- The Bloctel service, which is supposed to limit nuisance phone calls, is strongly criticized by Internet users.
- Many of them support consumer associations asking for a ban on telephone canvassing.
- A bill is to be considered in the Assembly next week.
Like a landline telephone ringing nonstop, our call for testimonials on Bloctel and door-to-door sales has "saturated" our site. In a few hours, we received more than 500 contributions from Internet users, a sign of deep nervousness on the subject. "Ineffective service", "Counter productive", "Infernal" ... Most of the responses note the ineffectiveness of Bloctel, the service launched in 2016 and supposed to limit nuisance calls. Today it is used by more than three million French people.
"On average, I receive four calls a day for canvassing," says Robert, 72 years old. Mutuals, associations, isolation for one euro… and I need more exotic! It is very painful ”. "Our three numbers (two cell phones and a landline) are available on Bloctel but it is useless, we are inundated with phone calls", laments Miguel for his part. "No control and few sanctions, annoys Jean-Louis. The citizen is abandoned to the pack which is there to butcher it ”. "Painful, repetitive, and very annoying" sums up Lionel.
Maximum fine of 75,000 euros
In the face of the most tenacious canvassers, tactics vary. "I get mad at their practices and I admit to being insulting," admits Fred, who claims to be called every day at mealtime. But there is enough at the end! ". Some, like Véronique, who claims to suffer "ten calls a day" despite Bloctel, have decided outright to "disconnect their landline phone". This “harassment” (the word comes up several dozen times in the testimonies) does not make Jean-Paul laugh at all: “My mother, who is 96 years old, no longer picks up her phone because of unwanted calls. In fact, we can no longer reach her. ”
This overwhelming observation is shared by consumer associations. This Monday, several of them published a joint statement particularly virulent against telephone prospecting. "The [Bloctel] system proves to be ineffective due to far too extensive derogations and insufficiently dissuasive sanctions" they write. Currently, a company that calls numbers registered in Bloctel faces a maximum fine of 75,000 euros.
"We need radical measures"
While the deputies must examine on January 30, at second reading, a bill on door-to-door canvassing, the associations affirm that the text "risks worsening the situation" by allowing new exemptions to the Bloctel list. For them, it is simply necessary to prohibit canvassing by telephone. Their petition launched on the subject has already collected more than 150,000 signatures in 24 hours.
Internet users who have testified to 20 Minutes approve overwhelmingly. "I am for the total ban on this practice which plays on the nerves of citizens" assures Patrick. "We need radical measures and large fines," continues Edouard. "The purpose of telephone canvassing is to encourage consumption while preventing competition," notes Nathalie. When you are interested in a product, you are big enough to do the work yourself ”. "By not legislating on this problem, our policies become the accomplices of the crooks", warns for his part Mickael. The message was sent to the government (hoping that the Elysée is not listed on Bloctel).
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