Tired of being called on the phone by salespeople? Here's how

If you no longer wish to receive commercial solicitation telephone calls, the State is setting up Bloctel, a list of opposition to what some consider to be voice spam, which companies have an obligation to respect. Explanations.

Since 2016, the government has made available the Bloctel service, which allows individuals to let them know for free that they refuse to be called on the telephone by teleoperators who want to sell them goods or services. All companies targeting customers in France are prohibited from calling numbers which appear on this "list of opposition to canvassing", the effect of which is more radical than the red list, and than the former Pacitel which was only optional.

The Bloctel list was imposed by the Hamon law of March 2014, which "prohibits a professional, directly or through a third party acting on his behalf, from canvassing a consumer registered on this list by telephone".

Bloctel

How to register your telephone number on the Bloctel opposition list?

To stop receiving unwanted calls, you must go to the bloctel.gouv.fr website, to access the service offered by the State, the management of which was entrusted to the company OpposeTel until 2021. now Worldline which operates the service. If you don't have an account yet, create one by filling in the form behind the "I'm blocking my number" button.

You will then be asked to fill in several pieces of information, with your e-mail address, your first and last names and telephone numbers. This information is necessary to know which numbers to block, but also to be able to open an account with your profile. You can register up to 10 telephone numbers, whether fixed lines or mobile lines.

The site specifies that it is possible to register the numbers of his children and grandchildren (the people for whom you are responsible, that is to say the descendants), but also those of his parents or grandchildren. -parents (ascendants), if you act for them. However, it appears that there is no particular verification of the link you have with the holders of the lines in question.

Telephone numbers must be strictly personal. In principle, Bloctel does not concern business lines. But there again, it appears that adding a pro line does not pose any difficulty. It is not specified if there is an audit that is done. If your line is mixed, you can add it to Bloctel, provided it has a private side.

What happens after registering on Bloctel?

When you register telephone numbers on Bloctel, these are added for a period of three years. Professionals who wish to carry out telephone canvassing then have the obligation to send their listings to the company which manages the Bloctel list, at least once a month. The listing is then returned to them without the numbers that appear on Bloctel.

In practice, registration therefore takes effect after a maximum of 30 days, the time that companies carrying out telephone prospecting obtain information and update their mailing lists, so as not to make any mistakes. It is therefore necessary to take into account a short latency period between the registration of a number and its effective exclusion. Beyond these 30 days, it would mean that the company is breaking the law.

It should be noted that the Consumer Code always authorizes canvassing "in the event of pre-existing contractual relations", and therefore your telephone operator can always call you to try to convince you to change your package, or a pay television channel to offer you another bunch. The press also benefits from an exception which allows it to avoid having to respect the Bloctel list.

Similarly, if you have explicitly left your number for a company to be called back about a product or service, they can call you back for three months.

From 2022, the rules concerning Bloctel will change: until that date, all persons interested in blocking cold calling had to re-register their numbers every three years (to alert them, a letter is sent three months before the deadline). ). After January 1, 2022, the duration of registration becomes in practice unlimited, unless you change your mind. And it's much more convenient.

What to do in case of illegal cold calling?

If, despite registering with Bloctel, you receive a telephone call from a teleoperator, you can file a complaint, which may be forwarded to the fraud prevention officers (DGCCRF). This claim may be filed in the consumer area, after entering the e-mail address and password indicated during registration.

According to the FAQ, a dedicated space should soon be made available to transmit reports of calls which appear to you to be unsolicited telephone canvassing. Obviously, this only applies if the number appears in the clear, that is to say if it is not hidden. In the meantime, Bloctel provides a telephone number (01 73 26 81 45), which can be reached during office hours, for any request.

In principle, the individual making a report must communicate several elements: which number called, which day, at which time. Useful additional information such as the name of the company or its field of activity may also be provided to facilitate the investigation, if you ever have time to discuss with the firm that contacts you — consider noting them down if necessary .

Any abusive telephone call to a number appearing on the Bloctel list is liable to a fine of up to 375,000 euros for a company or association, or 75,000 euros for a natural person. These are obviously ceilings, but this can have a very dissuasive effect on the indelicate who would not take account of the inscription of your number on the red list.

What about SMS spam?

The Bloctel list only has an effect on telephone calls. It does not prohibit a company from sending you SMS, and therefore some are likely to fall back on this method. In the event of spam by SMS, you must report it to 33700, and answer STOP to be (in principle) deleted from the listings. And on the email side, you can approach Signal-Spam.

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