Deceptive telemarketing of office supplies

OTTAWA, November 18, 2002 — The Competition Bureau issued a warning today to businesses and not-for-profit organizations in both Canada and the United States to take caution before supplying information to telemarketers about their office equipment or about the individuals responsible for purchasing office supplies.

The Bureau receives hundreds of complaints from businesses and not-for-profit organizations across Canada and the United States about the deceptive telemarketing of office supplies, including toner products, supplies for credit card machines and business directories.

Complainants allege that telemarketers misrepresent themselves as the target customer's regular supplier of office supplies.

Telemarketers allegedly make false or misleading statements about the nature of the product they are promoting and about the existence of previously authorized orders. Furthermore, they fail to disclose pertinent information such as the price of the product and terms and conditions of delivery.

DO	Alert employees to the potential for office supply scams.
DO	Ensure employees are aware of and follow purchasing policies.
DO	Ask questions about the price and nature of the products promoted by telemarketers. Ask for the name of the company they represent.
DO	Verify who ordered office supplies before authorizing payment of invoices from unknown suppliers.
DON'T	Provide confidential information about the makes and models of your office equipment to unknown callers.
DON'T	Add vendors to your accounts payable system until you have verified that they are legitimate suppliers for your business.

Section 52.1 of the Competition Act requires that telemarketers disclose specific information and it prohibits the use of deceptive telemarketing practices.

The Competition Bureau investigates complaints of alleged deceptive telemarketing. Businesses and consumers who believe they have been deceived by telemarketers should contact the Bureau's Information Centre at 1-800-348-5358, or Phonebusters' national call centre at 1-888-495-8501.

For information on the telemarketing provisions of the Competition Act, visit the Bureau's Web site at www.cb-bc.gc.ca.

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that promotes and maintains fair competition so that all Canadians can benefit from competitive prices, product choice and quality service. It oversees the application of the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act.

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Purvi Radia
Communications Advisor
Communications Branch
819-953-8679

For general enquiries, please contact:

Information Centre
Competition Bureau
1-800-348-5358