Regulations On Outbound Calling Times

Call and Contact Centre Questions: Regulations On Outbound Calling Times
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Written by Jonty Pearce

Does anyone know if there are any regulations or guidelines on the times of when you can make outbound calls?

Are there any restrictions of calling on Sundays and Bank Holidays?

Also do the DMA have any guidelines on this?

Question asked by Jonty

DMA Direct Marketing Code of Practice

Check out the DMA Direct Marketing Code of Practice, section 21.41.

Basically they advise (paraphrasing) – no calling between 9pm and 8am Monday to Friday, and 9pm to 9am Saturday to Sunday, unless customer have given specific permission to be contacted outside of those hours. However they also advise that many customers may object to being called on Sundays on Bank Holidays.

From my experience with outbound dialler clients, most limit calling on Sundays to “reasonable” hours of 10am to 4pm, if they dial at all (most don’t).

With thanks to DaveUKLee

Author
Jonty Pearce

Jonty Pearce walked into his first call centre in 1989 and has been hooked ever since. He founded Call Centre Helper in 1989.

He is an Engineering Graduate with a background in marketing and publishing. In 2020 he won the AOP Digital Publishing Award for The Best Use of Data.

He writes and speaks on a wide variety of subjects - particularly around forecasting and scheduling. His in depth knowledge of forecasting algorithms has earned him the nickname "Mr Erlang."

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