Do pushy salespeople really still cold-call prospective customers in this day and age? Oh yes they do, and it’s particularly annoying when they’re hawking tricky financial products such as insurance. Now ASIC wants to ban unsolicited telephone sales of such products, including the often worthless consumer credit insurance, which has been unloaded on many consumers who would be ineligible to make a claim. (It’s meant to cover loan repayments if you lose your job or get seriously ill, but the limits and exclusions render it useless in many circumstances.)
ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes believes insurance and phone sales shouldn’t really go together. “ASIC will step in to stop practices that lead to poor consumer outcomes and destroy trust in the system,” he says. “It is only fair that consumers have a proper opportunity to consider which insurance product best meets their needs and then compare alternative products, without feeling pressured to make a purchase.” Customers often discover the insurance product they bought over the phone doesn’t meet their needs when they go to make a claim, and end they up with nothing.
“Without such a ban, we are concerned that consumers will continue to be preyed upon by peddlers of inappropriate insurance products, using pressure sales tactics,” Hughes says. A consultation process is underway.
Perhaps Choice can persuade ASIC to take this broader stance with all products?
This is view is far too limited in scope! A few edits make it a more appropriate, relevant, and supportive statement for consumers. It should read:
ASIC will step in to stop practices that lead to poor consumer outcomes and destroy trust. It is only fair that consumers have a proper opportunity to consider which product best meets their needs and then compare alternative products, without feeling pressured to make a purchase.
Perhaps Choice could push for this amended view to be appied accross the board for all consumer products?
And also make it clear that for numbers on the do not call register, canvassing other products not the subject of the call is also prohibited, unless the customer specifically requests information about a particular product or service.
This would stop banks or other organisations trying to on-sell insurance to existing customer through phone contact, either initiated by the bank/organisation or the customer. Usually those who register with Do Not Call don’t want unsolicited sales pitches at any time, even at times say during phone banking or general customer phone enquires.
