I discussed a while ago the need for us all to be responsible in the way we use outbound calling as a marketing tool. It holds a lot of potential but must be used responsibly or we might have this privilege taken away from us. The industry is divided on the best course of action, but the one thing that everybody is worried about is regulation.

The most irritating thing? Legislation already exists that could cut the bad guys down a peg or two, but OFCOM seems worried about enforcing it.

A year on, OFCOM have opened another investigation re: MKD holdings, also known as Kitchens Direct. See here: Ofcom Website investigation about MKD Holdings Ltd regarding silent calls

The numbers bought into the open by the original OFCOM investigation were conclusive - MKD were misusing the telecommunications network. There can be no defence against such a high number of silent calls. OFCOM’s solution was astoundingly not a fine but this:
“OFCOM obtained written commitments from MKD Holdings which included a commitment that the daily number of silent calls for each phone number used by MKD Holdings would not exceed 5% of the total number of daily live calls” (Source: OFCOM website)

Radical thought: Perhaps if some proper action was actually taken then we’d see the number of silent calls drop?

Regards,
DB

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for neglecting you all. It was a long time ago I last wrote and I feel guilty. As they say, a blog is for life; not just for the month leading up to Christmas.

So, why so long? Well I’ve had quite a long stint out of the office. The “Mrs B to be” and I travelled to London a few days before Christmas where we spent the festive season with our family and friends. We then flew to France for new year, and then later onto Switzerland for a weeks skiing (As John Nutley knows, as he called me half way up a chairlift). Why is that mobile phones work halfway up a swiss mountain, but they won’t work in Manchester?

I had a good attempt at breaking my nose whilst skiing, but I’m going to leave that for another day.

As you may or may not know, I’m self employed. (Well, technically I’m employed by a company that I own completely, but lets not worry. Unless you work for the IR.). Being self employed brings many benefits such as seeing a larger chunk of the fruits of your labours, and the flexibility to work how you like.

It also brings some downsides, such as sometimes seeing no fruit from a lot of labour, and the need to self motivate. This last bit never usually gives me grief - I’m great at getting up in the morning and getting things done. But for some reason I’ve struggled after my first self-employed holiday.

The last time I came back from holiday I was working for someone else and I had quite a busy position. I would come back to hundreds of emails, stacks of paper on my desk and a queue of people wanting help with things. I think it’s this stimulus that gives you the kick up the backside you need to get out of holiday mode. But alas…no queue of people for Darryl this time. Just a long task list of must dos….

To compound the lot, when I tried to start work on Monday morning my computer was bust…but I’m going to leave that story till next time.

So, how do *you* get back into it after a holiday? I’m waiting to see those comments come streaming in….!

Regards,
DB