The purpose of this industry-wide agreement is that the company contacted is to immediately understand whether a bona fide company is calling; a cooling-off period has also been introduced, which is new in terms of trade between businesses in Sweden.
In recent years, PTS has noticed an increase in the number of complaints from small entrepreneurs related to telephone marketing. Small entrepreneurs are not covered by consumer protection; for example, the cooling off right or the possibility of referring to the Swedish Consumer Bureau for Telecom and Internet. In the event of a dispute with an operator, the only alternative is to refer to a court.
Complaints from small entrepreneurs often come from people who run small-scale companies. They perceived that they had consumer status through their contact with the telephone salesperson. Complaints often arise from agreements with very long lock-in periods.
"This industry-wide agreement between SWEDMA, the Swedish Trade Federation and SCCF is an important first step towards rectifying the problems that primarily affect small entrepreneurs," says Marianne Treschow, Director-General of PTS. "It is important for the telecom operators and Internet service providers to now use the call centre companies that apply the agreement."
"If no improvement is seen in this area, it may be necessary to propose statutory amendments so that consumer protection also covers small entrepreneurs," says Gunnar Larsson, Director-General of the Swedish Consumer Agency.
Read the agreement (new window) (in Swedish only)
For more information, please contact Olof Bjurö, head of PTS's Consumer Issues Section, tel. 0708-11 40 05 or Magnus Carpe, the Swedish Consumer Agency, tel. 054-194046.
The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) monitors the electronic communications and postal sectors in Sweden. The term ‘electronic communications’ includes telephony, the Internet and radio. The Agency works with consumer and competition issues, efficient utilisation of resources and secure communications. Read more at www.pts.se.