How to report and protect yourself from abusive telemarketing

Consumers who are tired of receiving telemarketing calls have the option of registering their mobile or landline number in services such as Não Me Perturbe and Não Me Call. In many cases, however, even that doesn’t solve the problem and you have to file a complaint.

Between January and June of this year, Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) registered 7,590 complaints related to harassment from telemarketing companies.

Even after the LGPD (General Data Protection Law), consumers’ phone numbers end up included in the database of companies that often get in touch to offer products and services.

According to the Ministry of Justice, between 2019 and 2022, the gov.br platform and Sindec (National Consumer Protection Information System), a system managed by Senacon (National Consumer Secretariat), registered 14,547 complaints related to telemarketing calls.

This Monday (18), a precautionary measure taken by the Ministry of Justice suspended, for an indefinite date, 180 telemarketing companies for abusive practice.

Não me Perturbe protects registered consumers from telemarketing calls from teleservice companies and banking institutions and Não me Ligue, Procon-SP’s platform, aims to prevent any telemarketing company from contacting those registered.

It is also possible to formalize complaints through the federal government’s Consumidor.gov portal.

According to Idec (Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection), other possible channels for complaints are the SAC (Customer Service) and the companies’ ombudsman, where consumers can get in touch and file a formal complaint. Depending on the case, there is the option of filing a lawsuit for moral damages.

do not disturb me

Created in 2019, the national registry aims to contain unwanted calls from telecommunications service providers, such as those that sell phone, internet or pay TV packages.

To have the phone number registered, it is necessary to access the website and fill in the registration form. After registration, the suspension of calls must occur within 30 days. Companies that do not stop calling can be penalized.

“Complaints, as well as other evidence, may give rise to the opening of a sanctioning process on possible non-compliance with the determinations”, Anatel informed, in a note.

In September 2019, some of the largest telecom service providers in the country developed a Telemarketing Code of Conduct.

The companies have committed to making calls to consumers from 9 am to 9 pm on weekdays and from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturdays, with a limit of two calls per day and 15 calls per month. However, there are cases where this is not respected.

According to Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), between January 2020 and May of this year, more than 3 million requests for phone blocking were made due to the receipt of offers on payroll loans.

How to register for Do Not Disturb

• Access the Do Not Disturb website and click on the “Register” button;
• Fill in the requested data and enter the verification code that will be sent by email or SMS;
• After registering, select the phone number to which you no longer want to receive calls;
• The period for the blocking to be effective is 30 days;
• If after this period the calls persist, it is necessary to contact Anatel on the telephone number 1331 or on the website

Do not call me

In the State of São Paulo, Procon-SP (Fundação de Proteção e Defesa do Consumidor) offers the Não Me Ligue program, established by state law of 2008.

The system allows you to register the number so that you do not receive any type of telemarketing call, even those made by robots, and no messages by SMS or applications such as WhatsApp, seeking the holder of the line or someone else. Companies are also prohibited from making calls or sending billing messages.

According to Procon, the platform has more than 3.5 million registered phones and has registered more than 350,000 complaints of non-compliance with the rules. Since it was created, the agency has imposed approximately R$ 250 million in fines.

How to register for Don’t Call Me

• Access the Fundação Procon website and click on the button “Register your Telephone Here”;
• Fill in the form with your personal data and enter the telephone numbers registered in your CPF;
• Read and accept the terms and conditions and click on “Register”;
• The period for the blocking to be effective is 30 days;
• If the calls persist after this period, it is necessary to access the register on the Não Me Ligue platform and report the number of the telemarketing company.

How to complain on Consumer.gov

The proposal of the consumer.gov website is to be a direct channel between consumers and companies for the alternative solution of consumer disputes. Complaints must be answered within ten days.

​To file a claim, you must

• Access the consumer.gov website and login gov.br;
• If the user does not have it yet, it is necessary to create an account at: Digital Government. In order to make and follow up on complaints it is necessary to have a silver or gold account;
• Once accessed through gov.br, it is necessary to fill in the personal data to register;
• Read the Consumer Terms of Use and click “Submit”, then “Confirm”;
• Click on “New Complaint”, choose the company and fill in the fields.

Block numbers on mobile

The mobile device has specific functions to block the action of unwanted phones. The function is active on Android smartphones and iPhones. Just select the number, click “More Info”, then “Block”.

From that moment on, you will not receive any calls or messages from the selected contact. It is also possible to reactivate the phone, after the action, following the same path and clicking on “Unlock”.

What is abusive telemarketing?

According to the director of Procon in São Paulo, Guilherme Farid, any telemarketing call made without the consumer’s consent is considered abusive.

He explains that, according to the LGPD, companies need prior authorization to use customer data to make calls.

“A single telemarketing call outside of consumer consent could already be framed as abusive,” says Farid.

For the lawyer and researcher of the Telecommunication and Digital Rights program at Idec, Camila Leite Contri, telemarketing becomes abusive from the moment the telephone number is obtained illegally by companies.

“Furthermore, when calls are insistent for sales of products or services, or on inappropriate days and times, or with abusive use of robots; or other automated forms of harassment of specific segments, such as the elderly.”