Greek legislation on marketing SMS, Article 11 of Law 3471/2006 on data protection in electronic communications, does not define sending hours. It defines three conditions: prior explicit consent of the recipient, except for existing customers for similar products, clear sender identity, and an easy and free opt-out option in every message. Sending hours are a matter of good practice. iSend applies quiet hours to automatic cart reminders, and for campaigns it recommends 10:00 to 20:00 on weekdays.
What the law says
Article 11 of Law 3471/2006 regulates "unsolicited communication", that is, any marketing message that arrives without the recipient having asked for it. For SMS, four points apply:
- Consent before sending. Automated sending of messages for commercial promotion, without human intervention, is allowed only if the recipient has given prior explicit consent. SMS is such a message. Consent is given in writing or by electronic means, such as a form on your site or a checkbox at the register, and you must be able to prove it.
- Exception for existing customers. If you obtained a customer's mobile number lawfully, in the course of selling a product or service, you can send them messages about similar products or services of the same business without new consent, provided you gave them the option to object when you collected the details, and you give it to them again in every message, clearly and free of charge.
- Sender identity. A message that hides or disguises who is sending it is prohibited. A Sender ID with the business name and a phone number or link in the text cover the obligation.
- It also applies to businesses. The rules above also apply when the recipient is a legal entity, so they apply to business-to-business communication too.
The Hellenic Data Protection Authority (DPA) specifies consent in Directive 2/2011 on electronic consent, published in the Government Gazette B 889/19.5.2011, and imposes fines on businesses that send without consent. Since 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies in parallel, requiring you to keep a record of when and how each consent was given.
How iSend covers them
| Obligation | What the platform does |
|---|---|
| Consent | Every contact import and every addition through the API asks for the consent source and stores it with date and time in the contact. Contacts without declared consent do not receive campaigns. |
| Existing customers | The source "existing customer" records that you rely on the law's exception. The option to object is present in every message through the STOP line. |
| Opt-out option | Every marketing SMS automatically gets the STOP link. Anyone who opts out goes on the blocklist and does not receive another marketing message. |
| Sender identity | The Sender ID is approved only if it matches your business name. |
| Record | Each contact's profile keeps the consent source, date and time, and the opt-out history. |
Transactional messages, such as an order update, a verification code and an appointment reminder the customer requested, are not marketing communication and do not need consent for advertising. If, however, they contain an offer, they become marketing messages.
What hours to send at
Since the law does not define hours, the choice is yours, and it is judged by how recipients react. A message at the wrong time brings opt-outs and complaints, and those in turn bring reports to the authorities. The rules we follow:
| Message type | Recommended hours |
|---|---|
| Marketing campaign | Weekdays 10:00 to 20:00, Saturday 10:00 to 15:00. Not on Sunday, not on public holidays. |
| Appointment reminder | The day before, 17:00 to 19:00, or the same morning from 08:00. |
| Order update | The moment the status changes. It is information the customer is waiting for. |
| Cart reminder | Outside quiet hours. The WooCommerce plugin applies this automatically. |
| Greetings | 09:00 to 11:00 on the day of the celebration. |
The quiet hours the plugin applies to cart reminders are 15:00 to 17:30 and 23:00 to 07:00 in the summer period, April to September, and 15:30 to 17:30 and 22:00 to 07:30 in the winter period. They come from the general regulation on quiet hours and not from electronic communications legislation, but they are the standard most recipients consider reasonable.
In iSend campaigns you set the time with scheduling.
What is not allowed, at any hour
- Sending to purchased lists or to numbers you collected without consent. The platform does not accept an import without a declared source, and trial requests for such use are not approved.
- A marketing message without an opt-out option. This is why the STOP link cannot be removed.
- A message that does not say who is sending it, or that refers to another business.
- Continuing to send to anyone who asked to opt out. The blocklist prevents this in both campaigns and the API.
Sources
- Article 11 of Law 3471/2006, "Unsolicited communication", text on Lawspot (in Greek).
- Directive 2/2011 of the Hellenic DPA on electronic consent in the context of Article 11, Government Gazette B 889/19.5.2011 (in Greek).
- Decision 11/2019 of the Hellenic DPA, fine for marketing messages without consent (in Greek).
This article is informational and does not constitute legal advice. For your own case, consult a lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send an offer to people who bought from my e-shop without having ticked a checkbox?
The law allows it for similar products of the same business, if at the time of purchase they had the option to object and if every message has a way to opt out. In iSend you declare these contacts with the source "existing customer". If they did not have the option to object at the time of purchase, ask for consent first.
Does an appointment reminder need consent?
It is a transactional message for a service the customer requested, not advertising. It does not need consent for marketing communication, and it does not get a STOP line. If you add an offer to the reminder, it becomes a marketing message.
What happens if I send at the wrong time?
You are not violating Article 11, as long as there is consent, identity and opt-out. But the most common cause of a complaint to the Hellenic DPA is an annoyed recipient, and a message at midnight annoys more than one at noon. Scheduling solves the issue in two clicks.