Westpac has received a slap on the wrist by the communications watchdog for making prohibited telemarketing calls to its customers.
The bank has been issued a formal warning after an investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found it had called made calls to numbers listed on the Do Not Call register.
ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said appropriate systems should be in place by the bank to avoid a repeat of this incident.
“‘Do not call me again’ means just that,” said Chapman in a statement.
Laws passed in 2006 enable organisations to make telemarketing calls to customers they have an existing relationship with, however the customers can withdraw their consent to receive these calls at any time.
While Westpac had an existing relationship with the customers concerned, the authority’s investigation found that its procedures for recording the withdrawal of consent had failed.
