Beware Of Lead-Generation Companies Trying To Sell You Things in the Guise of Survey
You were busy preparing an important meeting and suddenly you get call from a firm out of the blue. They bug you with all sorts of irritating questions and ruin your day. It happened to all of you at some point of time. It leaves one wondering, how do these firms get your phone number?
You may need to thank you some other companies for these companies, which describe themselves industry leaders in lead-generation services. Some of these companies use underhand tricks to get your details, and then they pass them onto businesses of various kinds. And these businesses call you up at wicked hours trying to sell you anything from mobile phones to will-writing.
Sometimes back, there was a news regarding a leading lead-generation company Phruit Limited in which the company was accused of passing on the details of people who had registered with the Phone Preference Service to opt-out of marketing phone calls. The company was also using a mean trick known as "sugging" where marketing or selling under the disguise of carrying out a research (Just think about it, you were giving out your valuable information for research, and these people were selling these information for money!).
However, Direct Marketing Association has taken the right step against this company and suspended Phruit from the Direct Marketing Association after a thorough investigation into allegations of serious non-compliance by the Direct Marketing Commission. As per DMC, Phruit breached DM code of practice provisions21.18 and 21.80 on TPS compliance and data cleansing, provision 3.11 under which Phruit has a responsibility for compliance by its suppliers and provision 3.18 regarding "sugging". The interesting thing is, Phruit did not accept its faults totally and Phil Lightfoot, a director of the company even denied such malpractices. They even criticized DMA for suspending it.
Been a victim of such malpractice by Phruit? Phruit Limited can be reached at:-
Phruit Limited
The Barn
Huddlestone's Wharf
Newark
Nottinghamshire
Ng24 4ul
Phone:- 0844 41 42 741
Direct marketing industry is standing on consumers trust and the breach of trust can prove to be fatal in the long run. It is companies like Phruit that give direct marketing a bad name by breaking the code of ethics in direct marketing. All the direct marketing and lead generation companies should adhere to high standards of professionalism and trustworthiness while maintaining at least a good level of transparency. They should also take responsibility for the compliance by any supplier of consumer. If a company can not adhere to such fair practices and indulge in such unethical tricks, it definitely does not deserve to be a part of the DMA which adheres to the highest standards, professionalism and trustworthiness.
DMA should also take such exemplary steps against any such unethical practices by the lead-generation and direct marketing companies in future, so that, any company has to think twice before using unfair means to generate revenue.
On the other hand, common people also need to be aware of such unethical practices by marketing firms. When possible, you should ask the surveyors about their credentials. Just remember, you have every right to stop conversation if you feel that a surveyor is trying to sell you any product or services. This way, you will not fall in their trap.
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