No, not to sell. If a person is on the Robinson list, sales calls are unlawful, even about newspapers, books and insurance, where cold calls are otherwise allowed. The only way is that the person asked, in advance, for your company to call.
No, not to sell. If a person is on the Robinson list, sales calls are unlawful, even about newspapers, books and insurance, where cold calls are otherwise allowed. The only way is that the person asked, in advance, for your company to call.
The answer in one table
Find your situation in the left column. "Asked you" means the person explicitly asked, in advance, for you to call.
| Who you call, and about what | Not on the list | On the list | Asked you to call |
|---|---|---|---|
| A consumer, about electricity, telecom, alarms, solar panels, investments and most other products | No | No | Yes |
| A consumer, about books, newspaper or magazine subscriptions, insurance, or rescue or patient transport subscriptions | Yes | No | Yes |
| The owner of a sole-trader business, about a sale to the business | Yes | No | Yes |
| A limited company or other company | Yes, but don't use CVR data if the company has advertising protection | Does not apply | Yes |
| A consumer who has told you no thanks | No | No | Yes, if the person later asked for it themselves |
| A consumer, about a neutral survey or charity work, with no selling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Sources: Consumer Contracts Act s. 4, Marketing Practices Act s. 10(4)-(5) and the Consumer Ombudsman's overview.
Why the answer is no
Two rules work together:
- Section 4 of the Consumer Contracts Act bans sales calls to consumers who have not asked for them. Four products are exempt: books, subscriptions to newspapers, weeklies and periodicals, insurance, and subscriptions to rescue services or patient transport (retsinformation.dk).
- Section 10(4) of the Marketing Practices Act bans approaching a person with direct marketing if the person is on the Robinson list or has told you they don't want it (retsinformation.dk).
The first rule closes most calls. The second closes the four exceptions when the person is on the list. The Consumer Ombudsman puts it briefly: if a consumer is on the Robinson list, it is always unlawful to call them to sell (Consumer Ombudsman).
When has the person "asked you"?
Consent to be called must be an explicit and unambiguous request to be called by your company. The Ombudsman's guidance requires, among other things (guidance):
- It must say which company will call, and about which products.
- It must not be hidden in terms and conditions or small print.
- Consent that isn't used probably lapses after one year.
- You must be able to document it. If you bought the consent, you still have to be able to show it holds.
- Children and young people under 18 may not be called without a parent's consent.
Being a customer is not the same as consent. If a customer is on the Robinson list, you may only call to sell if the customer asked you to.
The first call
The first time you call a person, you must clearly say they can opt out of marketing from you, and it must be easy and free (Marketing Practices Act s. 10(6)). If the person says no, they go on your suppression list straight away.
What if you call anyway?
Breaches can be punished with fines. A company was fined DKK 40,000 in 2020 for calling four sole traders on the Robinson list. And a sale made on an unlawful call does not bind the consumer (Consumer Contracts Act s. 5). See Danish fines for unlawful sales calls.
Questions and answers
May we call a person on the list to ask if we may call again?
No. The ban covers calls that are meant to lead, now or later, to an agreement. A call to get permission to call with an offer is part of the sale.
Does it apply if we call from a call centre abroad?
Yes. If you call people in Denmark, the Danish rules apply. See Calling Denmark from abroad.
May we send a text message instead?
Marketing by text message generally needs prior consent, regardless of the Robinson list. See Email and SMS marketing in Denmark.
How do we find out who on the call list is on the Robinson list?
The list holds names and addresses, not phone numbers, so you need a name and address for everyone you plan to call. See Phone numbers and the Robinson list.
How Robinsontjek helps
We check your call list against the latest Robinson list before it reaches your agents, and every row shows what we found. Rows you may not call are held out of the dialer, and you get a check receipt. Your consents and what is said on the call remain your responsibility.
Write to us and we'll set it up in your dialer, or see how a check works.
Sources
- Danish Consumer Ombudsman: Telefonsalg (Danish)
- Danish Consumer Ombudsman: Overview of the rules on telephone sales (Danish)
- Danish Consumer Contracts Act s. 4 (Danish)
- Danish Marketing Practices Act s. 10(4)-(6) (Danish)
- Danish Consumer Ombudsman: Guidance on competitions and consent, revised 2021 (Danish)
