Which are the Codes of Conduct on the telecom market?

The code of conduct applies when an operator that is part of Telekområdgivarna enters into an agreement, or has entered into an agreement, with consumers for the services of TV, telephony, and broadband. The rules do not apply to the sale of content services.

Swedma is an industry organization that works with issues important for direct marketing. Kontakta (formerly the Swedish CallCenter Association, SCCF) is an industry association for companies working with telemarketing and call center operations. They have jointly developed ethical guidelines for telemarketing to consumers and are responsible for ensuring compliance. The rules are available on their respective websites. According to the rules, among other things:

• Silent calls should be avoided as much as possible, meaning when the company calls without any salesperson being available to the caller
• The consumer should be able to see the number calling on a caller ID, which means telemarketing calls must not be made from protected or hidden numbers
• Calls containing information about the offer and that the consumer has agreed to receive this in writing before signing should be recorded. In cases where the written requirement does not apply, the part of the call containing the consumer’s acceptance of the agreement should also be recorded.
• The marketer should, upon request, reimburse the cost of any call tracing
• The rules for NIX-Telephone should be followed
• The marketer should be clear about which company or client they are calling for
• The marketer should state the purpose of the call
• The marketer should respect if a consumer wants to end the call
• The marketer should make clear to the consumer what consequences the call has in such a way that the consumer understands it when the call ends.
• There are also provisions for the registration of personal data, handling of purchased addresses, and verbal contract binding.

NIX-Telefon has two purposes:

To enable individuals to easily inform sellers and marketers that they do not wish to receive phone calls for sales, marketing, or fundraising purposes

To provide businesses with access to a central register of individuals who have stated that they do not wish to be contacted by phone for sales, marketing, or fundraising purposes.

NIX-Telefon is an excellent example of how an industry standard can become a guideline for all market players. According to the Marketing Act, a marketer is obliged – with certain exceptions – to check if an individual’s phone number is in NIX-Telefon before making calls for sales, marketing, or fundraising purposes to them. The International Chamber of Commerce’s rules also require marketers and others to respect consumers’ wishes not to be subjected to certain types of direct marketing, such as telemarketing, by using existing preference systems (like NIX-Telefon) or their own internal block lists. NIX-Telefon is administered by a special association formed under the leadership of SWEDMA by nine other industry organizations.

Previously, NIX-Telefon only applied to individuals who expressed that they did not wish to be contacted by phone for marketing, sales, or fundraising purposes. As of 2015, NIX also includes sole proprietors without active business operations, as they can be equated with consumers. Unscrupulous actors have deliberately acted fraudulently against this group, which can include older people who own forest properties, by contacting them as consumers but making agreements with the company. This is partly because companies lack the right of withdrawal. In addition, companies must now check their call lists against NIX every other month, instead of quarterly as before.

If you have “nixed” your phone number and believe you have been called in violation of these rules, you can report the company in question to Konsumentverket for supervision.

Svensk Handel, Kontakta (formerly Sveriges CallCenterförening, SCCF) and Swedma have also developed an industry agreement regarding good practice in telemarketing between businesses. According to this, entrepreneurs have a right of withdrawal within seven working days.