If you have registered your mobile and/or landline telephone number at Public register of objections (or RPO), with the hope that this would allow you to say goodbye to wild telemarketing forever, you will probably have changed your mind in a short time by noticing that spam calls have not disappeared from your life forever. This is because Signing up for RPO does not allow you to avoid telemarketing calls that are considered legitimatesuch as those carried out by call centers using public lists. In other words, if you have given your commercial consent to companies After registration to the RPO, they are authorized to make advertising calls to your contact details, unless you decide to take action against them through a specific procedure. Furthermore, sometimes some telemarketing companies may violate the Regulation governing the RPO: in this latter case it is possible assert your rights by means of a specific report to the Privacy Authority for the protection of personal data.
What is the Public Register of Oppositions?
The Public register of objections It is a free public service made available by Ministry of Business and Made in Italyestablished by the Presidential Decree dated 7 September 2010 n. 178. Initially it allowed the registration of only landline numbers; since 2018 it also allows mobile numbers to be excluded from telemarketing calls.
Registration in the Public Register of Oppositions is free and is valid for an indefinite period (unless revoked by the user who has registered). On paperregistration with the RPO allows you to enjoy the following rights:
- Opposition to telemarketing: This results in the failure to receive commercial calls, which have to do with direct sales, commercial communications and market research.
- Cancellation of previously given telemarketing consents: This applies in particular to the processing of numbers via telephone calls, with or without the intervention of a human operator.
- Protection of your personal data: By registering with the Registry, companies are not authorized to communicate the personal data of the user registered for the service to third parties.
Once you have registered with the Registry, usually a period of time must pass 15 days before telemarketing companies can implement their expressed will with registration for the service.
Why the Public Register of Oppositions “Doesn’t Always Work”
Let’s now get to the heart of the matter since, despite the noble reasons for which it was born, in fact the public register of objections “doesn’t always work”. The official explanation given by the portal itself regarding why this happens is the following:
As provided for by the Regulation governing the RPO, after registering for the service it is You can only receive calls authorized by companies with which you have active contracts or ceased no more than 30 days ago (for example, the managers of your telephone and energy utilities) or call from operators to whom you have released specific consent after the registration date or last membership renewal.
The reason why you continue to receive commercial calls despite your registration in the Public Register of Oppositions, therefore, can be traced back to the fact that These come from companies that have been authorised to contact us for advertising purposes and with whom we have an ongoing contract (or terminated no more than a month ago), as in the case of your telephone or energy provider or companies to which consent has been given for commercial contact After RPO registration. Actually there could be another possible reason why we receive unwanted phone calls from call centers: a RPO violation.
AND Is it possible to further reduce receiving spam calls?
Yes, it is possible at least to try to receive as little as possible. As regards the advertising calls from companies you are a customer of it is possible contact the latter directly and explicitly ask for your wish to no longer receive commercial contacts. In this regard, it should be sufficient to contact customer care and make the request by telephone, but if this does not produce the desired effects, you can proceed through more suitable legal instruments from this point of view, such as PEC (Certified Electronic Mail) or a “classic” Registered mail with return receipt.
Regarding the calls from companies authorized for commercial contact after registration with the RPOyou need to go and update your registration in the Registry: to do this, simply authenticate yourself via SPID, CIE or RPO Credentials from the Manage Subscription page and using the functionality Renew Membership.
If you suspect that the commercial calls are actually originating from a RPO violation from the companies that contact you, it is possible report the incident to the Authority for the Protection of Personal Data through the specific online form made available to all citizens.
