Lawful way of direct marketing using live calls

It’s important that you understand the rules when you’re making your marketing calls.

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (as amended) (PECR) cover live telephone calls made for direct marketing purposes.

This guidance discusses live marketing calls in detail. Read it if you have detailed questions not answered in the Guide to PECR, or if you need a deeper understanding of how PECR applies to making live direct marketing calls.

This guidance covers what you must do to comply with PECR if you want to make live marketing calls. Where this guidance uses the word “must”, this means that the law requires you to do something (so it’s a legal requirement). Where we use the word “should”, this is what we consider important to help you comply. You should follow this unless you have a good reason not to (good practice). However, you may take a different approach and still comply. Where we use the word “could” this refers to an option(s) that you may want to consider to help you comply (good practice). We have highlighted these words for ease.

If you haven’t yet read the telephone marketing page in the Guide to PECR, you may find it useful to read that first. It introduces this topic and sets out the key points you need to know, along with practical checklists to help you comply.