The public service is free to consumers who register basic information about the deceased, whether recent or historical, through the Mississauga-based Bereavement Register, via the online site, or through their local funeral service professionals. The company promises consumers that this data will be used solely for the purpose of suppressing unwanted telemarketing.
The Toronto Star
November 17, 2003
A 'do not call' list for the deceased
Register removes their names from telemarketer files. Calls to dead annoy families, embarrass unaware businesses
Diana Cawfield
It happens most often at the supper hour. You just settle down to enjoy some quiet time and ring-a-ding ding.
‘Good evening!’ says a perky voice. ‘Is this Miss, Mr. or Mrs. Fill-in-your name?’ (often haltingly mispronounced). ‘And how are you doing this evening?’
You grit your teeth. But chances are you listen to the telemarketing prattle before jumping in when they take a breath.
Unwelcome at the best of times, telemarketers can become more than a pesky annoyance when they unwittingly target someone who is deceased.
Thanks to a new service — The Bereavement Register Canada — there is now a solution to unwanted calls or letters to the dead.
The purpose of the register is to remove names, addresses and telephone numbers of the deceased from databases, mailing lists and telemarketing files.
Created in Britain three years ago by data specialists The Read Group, the flagship Bereavement Register has proven popular.
According to the company, 90 per cent of all deaths are registered with the service within five days of a person dying.
From a business point of view, more than 1,200 British companies screened their marketing data against the register in 2002.
Canada is the first country ear-marked for the international expansion. Recent research indicates that many direct marketing companies unknowingly target the deceased in Canada.
Mark Roy, Managing Director of The Read Group, kicked off the Canadian launch with visits to Toronto and Montreal.
"It's a one-stop solution," says Roy, 42. "But for this service to work you've got to have lots of people registering and lots of companies using it."
A former actor and marketing executive, Roy describes the register as a win-win service for consumers and marketers alike.
The public service is free to consumers who register basic information about the deceased, whether recent or historical, through the Mississauga-based Bereavement Register, via the online site, or through their local funeral service professionals.
The company promises consumers that this data will be used solely for the purpose of suppressing unwanted telemarketing.
Revenue for The Read Group comes from signing up marketing companies and corporations who waste an estimated $55 million through mistargeted direct marketing to the deceased.
The companies compare their current customer lists against the Bereavement Register and are charged 75 cents for every registered name that matches.
Differing, but complementary to the Do Not Contact service offered by the Canadian Marketing Association for people who are alive and well, the Bereavement Register is about stopping the distress of calls to people who are grieving.
The register appeals largely to people who live at the same address and share the same phone number, for instance a surviving spouse.
Although telemarketing is a growing nuisance for many households, Roy doesn't anticipate someone abusing the system.
"It seems that people are not willing to cross that line of actually registering themselves as dead," says Roy. "In addition, there are legal safeguards in place to protect against this type of activity."
If you are interested in contacting the Bereavement Register, you can go online to http://www.the-bereavement-register.ca, or contact a funeral service provider.
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Risks: Do-not-call rules, Canada, 20031117 A do
