Ignore the Unwanted Calls!!! TRAI helps!!

You get a call in the middle of a meeting, and you pick up thinking it might be an important call but the voice says, “Would you like to apply for a platinum card?”


Ain’t that a big nuisance?? Rather than banging the phone (in this case angrily switching it off) or hurling the choicest of abuses, you cannot do anything. But TRAI’s latest initiative to regulate the pesky calls from telemarketers, a big and important step to help the consumers, might enable you to ignore those calls and saves you time and money (mainly when you are on roaming).


As per the new TRAI directive, telemarketers will have to use numbers beginning with ‘70’ to make calls and it is upto you to decide whether you want to pick up the call or not. Likewise, a unique SMS header has been mandated for easy identification of commercial SMSs. The best part is that no commercial communication, even for unregistered customers, can be sent between 9.00 pm and 9.00 am; now we can enjoy a good night sleep without the friendly loan offer.  

The TRAI guidelines, to be effective from 1st January 2011, further adds that the erring telemarketing companies will have to pay a hefty penalty of up to Rs 2.50 lakh per call. As per the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010, issued by the TRAI, erring telemarketing companies will also be blacklisted for a period of two years.

The Do Not Call option was a good step but still did stop the pushy callers. The SMSes also continued coming like an avalanche. We- the consumers- definitely needed more, but the big telecom players had been successful in resisting the demand for a complete bans on unwanted and irritating calls and SMSes.

But now the consumers have a range of choice to customers. One can opt for the “Fully Blocked” category or “Partially Blocked” category, in which case the customer will receive SMSs or calls in the categories chosen (which includes banking, and financial products, real estate, education, health, consumer goods, automobiles, communication and entertainment, tourism and leisure). The best part is that the telemarketers would have to pay a fine of Rs 25,000 for the first offence which will go up to Rs 75,000 in case of a second violation, Rs 80,000 for the third, Rs 1.25 lakh for the fourth, Rs 1.50 lakh for the fifth and Rs 2.5 lakh for the sixth offence, following which the number will be blocked by all service providers. In addition, if an unregistered ordinary subscriber makes unsolicited commercial communication, he/she will be warned for committing the offence for the first time. On committing the offence for the second time, his/her telephone will be disconnected.

Although the consumers are bit skeptic about it after the bad experience Do Not option, but at least this directive is a good step.


Will this stop the calls & SMSes? No!!


Will make us (the consumers) safe from these irritating calls? Maybe!!


But at least it has given us a choice (sic)!!!! And it is a right step towards a right direction.