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By Sarah Left, 30 April 1999 00:20

NEWS A law will come into force tomorrow in the UK that will give companies legal recourse to stop junk faxes and phone calls. The Telecommunications Regulations 1998 gives businesses an opt-out from direct marketing. Companies who want to take advantage of it can register their names with a central database that will then be made available to direct marketing firms. After a 28-day grace period, the marketing companies are prohibited from sending unsolicited faxes or making calls to those on the list. George Gardiner, solicitor at law firm Tarlo Lyons, explained that although the law may be welcome, the government is not ready with the implementation. "These regulations are unheard of at the moment," he said. "The database hasn't been set up yet. The company that's supposed to run the database has not officially been awarded the contract. So we are really waiting for Oftel and the DTI to give us the relevant information. "Considering that Tuesday of next week is the first business day and there is nothing in place, it seems as though the director general [of Oftel] is going to miss the implementation date." Another possible catch is that the law does not cover unsolicited email. Gardiner says that is being dealt with in a separate EU directive. Oftel admits that it does not yet have a phone number companies can call to put their names on the list. However, Tarlo Lyons has posted information and a draft letter on its Web site for both individuals and businesses to take advantage of the law. It can be accessed it at
http://www.tarlo-lyons.com/depts/it-n-teleco/telecommdataprotect.html