Consumer Credit Directive in Finland. ASML has a permanent position in the working group. Completely new things in Finland following the implementation will be an obligation to deliver pre-contractual information via specific information form, some set of regulation related to responsible lending and a obligation for the creditor to seek a specific registration. Working group should have their task finished at the end of October this year.
Code of telemarketing changed - calling to own customers
Telemarketing Code of Conduct by ASML has been partly revised by updating the wording relating to calling to own customers being in Robinson list. According to the new widened wording customer’s restriction in the Telephone Preference Service does not prevent the company from making offers by telephone firmly connected to the framework of the existing customer relationship (so not to ex’s and true passives). It is also for other reasons more and more important that company has communicated the content and limits of the customer relationship framework carefully to the consumer so that the understanding of the company and the consumer are as close as possible regarding the products, services, offerings, customer communications channels used etc. Renewed Code of Conduct in English can be found here (revised text is in article 7).
Mail preference service of ASML has been renewed
ASML
has renewed its national Mail Preference service. Like the telephone preference
service the postal one is also in future a 3 year service for a consumer who can
renew his or hers restriction via sending a pre-printed postcard. Existing
consumer restrictions are kept in force until further notice. For companies
using the preference register data straight in their own postal actions it is in
future possible to use downloading register data via web interface by acquiring
a licence from ASML. A list broker must seek an authorized
provider position from the board of ASML and after that it can utilize the
register as a certified broker.
Municipal Mergers and Address Changes in Finland
Municipal
mergers will affect 99 Finnish municipalities at the turn of the year.
The mergers will result in several overlapping street names, which must
be resolved by renaming the others. The Finnish DMA requested Itella
Corporation a debriefing concerning the status and impacts of the
process.
Most municipalities are starting the renaming process
very late and the majority of the changes are only expected early next
year. Itella cannot start the process before the municipal procedures
are ready and new street names are in effect. Consumers should not take
action in the matter as the new names will be entered into the
Population Register automatically.
Once the renaming is
complete, Itella is prepared for a three to six months transition
period, during which parallel lists are kept of the new and old street
names. Itella will be active in informing consumers and businesses of
the changes. We have requested that the changed addresses would be made
available as a separate file.