So you’re tired of sitting at your desk (no I wasn’t finished, you can’t agree with me there) and suddenly brrrrring brrrrrring! Obviously you answer the phone in your most polite phone voice to be greeted by whoever is on the other end of the line asking to speak to the MD.

Slightly odd, you think so you ask the MD that so-and-so from who-knows-where has a supposedly scheduled call with them, only to be told ‘Eugh, nopes. No idea who that is’.

Cold calls. The bane of the working-place’s existence. Luckily, that’s where the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (or CTPS) comes in. Companies who are registered with the CTPS don’t receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls to either all their organisation’s telephone numbers, or to certain numbers. Wait for it- it is a legal requirement that companies do not make such calls to numbers registered on the CTPS.

It’s a free service that companies can subscribe to annually and the process only takes a few minutes. Very simple.

So there we have it, the CTPS.

However, on the other hand – if you’re part of a company whose strategy it is to cold call other companies, it certainly pays to be aware of which companies are on the CTPS because calling them could risk you a hefty fine of up to £500,000. Ouchy.

Therefore, your company may want to consider real time validation to check if a business is registered with the CTPS (yes this is possible!) – so not only will you be potentially saving your company a lot of money, hassle and a potentially damaged reputation, but you can focus your time and efforts focusing on the right leads.

Common questions about the CTPS:

How does it work in real-time?

With over 1.3million phone numbers updated daily, it’s an accurate way of detecting any companies on the CTPS. It screens the number you have with the CTPS database and alerts you if the number is not callable. Quite clever don’t you think?

What if one of my customers’ registers?

No. Well not no, but more ‘you need to gain their permission after they have registered on the CTPS that it is okay to contact them.’

What if my company registers and is suddenly cut off from the world?

Stop being silly, this isn’t a zombie apocalypse. A registration only applies to unsolicited/ uninvited, telemarketing calls including fundraising calls. What it won’t stop is company calling you back with a quotation if you have asked for one. That falls into solicited and invited calls. Also, it won’t stop people calling up and asking for a quote or more information.

So that’s it: the CTPS. If you’re interested in detecting who in your database is registered on the CTPS, you’re very welcome to sign up for a free trial! Or, for more information about the CTPS, please head to the official website.

• Data Validation
• Legislation