Robinson List Spain, how to do telemarketing and comply with the law

⚠️ Today we will talk about Robinson List Spain, we will explain what it is, why sales companies have to consult it 🕵️ and how to do it automatically!

What is the Robinson List?

Robinson List is a free service, available to consumers, of advertising exclusion, which aims to decrease the advertising that users receive.

The processing of data for advertising purposes is recognized in Regulation (EU) 2016/679. This regulation indicates that the exercise of advertising activities by companies must necessarily be reconciled with respect for the right to data protection of individuals.

It is necessary to maintain a balance between the right to data protection and the legitimate processing of data, which is embodied in the current regulation: Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, on Personal Data Protection and guarantee of digital rights.

The objective of LO 3/2018 is to protect the public freedoms of entities while protecting the fundamental rights of citizens. It therefore establishes a series of obligations for any entity that processes personal data.

Similarly, with regard to commercial communications made through telephone calls, email, SMS or equivalent, it is essential:

take into account the provisions of Law 9/2014, of May 9, General Telecommunications and Law 34/2002 of July 11, Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce..

Now that you know what the Robinson List is, continue reading to learn about other important aspects such as: what it is for and how it works.

What is the Robinson List for?

The Robinson List is for users to avoid the bombardment of unwanted advertising by phone, email, postal mail and SMS..

If as a user you want to see first hand what Robinson List is for, do not hesitate to enter your data in Official Robinson List, easily and free of charge, and avoid receiving advertising from companies that you have not given your consent to send it to you or third parties.

In the section “Robinson List how to sign up” of this article, we explain how a user can join the official Robinson List step by step.

Robinson List how it works

A user can filter the type of advertising he/she wants to receive or not by registering his/her data in this list.

Companies, according to the data protection law, are obliged to consult the data before making any commercial call.

The penalties for this issue are becoming increasingly tougher and therefore more and more companies are taking into account the users registered on this list.

After this section, Robinson List how it works, we invite you to continue reading the next one, aimed at sanctions, that any company dedicated to telephone marketing should take very seriously.

Robinson List sanctions

A commercial call at a specific time of the day to make a commercial offer may be legal, but it must be respected that it is not made between 21:00h at night and 9:00h in the morning, on weekends or on holidays.Did you know this? Spamming by telephone is punishable.

In addition, it must be taken into account that calls cannot be made from a robot, nor from an automated voice mail, and the operator must always identify himself (who he is, why he is calling and mention the right to desist from this type of calls).

If the above is not complied with, or if calls are made to users without a prior Robinson List consultation, companies must abide by the sanctions imposed by Adigital.

As GESDITEL has learned, in the year 2022 sanctions have been registered from 2,500€ to 40,000€.

Robinson List companies: how to get a Robinson List certificate?

The Robinson List certificate certifies that a company and its processes have passed the controls and validations established by Adigital.

These controls aim to verify compliance with the obligations of the official regulations of the service.

Companies must send their applications through the official website: apply for certificate Robinson List companies..

When Adigital receives an application, through responsible declaration, it reviews that the company’s processes comply with legal requirements.

On the other hand, it is also necessary that companies pass an individualized consultation test.

Once the company passes the controls, it will have a Robinson List certificate for its commercial consultations.

The Robinson List company certificate:

– It grants guarantee:.

It certifies to customers that the company performs the appropriate Robinson List consultation, legally and correctly.

– Legal compliance:

Provides evidence that the company complies with the Robinson List consultation obligation.

– Validates processes:

Confirms that the company’s Robinson List consultation processes are validated.

– Ongoing reviews:

On a periodic basis, a review is performed to ensure that the company’s processes remain correct.

Who can access the official Robinson List?

As stated in the Organic Law on Data Protection of 1999 and its implementing regulation in 2007, companies are obliged to filter their databases and make official Robinson List consultation.

Adigital, the Spanish Association of Digital Economy, indicates that Robinson List consultation is mandatory when the advertiser is not the owner of the database containing the recipients of the advertising action that the company wishes to carry out.

This consultation service costs companies money, but it depends on the activity in which the company is engaged and also on its size.

For access to the official Robinson List, prices for the Robinson List consultation service range from 0 euros to 1,975 euros per year for small/micro companies and up to 6,450 euros for service providers.

