You all must have heard about the new Telemarketing Regulation recently issued the Federal Government through Cabinet Resolution No. (56) of 2024 Concerning the Telemarketing Regulations and Cabinet Resolution No. (57) of 2024 Concerning the Administrative Violations and Penalties (hereinafter to be referred as “New Telemarketing Law”). These regulations have been issued with the objective to organize the marketing of products or services and to ensure unwanted marketing Phone Calls received by the customers.
Now in this Article we will be discussing a short overview of the new law to provide the readers with the basic understanding of the New Telemarketing Law in Q&A Form:
What is the Scope of the New Telemarketing Law?
The Scope of the New Telemarketing Law covers all companies licensed in the UAE, including companies situated in free zones, that market products and services through the means of Telemarketing.
What is the definition of Telemarketing under the new law?
The new law clearly defines telemarketing as phone calls made by a company or natural personals to customers for promoting the products or services. This includes calls made by landline or mobile phone, including but not limited to marketing text messages via text or social media applications.
What are the obligations of the telemarketing companies while doing cold calling?
The telemarketing companies shall have to obtain approval from the Competent Authority within the emirates in which they are located. Apart from thus training is required to be provided to its employees in accordance with the principles of Do Not Call Registry (DNCR). Apart from this there are several other obligations as follows:
- Not to call the consumer who is registered on DNCR.
- To maintain the data of the phone calls as per the format provided by the Competent Authority.
- To maintain the data of the calls for the certain period.
- To submit periodic reports to the ministry.
- To Identify the purpose of call in the beginning.
- To mandatorily record the call with the consumer, with necessity of informing the consumer.
- To disclose the source of consumer data if asked by the ministry.
What is the checklist to be taken into consideration before calling the consumer?
The business or individuals who are involved in providing these services shall keep into consideration the below mentioned acts while calling the consumer:
- Not use any marketing methods or put unjustified pressure on consumer to purchase the product or services.
- To avoid deception and misleading while marketing the product or services.
- To make marketing calls from 9:00 am till 6:00 pm.
- Not to call the consumer back if the service or product is rejected on the first call.
- Not to call the consumer, if the call went unanswered or ends more than a day and max twice a week.
- To ask the consumer at the start of the call to proceed or not.
What are the rights of consumers under the New Telemarketing Law?
The rights provided to the consumers are that they can file a complaint before the Competent Authority concerning any grievances or violations, the details including the name, phone number and supporting documents can be provided at the time of filing the complaint.
What are the exceptions to the new law?
If the consumer has duly opted or agreed to receive the marketing calls or offers, then it falls outside the scope of the current law.
Apart from the rules the major thing to concern about is the penalties which are mentioned under Cabinet Resolution No. (57) of 2024 Concerning the Administrative Violations and Penalties.
Here we will be discussing the major penalties for basic understanding.
PENALITIES
| Violation Description | Fines |
| Failure to obtain prior approval to practice telemarketing activities | AED 75,000 (1st Time)AED 100,000 (2nd Time)AED 150,000 (3rd Time) |
| Marketing from the numbers which are not registered under the commercial license | AED 50,000 (1st Time)AED 75,000 (2nd Time)AED 150,000 (3rd Time) |
| Calling the consumers whose number is in DNCR | AED 50,000 (1st Time)AED 75,000 (2nd Time)AED 150,000 (3rd Time) |
| Non-Identification of the company at the starting of call | AED 10,000 (1st Time)AED 20,000 (2nd Time)AED 30,000 (3rd Time) |
| Using unprofessional marketing methods for selling the products or services | AED 10,000 (1st Time)AED 25,000 (2nd Time)AED 50,000 (3rd Time) |
*For more detail you can refer to resolution.
Conclusion
The New Telemarketing Law aims to provide a robust environment and balance for the consumers and companies to be maintained for the fair market competition. If you are the business owner or an individual who wants to sell the services or currently involved in its selling, then it is the right time for applying the application for registration and safeguards yourself from hefty penalties.
DY Lawyers & Legal Consultants, always works to serve its clients with full transparency and dedication.
You may reach out to us to solve your legal issues. For More Information on legal issue and for any legal services in the UAE, you contact us at +971 551470302, as we provide all sorts of legal services and tries to provide one stop legal solution to your problem.
KEY CONTACT
YUVRAJ SINGH
Snr. Legal Consultant
Corporate & Commercial Laws
Disclaimer: The content of this article is provided for basic informational purposes only and shall not be construed as legal advice. Readers are strongly advised to consult a qualified lawyer before taking any legal action. The law firm and its lawyers assume no liability for any actions taken based on the information contained herein.
