About time: Ministers finally crack down on nuisance calls

According to an article posted on The Guardian’s website on the 29th March, British ministers announced that there would be strict regulations and fines imposed on cold calls used by firms and charities. Many companies will suffer large fines as the culture secretary, Maria Miller, insisted that the threshold be lowered against companies using telesales marketing techniques and unsolicited calls.

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ICO and Ofcom join forces

Previously, the government was only allowed to take action against telemarketing tactics if the homeowner could prove that the unsolicited calls had resulted in “substantial damage and distress.” It is difficult to prove the annoyance and frustration caused by nuisance calls. The Information Commissioner’s Office, or ICO, the body in charge of regulating unsolicited telemarketing and telesales calls, received 120,310 complaints from April to November of 2013. Ofcom, a similar regulatory body received 2,507 complaints regarding silent and abandoned calls for the month of January. Ofcom and ICO have released a “Letter of Understanding,” so as to join forces and co-operate between the two regulatory bodies for tackling the ongoing issue of nuisance calls.

Miller states that nuisance calls must stop. She describes them at best as an irritation, annoyance and unwanted invasion of privacy. At worst, they can result in distress and damaging fear. She paints a picture of the elderly or housebound feeling unsafe in their own home thanks to upsetting unsolicited calls or eerie abandoned or silent calls. Miller also noted that it is a simple case that citizens have the right to chose to live in peace in their own homes, free of unwanted telemarketing and telesales calls. Homeowner Anita White told the BBC recently that nuisance calls had transformed her phone into “an item of torture.” Mrs White was plagued a minimum of five nuisance calls per week. Even unplugging her phone didn’t solve this ongoing issue as when her phone was briefly plugged in, she would still receive a barrage of calls.

How you can manage nuisance calls?

Ofcom lists the various types of unsolicited communication and how to deal with them on their website. Ofcom’s website also lists all the contact details for how to report nuisance calls. Citizens are urged to do so, as collecting and correlating this information will help the government in cracking down on cold calling companies. Even if you have only been disturbed once by a company, log your complaint. The same company may have made numerous calls to other homeowners. Ofcom also suggests checking “Opt-out” boxes on surveys and online product purchasing, as this will stop the company bombarding you with telemarketing calls or selling your information to third parties. Call blocking devices that intercept between you and the cold caller, such as http://www.callblocker.co.uk, are also strongly recommended.

Unfortunately, companies that employ overseas telemarketing and telesales agencies are not held to the same strict regulations yet, therefore homeowners are still harassed by nuisance calls even if they have done their best to ensure they won’t receive calls. However, with the government’s crackdown, homeowners can look forward to fewer and fewer calls in the near future.

Image attributed to: FreeDigitalPhotos.net /Stuart Miles