Can OFTA block annoying telemarketers?

For long-time blog followers, I may sound like a broken record but I have to write again about malpractice in telemarketing. I often wonder how telemarketers work or how they get compensated. Are they paid based on number of clients the can persuade they can sign up, telephones numbers called – excluding those who hang up within ten seconds? In an era where sophisticated marketing strategies have proven to yield positive outcomes, the antiquated telephone marketing not only persisted to stay but also continue to annoy most of us.

The stunt begins when my phone rings and incoming caller bears a “Private Number”, “Call” or any local land line that begins with the numerical digit “3”. Once I decide to answer the call, the voice on the other line reluctantly ask if I speak Chinese. (He is clever enough to detect that I since said “hello” and not “wei”, I’m more likely turn out as non-Chinese speaker.) After I reply I don’t speak Chinese, he promptly hangs up the phone with a cute “bye bye”.

Looks like you got a bad quality phone list, dude.

As funny this parting shot may be, it’s in fact very annoying. These calls sometimes disrupt your sleep, forces you to make a premature ending to a shower and other unmentionables.
Another technique is that after you answer the call the other line turns into an automated dialer that contacts an undisclosed number. It now appears that I am calling someone else!? Obviously I would immediately cut the connection off. It’s simply a waste of time. Worse, if I am outside of Hong Kong and a call exists, I can only expect high phone calls for merely answering these guys.

I wonder if the OFTA or any agency that looks after the welfare of consumers against unsolicited callers. It seems Hong Kong is slow to act on these matters. There seems no regard on privacy and people who are involved in these kind of marketing activity may have never heard about opt-out lists. Just because Hong Kong’s phone charges is relatively cheap does not mean we have all the time to answer unsolicited calls.

---

---

---