Telemarketing - rules for companies

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• Responsibility for telemarketing

  There are a number of provisions that regulate how your company can sell products over the telephone, including in the Act on Distance Contracts and Off-Premises Contracts and the Marketing Act.

  The client bears principal responsibility for marketing and sales conducted on their behalf. It is therefore important that your company ensure that the telemarketing companies you use follow applicable legislation and regulation. Although the client bears principal responsibility for the sales process, a contracted telemarketing company may also be held responsible. This is called responsibility for complicity.

• Separate rules for telemarketing

  Separate provisions apply to telesales in addition to the other provisions of the Act on Distance Contracts and Off-Premises Contracts.

  If your company takes the initiative to call a consumer for the purpose of entering into a distance contract, the consumer must be given certain information at the beginning of the call. The salesperson must give the name of the company, the purpose of the call and their own name and relationship to the company.

  Written acceptance of the agreement

  For a contract to be entered into over the telephone, the consumer must accept your company’s offer in writing after the call. If the contract has not been entered into in this way, it is invalid and the consumer has no obligation to pay for any goods or services that the company provides. The consumer must be informed of this in the company’s confirmation of the offer.

  Approval of the contract after the call has ended

  For a valid contract to be entered into over the telephone, the consumer must accept the company’s tender in writing. The tender must be sent in a document or other readable form that the consumer can save for future reference. For example, on paper, in an email or text message or similar. The consumer's acceptance to the tender can only take place after the call has ended. The tender must reflect the offer made during the telephone conversation.

• Telemarketing checklist

  Checklist for telemarketing for companies:

  • Check the telephone number against the national ‘Do Not Call’ register (NIX-Telefon).
  • Inform the consumer that the purpose of the call is sales. If the purpose of your call is to sell something, it is not permitted to, for example, begin the call by asking questions about the consumer’s consumption or lifestyle.
  • Be clear from the beginning about what kind of company you are, what goods or services you are selling, your name and whether you are employed by the company or are working on its behalf.
  • Respect the consumer’s right to end the call.
  • Make sure that the consumer understands and wishes to enter into the contract.
  • Inform the consumer about their 14-day right of withdrawal.
  • Send confirmation of the tender in writing.
  • For the contract to be valid, the consumer must accept your tender in writing after the telephone call has ended. This applies to both new and existing customers.
  • Telesales and telemarketing of services related to premium pensions is prohibited.
  • Send the consumer confirmation of the contract once it has been concluded.
  • If there is an audio file, the consumer retains the right to receive a copy.

• Court rulings

  The Swedish Consumer Agency has dealt with many supervisory cases concerning telemarketing over the years. Among other things, these cases have contributed to a body of case law. Below is a selection of case law within the field. Case law illustrates the problems that the Swedish Consumer Agency has highlighted in the field.

  Stating the purpose of the call

  In a case concerning telemarketing, the Patent and Market Court noted that salespeople at several companies had failed to supply information that the purpose of their call was to sell telecommunications equipment, telephone subscriptions and support services. In each case, they failed to provide this information at the beginning of the call. This procedure was deemed to contravene Section 3 a of Chapter 2 of the Act on Distance Contracts and OffPremises Contracts and Section 9 of the Marketing Act (Case No. 12525–19, see also PMT 5093–23).

  Information about how the contract is entered into

  The Patent and Market Court ruled that a company had failed to provide information that contracts agreed on the telephone are only concluded when the consumer accepts the company’s tender in writing after the call has ended. In the case in question, the digital contract was concluded during the call by the consumer identifying themselves using their BankID. This procedure was deemed to contravene 3 § a of Chapter 2 of the Act on Distance Contracts and Off-Premises Contracts and to have adversely affected the consumer’s ability to make a well-founded business decision (Case Nos. 12525–19 and PMT 5093–23).

  Delivery and payment demands despite misleading information and the omission of significant information

  The Patent and Market Court ruled that a company had supplied inadequate information to consumers in several regards. This case related to a very large number of complaints from consumers, all of which described a to all intents and purposes identical sales technique. The court emphasised that the procedure of attaching an invoice despite the lack of significant information about the subscription contravened point 29 on the blacklist of misleading commercial practices: demanding payment for products supplied by the trader, but not solicited by the consumer. This process could be equated with a situation in which a consumer had not ordered the goods at all (Case No. PMT 5093–23).

