Do Not Call List violations by Ottawa This Week (613-221-6247)
Three times during the last month I’ve received an automated phone call from Ottawa This Week, not-so-subtly advertising that they’re a new “community newspaper” and then went on to say that the call wasn’t a marketing call. Instead they’re calling to offer employment to people who might be interested in being a carrier for them.
The first time they called on the 18th of September, their auto-dialer left a message on my voicemail. If you click on the triangle in the player, you can listen to it.
The second and third times they called, yesterday afternoon and this afternoon, I was home and the message was slightly different. In it they also said you could press 1 to speak to someone about being a carrier.
Yesterday, I pressed 1.
Normally, I would never press 1, but this wasn’t a you’ve-won-the-jackpot call. I was connected with someone at Ottawa This Week, so I asked to speak to whoever was in charge of their telemarketing campaign and was transferred to someone named Matt.
I said that I was on the National Do Not Call List, so why were they calling me? He said that they were exempt because they were a newspaper. I pointed out that they weren’t calling “for the purposes of soliciting subscriptions” (one of the exemptions from the NDNCL), they were looking for employees. He said they were exempt because they weren’t selling anything. I said “whatever” and instructed him to add me to his do not call list.
Then I called the number listed on the NDNCL’s website (1-866-580-3625) to file a complaint. I described the call to the lady and they confirmed that it was not exempt from the do not call rules because the newspaper wasn’t soliciting subscriptions. She took my information and then obtained my permission to release my personal information to the investigators. Very painless process.
This afternoon, I received yet another automated phone call from Ottawa This Week identical to the one I received yesterday. Pressing 1, I was once again transferred to Matt who assured me that they were exempt because they weren’t selling anything. I told him that I had filed a complaint with the NDNCL and again demanded to be placed on their do not call list, which he assured me I would be.
So, if you’ve received one of these unsolicited calls from Ottawa This Week and you’re on the NDNCL, I strongly encourage you to call 1-866-580-3625 and file a complaint. Oh, and of course there’s nothing preventing you from proactively calling Ottawa This Week (613-221-6247) and requesting to be placed on their do not call list. If enough people do this, perhaps they’ll get the point.
AKA Keeper of Maps, I'm a geocacher who lives in Ottawa, Canada.
You’re not the only one that’s been hearing from them – I’ve gotten five calls so far, always a recorded message. I left a complaint on the online version of the Do-Not-Call list (https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/index-eng). Let’s hope this is the last I hear from them!
I received about the 10th call from “Ottawa This Week” today, and will be following up with the “National Do Not Call List” tomorrow.
Any thoughts on what to do about spam fax calls on my home phone line?
Ten calls is a bit excessive. I’d call the Ottawa This Week’s number and ask to speak to the person in charge of their telemarketing and instruct them to add you to their do not call list. If you’re registered with the NDNCL then definitely file a complaint with them. If you’re not registered with the NDNCL then you should register all your phone numbers with them. There is a waiting period of about 30 days or so after registering during which time telemarketers are still allowed to call you.
Oh, and regardless of what Ottawa This Week may think, they are not exempt from the NDNCL.
As for spam fax calls, you could see if your phone provider can block the numbers that are calling you.
Good luck!
Well, after posting the above, I just received yet another call from them, so I filed another complaint against them.
I’ve also been receiving these calls and talked with “Matt” today, they even went as far as refusing to tell me where in Ottawa Metroland Media was located, claiming all they had was an email address from there and no address or contact person. Yeah right.
I’ll be complaining to the NDNC List tomorrow.
Hmmm… a little Googling turned up the following:
http://www.metroland.com/Companies/100023/Ottawa_Region_Media_Group
Which lists the following address:
Which is also found on http://www.yourottawaregion.com/advertise