There are other options, such as hiring a digital telemarketing service that performs the automatic filtering of the database, this will be detailed in the next section: “Check Robinson List automatically“.“.

When the company does not comply with what is required, Adigital will impose the necessary sanctions (which are detailed in the section of this article Robinson List sanctions).

As indicated, “subject to the processing of the corresponding sanctioning procedure by the supervisory authority, they may be sanctioned with a fine of a financial nature”.

Check Robinson List automatically

Despite all of the above, advertising or telemarketing companies have the option of complying with the data protection law in a simple, economical and secure way.

There is the option of hiring a Software for Telemarketing, such as the one implemented by GESDITEL. This is the integration of a sales campaign management program that automates the mass dialing of calls to a list of contacts.

This list of contacts, which comes from a database that is loaded into the platform, will make automatic queries to the Robinson List. The contacts that are given as valid according to the system, will be only those contacted (also by automatic dialing if desired).

As we have already indicated, this is the fastest, easiest and cheapest way for companies to check their data against the official Robinson List without running the risk of being penalized and without having to pay the annual fee mentioned in the previous section.

In the case of GESDITEL’s Telemarketing Software, the monthly fee would include all the services mentioned above, as well as the official consultation. Nor is a permanence required, with which, all are advantages.

Robinson List Spain and the code of conduct of the operators

For many years now, operators have been insisting on making a point to encourage good practices in terms of aggressive customer acquisition by telephone and other means.

In 2010 for example, operators were able to reach a Code of Ethics on commercial calls. And a few years later, in 2013, those operators with their own network agreed on a code to regulate porting.

The 2010 Code of Ethics was renewed in 2021 with an implementation date of January 2022 by five major operators: Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, MásMóvil and Euskaltel. The purpose of this agreement was to increase the level of customer protection against possible abusive practices.

The new Code of Ethics of these operators, renewed and expanded, indicated that calls could not be made before 10 a.m. or from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. This was a self-regulation mechanism of the operators as a guarantee for good telesales practices.

Among the improvements focused on increasing transparency in consumer information, the code contemplated initiatives to control commercial calls, such as the commitment of operators to increase guarantees not to contact users included in the Robinson List Spain.

It also established a maximum limit of three contact attempts per month and indicated that, when a potential customer answered a call and expressed no interest in the commercial proposal, he would not be contacted again for a period of 3 months.

As mentioned above, another important point of the agreement was related to the timetable for commercial calls. It was established that they should not be made before 9:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. on working days, and never on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

So if there is one thing we have to thank the Code of Ethics of the operators, it is to have finally recovered the naps in peace.

Robinson List sign up: how to do it, advantages and disadvantages

Robinson List Spain, how to join

Joining the Robinson List is a very simple and fast process that is done through the Internet. The user, through the form to be filled in, will be able to block the advertising that arrives by e-mail, ordinary mail, advertising calls and SMS or similar.

The steps that a user must carry out to sign up to the list, are the following:

– Log in to the website: Official Robinson List.

– Fill in the form indicating the personal data requested.

– Verify the registration through the mail that will arrive to the email.

Advantages of joining the official Robinson List

For companies:

– Its consultation at the time of advertising allows to comply with the data protection law.

– It helps companies to know which users can be contacted for advertising.

– Its consultation avoids penalties for non-compliance with the law in campaigns or commercial communications.

– It allows to know which are the correct users or those who have the consent to make commercial campaigns.

For consumers:

– It is a free service for consumers.

– It is very simple to use, it will only be necessary to register.

– It protects consumers’ privacy.

– It avoids that the registered consumers receive spam by phone, email, ordinary mail, etc.

Inconveniences of joining the official Robinson List

For companies:

This system of advertising exclusion makes companies have to assume economic costs when consulting the list or penalties if they use third-party databases and do not make the prior consultation Robinson List.

For consumers:

Although they are registered on the list, consumers will not be able to avoid continuing to receive advertising from those companies with which they did have a commercial relationship.

Official Robinson List: why do they keep calling me?

We must take into account that, if a company has the user’s consent and can prove it, it is not necessary to make the Robinson List consultation before contacting.

In the case of a company with which you have had a relationship, even if it has ended, if you did not opt out of receiving advertising, it can continue to do so.