  Incorrect claim that a product is free of charge

  Another case before the Post and Market Court concerned a sales script in which, during the telephone call, the salesperson informed the consumer that – as a thank-you for taking part in a competition, lottery or similar – they were entitled to a product either free or for the cost of shipping. However, rather than only receiving a ‘free’ product, the consumer was invoiced for a subscription. The court found that this business method contravened 10 § of the Marketing Act, as well as point 20 on the blacklist of misleading commercial practices: including in marketing material an invoice or similar document seeking payment which gives the consumer the impression that they have already ordered the marketed product when they have not (Case No. PMT 5093–23).

  Reasonable time for consideration

  The Patent and Market Court heard that an investigation showed that on multiple occasions salespeople had contacted consumers very soon after sending a text message confirming the tender if the consumer did not reply immediately. During the follow-up call, the salesperson tried to convince the consumer to accept the offer. The court found that the consumers had not been given a reasonable length of time to consider the offer, and that this equated to aggressive marketing in the meaning of 7 § of the Marketing Act. The court also noted that a particularly vulnerable consumer would find it difficult or even impossible to make a well-founded business decision under such circumstances. This was found to be improper marketing (Case No. 19110–21).

  Call from a private number

  In another case, salespeople had engaged in calling consumers from private numbers on a large scale. The Post and Market Court noted that, regardless of whether the salesperson was calling from home or the office, the company was responsible for their actions. This marketing contravened accepted industry practice and thus good marketing practice pursuant to Section 5 of the Marketing Act (Case No. PMT 19110–21).

  Calls to numbers in the national ‘Do Not Call’ register

  A ruling by the Patent and Market Court found that salespeople had contacted consumers by telephone despite their numbers being on the national ‘Do Not Call’ register, NIX-Telefon. This type of marketing was deemed to contravene 21 § of the Marketing Act, as well as SWEDMA, the Swedish Data Marketing Association’s, rules and guidelines for NIX-Telefon and telesales (Case Nos. PMT 2982–16 and PMT 19110–21).

• Memorandum on telemarketing

  During 2023, the Swedish Consumer Agency conducted a major review of telesales by credit brokers, finding significant deficiencies. The agencies memorandum on the review highlights the following deficiencies:

  • Companies act out of self-interest without due care for the interests of consumers. For example, they do not inquire about the consumer’s wishes and fail to provide the consumer with the necessary explanations to determine whether the offer suits their needs.
  • In some cases, companies’ proposals have completely ignored the consumer’s clearly expressed wishes.
  • Companies have failed to clearly inform consumers about the purpose of their call at the beginning of the conversation. In no case has it been clearly stated that the purpose of the call is to broker credit and, where applicable, insurance. Many companies give consumers the erroneous impression that they are not selling anything, thus misleading the consumer about the purpose of the call.
  • Companies have made exaggerated claims about the scope of the product and played on consumers’ fears.
  • Companies have failed to comply with the requirement for written confirmation when conducting telesales. Consumers have signed up to three contracts in a single call, despite the fact that contracts signed during an ongoing telephone call are invalid, something they were not informed of during the conversation. This means that many consumers received payment demands related to invalid contracts.
  • Companies have failed to give consumers reasonable time to consider whether they wish to enter into a contract. Instead, companies attempt to hurry the process by urging the consumer to sign the contract as soon as possible.

  The Swedish Consumer Agency’s review of credit brokers’ telesales (in Swedish)

  Related information

  Ethical guidelines for telesales and telemarketing to consumers on Kontakta’s website (in Swedish)

  General and ethical rules on SEDMA’s website (in Swedish)

  Industry agreement on ethical sales methods on the website of the Swedish Telecom Advisors (in Swedish)

  Code of Conduct for operators on the website of the Swedish Telecom Advisors (in Swedish)

  (The Code of Conduct also covers sales via other sales channels)