Hakom - Croatian Post and Electronic Communications Agency

Consumers who do not want to be contacted by sellers for the purpose of promoting or selling without an obtained prior consent of the so-called „Consent” are free to enrol in a public registry of consumer protection” Do Not Call” as of Tuesday February the 1st. The registry was put into operation at noon in the presence of the representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship and HAKOM.

ZAGREB, 31 January 2017 - The Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship put into operation Consumer Protection Register entitled “Do Not Call” at Noon. This is a public registry of telephone numbers of those consumers who do not want to be contacted by the sellers for the purpose of promoting or selling without an obtained prior consent. The registry has been prescribed by the Law on Consumer Protection while the competent market inspection at the Ministry of Economy, Business and Trade is responsible for its implementation. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship Ms. Martina Dalić presented the event of putting the registry into operation. In addition she pointed out that this was contribution to one of the objectives of the Ministry, which is consumer protection. By enabling the launch of this registry the protection of vulnerable groups of consumers will be provided, i.e. all who, personally do not want or are  not able to conclude their agreements over the phone or simply do not want to be harassed on their phone number.

The President of the Council of the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) Mr. Dražen Lučić emphasised the importance of consumer protection as a foundation of effective regulation of the market. In his speech, he stressed out the socially responsible market regulation, carried out by HAKOM with particular emphasis on user protection of the electronic communications which made  HAKOM be recognized outside the boundaries  of the Republic of Croatia. Socially responsible regulation of the market under HAKOM’s responsibility is reflected in rational business activities performed by HAKOM, where the funds from the markets are returned to the markets regulated by HAKOM each year. The registry has been financed by the funds from the collected fees in the market.

The possibilities how to carry out the entering into and listing out of  the registry, as well as details regarding the work and responsibilities of sellers  were  presented by Ivo Majerski, Head of Information and Consumer Protection Department at  HAKOM and a member of the National Council for Consumer Protection. All consumers (physical persons) who are also users of telephone services, including fixed and mobile telephone and SMS and MMS messages can be registered as well. Entering into and listing out of the registry can only be requested by a consumer who has contracted the service for one number. Registration in the registry is free of charge, and the owner of the number should properly fulfil the prescribed application form and submit it to their telecommunications operator. The request may be submitted to the operator in at least three ways: in person in the operator’s office, by mail or by electronic mail to the address that was previously tested and registered with the operator as the e-mail address of the user’s telephone number. An operator will check the validity of the request and in accordance with that, within no more than seven days, register the number. In future the Registry’s upgrading is planned to become an integral part of e-citizens while the citizens will be able to regulate the status of their numbers in the registry on their own, without intervention by telecom operator.
 
On HAKOM Web site default.aspx?id=8391 the status of each number in the registry can be requested. Once the number is put into the search engine the following information will be received: the information whether the number is in the registry (yes / no), whether all consents have been withdrawn (Yes / No) and the time stamp when the number was registered. In addition, when applying, all previously given consents to the suppliers can be withdrawn. In this case the seller with the consent of the date prior to the time when the number was entered into the registry will not be allowed to call that phone number.


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For additional information please contact:

Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM)
Roberta Frangeša Mihanovića 9
10110 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel. + 385 (0) 1 700 70 07
Fax + 385 (0)1 700 70 70

Media inquiries can be submitted online using HAKOM’s official website: 
Registration required.