Your registration on the National Opt-Out Database may expire soon if your registeration is more than three years old. This means registered direct marketers in South Africa are allowed to contact you.

The National Opt-Out register is administered by the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA), which requires that its members check their own marketing databases against the opt-out database.

POPIA: You would need to Opt-in instead Opt-out

Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) aims to crack down on this practice of direct marketing sending marketing information direct to any contact information they can get their hands on.

With POPIA the restrictions on direct marketing will shift from being opt-out by default, to opt-in by default. Companies will have to get consent from consumers before they are allowed to send marketing messages.

Get consent

Party may only send direct marketing to a person if:

• The customer’s contact details were obtained in the context of a sale of a product or service;
• For the purpose of direct marketing of similar products or services;
• The customer has been given a reasonable opportunity to object to the direct marketing (i) at the time the personal information was collected; and (ii) on every communication.

Unsubscribe Optional ?

The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and POPI empower consumers to block marketing communications.

“All electronic direct marketing communications must contain an ‘unsubscribe’ option. Similarly, physical post boxes containing a direction that ‘no junk mail’ will be accepted cannot be used for direct marketing.”

Customer databases to include:

• Where, how and when was the personal information initially obtained;
• Whether the person is an existing customer and, if so, in respect of what products or services;
• Whether the person has consented to receiving direct marketing;
• Whether the person has unsubscribed from receiving direct marketing.

When are they allowed to contact you ?

Specific days and times of days have been prescribed for direct marketing, and a supplier must not engage in any direct marketing directed to a consumer at home for any promotional purpose during prohibited period.

The prohibited time for contacting consumers at home (this includes via telephone, SMS or email) are as follows:

• Sundays or public holidays;
• Saturdays before 09h00 and after 13h00;
• All other days between the hours of 20h00 and 08h00 the following day, except to the extent that the consumer has agreed otherwise.

How to stop unwanted email ?

Robinson Distribution provides customers a complete spam solution on, premises or hosted in South Africa, used by over 100 000 customers to stop all unwanted email communication.

With no additional setting this solution will stop 99.9% of all unwanted email communication as well as viruses that could cause harm to your environment.

With several additional features included by default the solution also offer a blacklist and whitelist option to stop or allow email addresses or complete domains and sub-domains.

Reference:

https://mybroadband.co.za/ , https://www.nationaloptout.org/