It’s been nearly two years since the Czech Republic banned telemarketing, but unwanted phone offers haven’t disappeared entirely. How can you effectively resist these annoying calls and even get compensation?
On July 1, 2022, Law No. 374/2021 Coll. on Electronic Communications came into force, introducing a complete ban on telemarketing and imposing heavy fines for violations. This ban covers not just phone calls but also SMS messages and emails.
Despite this, the Czech Telecommunications Authority (ČTÚ), responsible for monitoring and fining violators, has received a total of 1,927 complaints about 3,568 spam attacks over the past two years.
ČTÚ spokeswoman Eva Merava confirms that the agency has issued seven final fines totaling 2.3 million crowns, with the largest fine being 2.2 million crowns. This hefty fine was given to the Polish company Asmanta Call Center Spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością for their automated calls promoting photovoltaic sales. According to the ČTÚ order, the company’s robot caller, claiming to be from DFC Consulting, was unable to answer questions coherently. Over 100 recipients of these repeated calls recorded conversations, took screenshots, and filed complaints with ČTÚ.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW!The Czech Republic’s ban on telephone calls only applies to marketing offers from companies or people with whom you have nothing in common and have never dealt before. So if you receive a call from your banker, financial advisor, or company that has previously sold you a product or provided a service, this is not a violation of the law, but a normal service that any company provides to customers as part of a business-to-customer relationship. |
Even if a customer hasn’t agreed to have their contact information published on a public list or used for marketing, companies can still contact them.
The law also does not apply to telephone surveys. Therefore, you can still get a call from a company conducting, for example, sociological or marketing research. However, the survey cannot lead to an offer of services or products during the call. So, for example, if someone asks you about your experience with a personal loan, they cannot suddenly start offering you a favorable loan for a new car.
No company or individual in the Czech Republic who has received your telephone number from a list that is publicly available has the right to contact you by telephone. Almost anyone can create such lists and then publicly post them on a website or similar location. The state does not regulate this activity in any way.
You can access the public directory through your telephone service provider, who provides telephone numbers to the organization that maintains the public directory. The organization always provides these numbers upon request and for a fee. However, the operator can only transmit numbers whose owners have agreed to the disclosure of information and marketing. As previously mentioned, almost anyone can create such lists.
The Electronic Communications Act and Article 12 of Directive 2002/58/EC define a public subscriber list as a directory that allows anyone to find detailed contact information about a person based on their name or a few identifying details. This list must be publicly accessible.
Importantly, this definition does not include:
The ban on unsolicited marketing contact applies to all subscribers of public lists, whether they are individuals or businesses, and regardless of whether they have a commercial agreement with their phone service provider.
If you are not sure whether a call is unauthorized, use the following tips:
Protecting yourself from unwanted offers via phone number or email is quite simple. Just explicitly state on the website that you prefer not to receive telemarketing calls in addition to regular phone contact. You can also write that this phone number is only for your clients, regular suppliers, etc.
You can do the same with published email addresses. Telemarketers are prohibited from using not only your phone numbers from public lists but also other listed contacts, such as your email address. If your website lists your email address, along with that of your employees, it should also do the same for phone numbers. Place an announcement on your website stating that only clients or a specific category of people can contact you.
You can follow these easy steps to prevent telemarketing calls if someone has shared your phone number online:
Why this is important:
Under Czech law, telemarketers cannot contact you if you have publicly indicated that you do not wish to receive unsolicited marketing calls. By taking these proactive steps, you establish a clear preference and strengthen your legal protection against unwanted calls.
Even with a two-year telemarketing ban in place, unwanted calls persist. The Czech Telecommunications Authority (ČTÚ) offers advice on how to handle them:
You can contact ČTÚ in person, by mail, email, data box, contact form, or telephone. Include the following in your complaint:
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