Abuse of business lists doubles in four years

by Joanne Oatts, Brand Republic 01-Jun-06, 07:30

LONDON - Abuse of information provided on business lists has doubled since 2001, according to a report by DQM Group.

The report charts an increase of 111 points from 100 in 2001, to 211 at the end of 2005.

The data-tracking specialists also found that utilities, societies and associations and catering companies were the worst offenders, with the government and recruitment sectors being the most compliant.

Adrian Gregory, DQM managing director, said: "From our 10 years' experience of tracking data a lot of the misuse is down to poor processes and systems at the client end once they load the list into their CRM systems.

"However, increasing accessibility and ease of copying data are also major reasons for the growth. After all, it's no different from similar problems in the software and music industries.

"It's a major warning flag to data owners to police the use of their data much more carefully."

Earlier this month, Ofcom was warned to strengthen its rules on nuisance sales calls by the European Policy Forum.

Currently the only regulation in place is the Corporate Telephone Preference Service where companies can register their wish not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls, though some businesses have complained of continuing to receive nuisance calls long after they have registered.

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