Telstra makes silent lines free as telemarketing complaints soar

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This was published 6 years ago

Telstra makes silent lines free as telemarketing complaints soar

By Jennifer Duke

Complaints about calls from telemarketers jumped 20 per cent from 2016 to 2017, with thousands more people putting their numbers on the Do Not Call Register.

In 2016-17, there were 28,200 complaints about telemarketing made to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), up more than 5000 on the previous financial year.

Telstra has announced it will make silent line services free from February 18 onwards.

Telstra has announced it will make silent line services free from February 18 onwards.

There was also a 375,000 increase in numbers listed on the Do Not Call Register, a 3.5 per cent increase, to a total of 11.02 million registered numbers.

It’s likely many more will now try to make their numbers private after telecommunications giant Telstra said on Monday it would allow customers to keep their numbers, names and addresses out of online directories for free.

Customers had been required to pay a monthly fee of $2.93 to request a silent line that ensured their number was kept unlisted, Telstra group executive consumer Vicki Brady said.

“Protecting our customers’ privacy is paramount to Telstra and providing tools to protect telephone numbers and addresses is part of what we do to help,” she said.

This monthly fee, which had not been changed since 1996, apart from GST, will be removed from February 18.

Fees are typically charged on fixed landline numbers, but not mobile numbers. Telstra would not confirm how many customers currently used these services.

Rival provider Optus does not charge for silent lines.

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Comparison website Finder spokesman Angus Kidman said having a silent line kept the landline private for outbound calls and many people used it to avoid telemarketing calls.

“But shifting to a mobile phone is a simpler way to do that - scammers don't want to pay mobile calls rates,” he said.

He also expected the NBN would replace most existing landlines.

“Landlines have been on the decline for a long time, and once the NBN rollout is complete, I predict even more Aussies will ditch their landline phones - the idea of there being a line for emergencies simply goes out the window.”

The use of mobile-only for phones has been on the rise, with 36 per cent of adults ditching the landline.

Survey data from Finder found fewer than half of those who have a landline still use it to regularly make calls, with about 20 per cent saying they never use it.

Five per cent kept their landline for international calls, with 13 per cent said it was for emergencies.

The ACMA sent 5049 compliance warnings about potential breaches of telemarketing and spam in the past financial year – a 23.1 per cent increase on fiscal 2015.

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