Therefore, in addition to registering on the Robinson List, to avoid all types of advertising calls, you must contact the company that issues them and notify them of your desire not to receive advertising. This should be done through their privacy channels.

If you find this type of advertising very annoying, you will do well to follow the following recommendations of the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD):

– When making a purchase, or contracting a service, remember to check the box expressing your refusal to receive advertising.

To make it clear that you do not wish to receive advertising, send an SMS or email to the address indicated (it is always in the fine print).

– When participating in a promotion companies usually ask for consent to send advertising. Avoid giving consent and do not accept all the terms of the contract without reviewing them first.

– When surfing the Internet and registering on a website, do not grant permission to receive advertising that is usually requested.

You should also know that you can revoke your consent to receive advertising at any time.

Robinson List Spain: where and how to report advertising harassment after signing up?

If after performing the steps in the previous section (Robinson List sing up) you continue to receive calls or messages with unwanted advertising, you have the possibility to file a complaint from the Spanish Data Protection Agency.

To make such a claim, you need to provide the following documents proving that you have requested that your data not be used and that the recipient has not respected:

➡️ If the unwanted advertising comes from a company or brand of which you are not and have not been a customer:.

If this happens to you after 2 months have passed since your registration on the Robinson List, you must present documentation proving the date you were registered on this list.

➡️ If when you contracted a service or product you clearly indicated that you did not want your data to be used for advertising purposes: You must enclose with your complaint a copy of the information you have provided to Robinson List.

You must attach with your complaint a copy of the contract (or subsequent documentation showing your refusal to have them used).

➡️ If you have withdrawn your consent and continue to receive advertising from the company:

You have to provide in your complaint the response sent to you by the controller to your request or a copy of the request stamped by the controller.

It would also be valid an acknowledgment of receipt or certificate from the post office / courier service. Any document that provides firm evidence that the recipient has received the request to withdraw consent is valid.

In the complaint or claim you must also provide the advertising you received:.

– In the case of postal advertising: include a copy of the advertising shipment received (it is important that it contains the date).

– In the case of advertising telephone calls: you must indicate the number of the line on which the calls are being received, your telephone operator and the documentation (contract, invoices…) that proves that you are the owner of the line.

If you have changed company, you must provide the details of the operator you were with at the time of the advertising calls. You have to provide data of the number that called you: number, date, time.

– In the case of advertising via SMS: you must indicate the telephone number of the line receiving the SMS, the telephone company and provide documentation proving that you are the owner of this line.

You must include images showing the messages received: text, date and time. In addition, the sender’s name or number must appear.

– In the case of advertising via e-mail: you must provide a printed copy of the header and body of each message you have received.

Robinson List Opinions

Is it worth signing up for the Robinson List? Some criticisms that have been made about the Robinson List is about the incongruity of asking for the data of people who do not want their data to be registered. It may be paradoxical but it is not considered illegal.

Article 23 of the LOPD provides for the processing of personal data in order to “prevent the sending of commercial communications to those who have expressed their refusal or opposition to receive them”.

Some forum users criticize that Adigital makes this data available to companies engaged in marketing or telesales, charging for it. Adigital, however, assures that companies do not have direct access to the Robinson List.

The consultation of the list by companies, they say, is done through a procedure that, by means of cryptographic algorithms, ensures that neither companies have access to the list nor users have access to company data.

Other users comment that sometimes deadlines can be the cause:

In the case of telephone calls, it is important to remember that companies can make calls to random numbers, as long as it is by prior consultation of such numbers in the Robinson List and they do not appear as registered.

Thus, for example, if a company consults a number on March 1 for a telemarketing campaign to be carried out on March 5 and the number holder registers on March 4, the company will probably call, since it will have no record that the person has registered.

(The above case could only be solved by automatic query, as explained in section -> Robinson List query automatically).

The queries made by the companies have a limited validity that can be up to two months. Therefore, it is required that at least 2 months have passed since the registration for the communication to be considered effective.

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So far everything you need to know about “Robinson List SpainE, how to do telemarketing and comply with the law” both as a consumer and as a company.

If you are interested, you can read the success stories of some companies engaged in telemarketing and for which the Robinson List consultation does not pose any risk of sanction. Here is a link to this section of our blog: Success Stories.

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