Michael Vazquez: V Marketing boss fined $60,000 for one million-plus illegal calls
The director of a Bundall-based company that hawked solar systems has admitted to breaching the law en masse, concluding a long-running case that commenced way back in April 2019.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Gold Coast owner of a telemarketing firm that made more than a million calls hawking solar equipment to numbers that had been listed on the Do Not Call Register has been fined $60,000.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) commenced proceedings against Southport company director Michael Vazquez, 47, his Bundall-based telemarketing business V Marketing, and V Marketing client Balaska Pty Ltd, trading as Energy Options AU, back in April 2019.
On March 31 this year Federal Court Justice John Logan ruled in favour of ACMA, finding both Mr Vazquez and V Marketing, which is in liquidation, had breached the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.
Justice Logan further ruled that although Balaska Pty Ltd also breached the act by causing the calls to be made on its behalf, its director, Broadbeach man James Matthew McLennan, 48, did not have “actual knowledge of the elements of the contraventions” by V Marketing, and would not face any penalty.
According to Justice Logan, V Marketing, incorporated in 2012, was primarily engaged in telemarketing calls in respect of the sale, supply and installation of solar energy systems.
At the time the unlawful calls to numbers listed on the register were made, from March 2017 to September 2018, it employed 13 staff in its Bundall call centre, calling exclusively Queensland and New South Wales numbers from 12–7pm, Monday to Friday, via an automatic dialler.
Calls were made both on behalf of Balaska, and also to tout V Marketing’s own in-house solar brand, Your Choice Solar.
Justice Logan said V Marketing purchased numbers from two sources, Australia on Disk and pricefinder.com.au.
Three junior staffers were tasked with ‘washing’ the tranches of numbers, a process that identifies numbers listed on the register that must not be called, but Justice Logan found V Marketing’s policy to ensure this process was completed correctly was not adequate, and the three staffers received inadequate supervision.
Justice Logan said that right from the start of the offending period, Mr Vazquez was aware ACMA had received complaints about calls promoting V Marketing’s client Balaska, and that Balaska had already received compliance notices from ACMA.
In fact, Balaska forwarded five of the notices to Mr Vazquez, one of the main factors in Justice Logan letting them off without penalty, as he determined that action was a reasonable response to the notices.
All told, V Marketing made 1,102,318 calls to numbers listed on the register over a period from March 2017 to September 2018.
Mr Vazquez was fined $60,000 and ordered to pay $10,000 towards ACMA’s legal costs.
He was further ordered that for a period of five years from the judgment date, he would be required to give ACMA 14 days’ notice if he “proposes to engage in any business activity involving making or causing to be made an unsolicited telephone voice call that directly or indirectly advertises, promotes or offers the supply of goods or services”.
V Marketing was fined $1.5m.
As the company is in liquidation, it is not immediately clear whether such a sum would in fact be paid to the Commonwealth.
Her dad and stepmum perished before her eyes – now she’s suing
The daughter of a man who died in the Sea World Helicopters collision with her new wife has told of her anguish in a court claim for damages.
Decorated soldier turned podcaster and security expert in Border Force blunder
A former soldier turned podcaster lied on his Border Force job application, then once employed caused unauthorised access to restricted material. Read what happened here.