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Have you been contacted by Accent?

Accent conducts hundreds of thousands of bona fide market research interviews each year, for a variety of clients (ranging from central and local government agencies or bodies, to charities or healthcare organisations, to utility providers), over the phone, online, and face-to-face; so it’s quite possible we have tried to make contact with you.

Accent is a UK based Market Research organisation registered with the Market Research Society (MRS), and always abides by the MRS Code of Conduct. If you would like to confirm Accent’s credentials please call the MRS free on 0800 975 9596.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Was it definitely Accent?

All of our market research calls originate from either our main (outbound only) Edinburgh phone number 0131 220 8778, or very occasionally our backup number (0131 220 8776). If you wish to check whether a call or email you have received is definitely from us, please contact dataprotection@accent-mr.com and we will verify as soon as possible.

Why me? Where did you get my number?

The specifics of each project are always different – sometimes people are selected because of where they live, sometimes because they are customers of our client, sometimes simply because we need to collate a representative set of opinions and the best way to do that is to approach everyone.

Depending on the project, your details may have come from our client (in the form of a customer database), it may have been purchased from organisations holding so-called ‘opt-in lists’ (perhaps you filled in a questionnaire or ticked a box saying you were happy to be contacted), or your number may simply have been randomly generated in an attempt to interview as wide a range of people as possible.

Accent abides by the Data Protection Act 2018 and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (registration number Z7108225) and always processes personal data in line with its requirements. We always insist and check that our clients do too. In order to address specific queries about what data we hold on you and where we got it from, please email our Data Protection Officer (dataprotection@accent-mr.com) giving details of how we contacted you and when (and if possible what it was related to) and we will be happy to inform you.

I’m on the TPS (Telephone Preference System) and Ex-Directory – why did you still call me?

Being on the TPS means that you have expressed a preference not to be approached for the purposes of direct marketing. Since there is never any sales element to any work we do and we only ever undertake market research, our activities are not covered by the TPS (as confirmed on the TPS website). Some TPS members tell us that we should assume that their preference extends beyond marketing to all unsolicited calls, but far more tell us (once we have explained who we are working on behalf of and why) that they are happy to have been given an opportunity to voice their views on what are often very important issues. So we make the deliberate decision not to screen against the TPS in most cases.

Being ex-directory simply means you’ve chosen not to list your phone number in the public phone book. We respect that, but again we cannot assume that this means you don’t want to take part in a consultation on a matter that may be close to your heart.

I don’t want to take part

No problem. Accent naturally respects people’s right to privacy and does not wish to unduly disturb people who wish to be left alone. Just drop us an email (dataprotection@accent-mr.com) detailing your phone number or email address (depending on how we contacted you) and we will add you to our “Do not recontact” list. In order for us to hold your details on this list we need your permission to do that- receipt of your email will be taken as that permission being given. But feel free to talk to us to find out why you have been approached before making this decision. You may find it was related to an issue you feel very strongly about!

Question not answered here

If your question(s) have not been answered here, please feel free to contact us via email (dataprotection@accent-mr.com) or phone (020 8742 2211)

© Accent 2021.