Thursday, March 29, 2007

No more Paper Spam, Unsolicted calls to cellphone, paging devices & Fax machines


So at least once a week, I open up my non electronic mail received, and just like in the movies you kind squizz through the batch to find the most important ones...i.e. love letters, invitations to weddings etc...
We would never do this squizzing nonsense if our banks, clothing stores, cellphone companies and many different other industries would just stop sending us Paper Spam telling us that we
have qualified for a R30K loan or pre-appoved credit of R4k and if we respond before X date that we get to use the voucher to the value of R50...etc ...

Cape Town summer days are hot enough, I always said that the reason why we fry and why the weather is weird and can get very hot at times is because we cutting down too many trees, trees give shade, shade keeps us cool - cutting trees for the use of printing bull .

So now enough ranting cause, FINALLY there is a law about this and is to be obeyed with effect from 1 June 2007...the NCA... <>

Act No. 34, 2005 National Credit Act 2005

&
Act No. 2 , 2000 Promotion of Access to Information
&
Discussion Paper No 109 on 'Privacy and Data Protection' in October 2005


Key aspects read thus far - well, of importance to me:
  • "To prohibit certain unfair credit and credit-marketing practices"
  • Tranactions dealt with in this act include credit cards, loans, mortagage bonds, vehicale and personal finances and well, our favorite, the store cards...
  • Credit limits may not be raised automatically
  • You can opt to not receive promotional material, info on new products, competitions, special offers, events or whatever - we'll see about this one cause I always choose this optioon but somehow, the ink of that ball point pen, clearly is never dark enough for them to see that X that supposed to indicate that I DO NOT WISH to receive promo stuff...
  • "The right to privacy recognises and protects an individual’s interest in what has been called ‘informational self-determination’. This is an interest in restricting the collection, use of and disclosure of one's private information by others."
  • Baically, the sharing of personal info amongst these companies is gonna be banned - I waiting to get to the section (if any) that a company like e.g. Big Bang (back in 2001/2) called you out of the blue and said they got your number from person X and that they have X package to sell you...what sort of laws are set around the companies asking for more contacts after having spoken to you and you all willingly pass on your entire phonebook and boom...you partake in killing a forest!!! Recycled paper my @ss...