Four ways to stop cold calls to your french telephone number

BLOCK UNWANTED SALES CALLS WITH THESE FREE SERVICES A campaign to cut the number of unwanted cold sales calls to homes has been launched by the consumer magazine _UFC-Que Choisir_. Using a

web platform called _Je ne suis pas une data_ (‘I am not data’), it generates letters to telephone operators asking them to remove your name and number from public directories used by

marketing firms. Marie-Amandine Stévenin, president of _UFC-Que Choisir_, said: “We want to see the number of these calls reduced to as close to zero as we can because they are a real

problem.” READ MORE: TWO NEW WAYS TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST COLD CALLERS IN FRANCE GOVERNMENT’S ANTI-COLD CALLING SERVICE IS GETTING BETTER There was an explosion of telemarketing in France some

10 years ago, with computer-driven machines able to make multiple calls at the same time. Sales teams respond to the quickest to answer, and the rest of the calls give an engaged tone if

people pick up the phone. Some households complained of receiving 12 calls a day. _UFC-Que Choisir_ has been at the forefront of efforts to expose crooks who use telemarketing to find

victims, often by pretending to be part of government schemes to provide insulation, solar panels and other services. The government responded by launching a free service called Bloctel,

allowing people to opt out of cold-calling, albeit with limited effect in the early days. However, it has gradually expanded its scope and seems more effective – as long as people have the

patience to file complaints every time they get an unwanted call by completing an online form. READ MORE: TIPS TO AVOID COLD CALLS IN FRANCE - AND WHAT TO SAY IF YOU GET ONE BLOCTEL FINES

TWO COMPANIES FOR MISUSING DATA At the end of last year, Bloctel released details of fines levied against two firms. One, called Ilios Confort, was fined €185,300 by the DGCCRF agency in

Hérault for not respecting Bloctel’s list of numbers and failing to inform people they could use the service when asked. In Bouches-du-Rhône, a firm called Agence Rénovation Conseil Habitat

Environnement was fined €33,510 for making 1,017 calls to numbers on the Bloctel list between December 2022 and January 2023, and for keeping Bloctel numbers in its database. The government

also introduced stricter controls on the times cold callers can operate. In theory, they can only get in touch between 10:00 and 13:00 or 14:00 and 20:00. HOW TO COMBAT COLD CALLERS As well

as the UFC initiative and Bloctel, two of the main telephone operators in France, Orange and Free, have set up tools from their own websites where clients can request their numbers are not

passed on. Cold-call numbers can also be registered so they can be blocked. It works with both mobile and fixed-line phones that operate through fibre-optic boxes, but is less effective with

fixed lines that still use copper cables. If you would like to use _UFC-Que Choisir_ to send a letter to your operator, go to RESPECTEMESDATAS.FR, while Bloctel is at BLOCTEL.GOUV.FR. To

recap: * Get _UFC-Que Choisir _to send a letter to telephone operators to stop them sharing your number * Opt out of cold calling using Bloctel * Report cold callers on Bloctel’s online

form * Use tools set up by your telephone operator to request your number is not passed on RELATED ARTICLES EXPLAINER: WHEN AND BY WHOM CAN YOU BE COLD-CALLED IN FRANCE? COLD CALLS STILL

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