UAE to Set Fines, Rules for Cold Calling; Residents Recount Most Annoying Encounters

Irrespective of the resources invested in silencing spam calls, bothersome telemarketing remain to be a nuisance for residents of the UAE. The government is now going ahead to impose stricter regulations on cold hacking by putting punitive measures in place.

While majority of the people expect an occasional marketing call, Dubai citizen Allaine Galvez encountered a really intolerable situation. After about four months a “forex trading guy” call her endlessly.

“At the time, I was searching for jobs. He felt me over the phone and he asked me whether I need any money from his foreign exchange trading platform. But I did not make any money as I didn’t have a job,” she told Khaleej Times. The calls, though, were not over, he started using different numbers, his loud, flirty self now asking if she already secured a job and was eager to invest.

The fresh UAE law is supposed to be an essential tool in dealing with that widespread phenomenon. The cabinet last month issued a decree aimed at controlling cold callers, which defines the practices and obligations of companies in the telemarketing realm. Moreover, there will be set of fines for the violation which will be imposed constantly by the federal and local authorities.

Mitchel Cervales, a 27-year-old expat in Dubai, who had to go with the difficult task of doing cold calls, was a part of it. “It’s a tough task for me or for anyone who does not want to face harsh criticism when they pick up the phone and receive several calls over the day,” stated Cervales after leaving her position.

Eric Saguil is another UAE residing individual talking about this experience as the most hassling. “Seven out of ten random calls will be from a forex trader, banker, or salesman,” he informed me and how they can be so irritating sometimes when you are trying to perform your job.

Although the legislation is not yet active, people can currently still choose to opt for the Kashif initiative, which bars companies from showing up on caller ID services, allowing people to select the calls that they want to answer. Furthermore, the residents can choose to registered in the UAE’s DNCR (Do Not Call Registry) to block unwanted promotional and telemarketing calls.