A power dialler takes away the time between two calls: finding the next number, dialling, recording the outcome. It does that well. It also dials the numbers it should not dial at all – faster.
So before the question “how fast” comes another one: who is actually on the list?
What the law requires
The German Act against Unfair Competition distinguishes two cases. Telephone advertising is not permitted to a consumer without their prior express consent, nor to any other market participant without at least their presumed consent (Section 7(2) No. 1 UWG).
- Document consent: when it is given, in an appropriate form, kept for five years – from when it was given and after every use (Section 7a UWG).
- Fine: up to EUR 300,000 for advertising calls to consumers without consent (Section 20 UWG); the Federal Network Agency is responsible.
- Harassment: any commercial practice that harasses in an unreasonable way is not permitted (Section 7(1) UWG). The law does not say how many repeated calls that takes.
What a list contains before anyone looks
Before we built the call lists, we looked at what a real CRM holds: an Odoo instance of a single company, counted without reading a single phone number.
The numbers on these leads looked valid. The format of a phone number does not separate spam. Whoever loads “all leads with a phone number” into a dialler sends a person to made-up contacts – and every one of those calls carries the company’s own name.
One filter changed the picture. Only the opportunities – leads someone had looked at and kept – returned 33 matches on the same day. Not one of them was spam.
A number without a leading 0 and without “+” can still be found in a record, but not called. That is exactly what a number looks like after it has been through Excel: Excel treats a string of digits as a number, drops the leading 0 and exports long numbers as “4.9E+12”.
Four barriers before the dialler dials
These numbers turned into four barriers in Haus iT Caller ID. They apply to the automation just as they apply to the “Call” button – a barrier that only binds the machine would carry the same sender for the person next to it.
1. The list is created with a preview
A call list comes from the CRM or from a table – as an Excel file, as CSV or pasted straight from Excel. It is only created once the count for exactly this filter was on screen. Anyone who changes something after the preview sees the new count first.
Blocked, duplicate and undiallable numbers stay out and are named: “12 without a dialling code, 3 duplicates” instead of a list that is silently shorter than expected.
2. The block list applies as soon as someone says so
Anyone who objects during a call is blocked with one click on “Do not call again” – the moment it is said, not in the portal that evening. Numbers are compared normalised: the same number written four ways is one blocked number, not three permitted ones.
3. Calling hours
The UWG names no time of day. The default is therefore narrow: weekdays 8 am to 8 pm, Saturdays 9 am to 4 pm, not at all on Sundays – adjustable per company. Outside those hours the automation stops and says when it can continue.
4. The attempt limit counts for the whole company
Default: 2 attempts a day, 120 minutes apart, 6 in 30 days per number. It counts across all staff: if two people get the same list, not each of them calls “for the first time”. The figures are a cautious choice, not a legal limit – and a zero switches a barrier off explicitly.
Large contact centre platforms know the same barrier. Genesys calls it “Attempt Control”: maximum attempts per number, per record and per day, plus a minimum interval before the next dial.
What the dialler does not know
Whether consent exists. Only the company knows that. Haus iT Caller ID enforces what it is told – objections, hours, limits – and only creates what was visible as a count beforehand. Consent and its proof under Section 7a UWG remain with the company.
Sources
- Section 7 UWG – Unreasonable harassment: gesetze-im-internet.de/uwg_2004/__7.html
- Section 7a UWG – Consent to telephone advertising: gesetze-im-internet.de/uwg_2004/__7a.html
- Section 20 UWG – Provisions on fines: gesetze-im-internet.de/uwg_2004/__20.html
- Genesys, Interaction Dialer Manager Help, “Attempt Control”: help.genesys.com
Frequently asked questions
Who may a power dialler call in Germany?
The same people as any other caller. Telephone advertising to a consumer requires their prior express consent; to a business, at least presumed consent (Section 7(2) No. 1 of the German Act against Unfair Competition, UWG). A dialler changes nothing about that – it only dials faster.
Do I have to keep the consent?
Yes. Under Section 7a UWG, consent to telephone advertising must be documented in an appropriate form when it is given and kept for five years – from when it was given and after every use. The authority may request the proof.
What does a violation cost?
Advertising to a consumer by telephone without prior express consent is an administrative offence. The fine can be up to EUR 300,000 (Section 20 UWG); the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) is responsible.
How often may I call the same number?
The law gives no number. Section 7(1) UWG prohibits unreasonable harassment, and repeated calls are the obvious way to get there. Haus iT Caller ID therefore sets a limit per company, by default 2 attempts a day, 120 minutes apart and 6 in 30 days – counted across all staff. That is a cautious choice, not legal advice.
Can I work through an Excel list?
Yes – as a file, as CSV or pasted straight from Excel. But Excel often drops the leading 0 of a phone number or writes long numbers as “4.9E+12”. Such numbers are counted and named when the list is created instead of silently ending up in it.