In order to develop their commercial activity, a large number of professionals use cold calling. A practice that poisons the lives of many French people and which sometimes gives rise to scams. This is why the law closely regulates telephone canvassing.
First of all, professionals are prohibited from canvassing individuals who are registered on the Bloctel telephone canvassing opposition list. Exception made when the canvassing concerns the sale of newspapers, periodicals or in the event of an ongoing contractual relationship. They are also prohibited from using cold calling to sell products or services related to energy savings or renewable energies, as explained by our colleagues from Se Loger.
When canvassing is allowed, professionals are not free to do what they want. They must respect a certain number of points, such as not using a blocked number, introducing themselves exhaustively, specifying the commercial nature of their call and giving all the characteristics of the good or service offered, namely its price, the duration of the contract and the terms of withdrawal. This offer is not binding on individuals until they have signed it in writing or provided their consent electronically.
Professionals also have the obligation, when canvassing, to inform individuals of the possibility of registering free of charge on the list of opposition to canvassing, Bloctel. And, in order to ensure the legality of their canvassing activity, they must check before any new prospecting campaign and at least once a month that their files are indeed in conformity with the opposition list.
To do this, professionals must subscribe to the Bloctel service and have their files purged. And this, even if the calls are made from abroad. The service offers them various subscription formulas, the prices of which are fixed by ministerial decree, according to their needs.
In the event of non-compliance with these legal obligations, professionals are liable to an administrative penalty of 15,000 euros for a natural person and 75,000 euros for a legal person.
As a reminder, Bloctel is a free service, set up by the government, which allows you to oppose cold calling. Anyone can register and enter up to 10 landline or mobile numbers. This registration is valid for 3 years and is tacitly renewed since January 1, 2022.
But this device is sometimes considered ineffective. This is why deputies have just proposed an amendment to the purchasing power project, currently being discussed in the National Assembly, in order to extend “explicit consent” to telephone calls. In other words, professionals will only be able to call individuals when an agreement has been clearly formulated or if the canvassing has a “direct relationship” with the subject of an ongoing contract.
