Are unsolicited marketing calls, spam emails, and endless promotional SMSes becoming a daily frustration? Do you know what rights you have as a South African consumer? In this podcast episode, we sit down with Janusz Luterek to discuss how consumers can protect themselves from unwanted direct marketing. Discover what the law says about telemarketing, when businesses are permitted to contact you, how to opt out of marketing communications, and what you can do if companies continue to ignore your requests.
Transcript
[00:08][Eon] Welcome to this week's Legal Talk here on eRadio with Hahn & Hahn Attorneys, and this week, something different. How can consumers stop unwanted marketing? Now, for years, consumers had to ask each company individually to stop calling them. The amended Consumer Protection Act regulations have changed this by introducing a National Consumer Commission (NCC) opt-out registry. So, consumers can register a preemptive block, requiring registered direct marketers to stop contacting them. And this shifts, or this shifts, much of the burden from consumers to businesses. So, we're joined by Janusz Luterek from Hahn & Hahn Attorneys to tell us more about this. Janusz, welcome back. I want to ask you: what are businesses' legal responsibilities when direct marketing?
[01:06][Janusz] Businesses, in terms of the new regulations, which are coming into effect right now as we're speaking, businesses had to start registering with the opt-out registry from the 1st of July and had until the 30th of September to register with the NCC. Then they have to regularly check what the NCC refers to as "cleanse" their marketing databases against the opt-out registry. So, what this means is every marketer will have a database of all the names of people they want to call. Now, what they have to do is, once a month, they need to check that list against the list that the National Consumer Commission will have of all the people that have opted out. And then they have to do this before making marketing calls, before sending SMSes or emails. And if a business fails to comply with this, they can face significant administrative penalties under the Consumer Protection Act. As for businesses, there's a registration fee per year with the National Consumer Commission, and then there will be a monthly fee based on the number of listings that have been removed as a result of the opt-out requests by consumers on the opt-out portal. So, it's also going to cost direct marketers money in order to stay legitimate.
[02:30][Eon] Alright, and does this replace POPIA or the POPI Act that we all heard so much about?
[02:38][Janusz] Yeah, so it's a bit - it all gets a bit confusing because POPIA or POPIA still applies. The new rules don't replace it. This has to work together with the POPIA requirements. The amendments work alongside the Protection of Personal Information Act, and the companies still have to have a lawful basis for processing personal information for direct marketing. They have to respect consumers' objections and provide an easy way to opt out. But that falls under the Information Regulator, and all the requirements under POPIA remain in force.
[03:15][Eon] And what rights must consumers know about, and how do they exercise their rights, Janusz?
[03:23][Janusz] Yeah, so, you know, we all hear about this, but listeners should remember, first of all, to opt out, they'll have to register on the National Consumer Commission's opt-out registry after 1 October 2026. I believe that registration is free, but you will have to include your email, your cell phone. If you have several cell phones, you must include each and every number, your ID number, your address, and the reason being that marketers will compare their information as to the information that will be in the opt-out registry. If you have another cell phone number that you didn't register, they will still be entitled to send you marketing to that other cell phone number. So, that's the first thing. The second thing is you'll have to tell marketers directly if you don't want to receive any further calls. So, when you receive a call, you'll say, "I'm informing you, I do not want to receive any further calls. I have opted out on the opt-out registry." Then, they also will be allowed to ask: where did the company obtain their personal information? Now, anyone that's tried this up to now gets given the runaround, but now they will have to tell you where they got your information. You should keep records of unwanted marketing calls, because obviously, if you want to lodge a complaint with the NCC to say, "Look, I opted out, but people are still calling me," you'll have to have a record. Who called you? When did they call you? What time did they call you? What was the call about? Because otherwise, how will you lodge a complaint? And then you can report repeat offenders to the National Consumer Commission or the Information Regulator, depending which one is appropriate.
[05:08][Eon] Okay, and what is the goal behind this amendment?
[05:12][Janusz] So, the goal is to protect privacy while still allowing responsible marketing. Because the real problem is, of course, we don't want to kill all marketing. I mean, marketing plays an important role. Irresponsible marketing doesn't play an important role. So, the law does not go out and ban all direct marketing. Instead, it aims to ensure that consumers are in control of who can contact them. And legitimate businesses can still market their products, but they must respect consumer choices and comply with the CPA and POPIA. And certainly, these reforms are intended to reduce spam calls, strengthen your privacy, and promote responsible marketing practices.
[05:55][Eon] Very interesting, and now we know. Janusz Luterek from Hahn & Hahn Attorneys for this week's Legal Talk. Thank you so much for joining us.
[06:03][Janusz] It's a great pleasure. Thank you for calling.