The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) was formed in September 2006 with the purpose of improving the security of credit / debit card information throughout the process of a card transaction. The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council are responsible for application and management of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which is the standards and requirements that are used to ensure that all organisations that process, store, or transmit their customers' card information, do so in a secure environment. PCI compliance applies to any organisation that processes payment via credit or debit card, regardless of their size. Read more
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is a register which gives both business and the general public the opportunity to opt out of unwanted sales and marketing calls. This official register is completely free to join. Read more
The ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) is an independent authority that has been set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promote openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. Read more
The TPS/CTPS are free services that individuals or businesses can join to stop unsolicited calls. However, customers on the TPS/CTPS can be called if you have prior consent to do so. TPS is an acronym for Telephone Preference Service, which is regulated by the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) and relates to (PERC) the Privacy Electronic Communications Regulations. In May 2011 the information commissioner was granted significantly extended, and enhanced powers enabling much swifter fines to be issued and greatly increased value (up to £500,000). Read more
The quality of the data used by a call centre is of fundamental importance in all campaigns that are undertaken. If the data used is of a high standard, then it is much likelier that the campaign will be a resounding success on the basis that you would expect a higher contact rate on higher quality, and typically newer data. Conversely, if the data is of a poor standard, then the call centre will have the odds stacked against them in trying to achieve any targets for the campaigns they are involved in as there are likely to be telephone numbers and contact details that are incorrect on poor quality, and typically much older data. When high, and poor quality data are compared on this basis, it would appear foolhardy to use poor data in any campaign, but the reality is that high quality data can be extremely expensive. Read more
Otelo, Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsmen, was introduced on the 1st January 2003. The service that has been set up to investigate consumer complains about telecom services. Read more
The Telephone Preference Service, or TPS, is an 'opt-out' register which prevents individuals from receiving unsolicited marketing calls. It's a free and extremely useful service used by a huge number of people - an estimated 17 million - to avoid these inconvenient calls, even being put to use by companies. This is thanks to the fact that the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) was set up in June 2004, giving corporate businesses and organisations the chance to opt-out of being on the receiving end of unsolicited market calls. Also the legal definition of 'individual' includes SoleTraders and Partnerships (excluding Scotland), and so these have had the opportunity to register onto the TPS since May 1999. That is when the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations1999 came into action, allowing people to register to the list. The British direct marketing industry administers the list on behalf of Ofcom. Read more
The Information Commissioner's Office is the UK's independent authority, which has been set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, in order to promote openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. With particular regards to the ICO's role in call centre regulation, the ICO are responsible for enforcing regulation in respect of marketing calls through the telephone preference service. Read more
TPS is an abbreviation of Telephone Preference Service, which is a service that was implemented in an attempt to allow individuals and businesses to register their request not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing calls. Individuals should register to the TPS, whilst businesses should register to corporate TPS. The TPS and CTPS are free services, and once registered, an individual or business should expect to not receive unsolicited calls within 28 days. Read more
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is a free service that allows businesses to register their preference not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing calls. The TPS regulations are enforced by the Information Commissioners Office, who have the power to enforce financial penalties of up to £500,000. In order to safeguard your operation from fines such as this, you should utilise a service such as TPS Compliant from Nexbridge, which works by performing a real time look up against the TPS database to ensure that the number being dialled isn't TPS registered. If the dialled number is TPS registered, then the service will automatically block the call from being made. Read more
