Today, we took the nuisance calls campaign to the Scottish Parliament. We talked to MSPs about the problem, shared your concerns, and outlined some of our solutions.
This morning, we released results from our survey that clearly showed that a considerable number of you want government action on nuisance calls.
A whopping 85% of those surveyed last November want action by the Scottish Government, and a similar level (87%) also want action at UK level.
With a clear mandate for action, today was a good day to reiterate our call on the Scottish Government to take this opportunity to set the trend and outline plans to tackle nuisance calls.
A heated debate
The Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) told us about their packed mailbags full up with frustration about nuisance calls, their concern that the problem seemed to be growing, and their annoyance with the slow rate of progress.
Many MSPs also recounted stories of how their own Parliamentary and constituency phone lines get clogged up with automated nuisance calls.
- Graeme Day MSP,
photo by Colin Hattersley
The host of today’s event, Graeme Dey MSP, from Angus South, told us:
‘My support for this campaign stems both from personal experience of the menace that is nuisance calls and the impact these have on constituents. In my opinion the situation is getting worse rather than better.
‘Some of the perpetrators of these calls are becoming increasingly aggressive in their approach. Something has to be done. That will require cross governmental co-operation between Scotland and the UK and indeed involving the wider EU.’
Time for action
While you told us that it’s time for government action, our research also showed some interesting findings towards businesses who break the rules. Nine in ten people want to see the director of a company held personally accountable and fined if the company makes calls without the necessary permission.
Scottish energy company SSE have already publicly committed to tackling nuisance calls, but we need more businesses to step forward. The Scottish Government already has a Scottish Business Pledge, bringing together businesses that practice good conduct, so why not similar for nuisance calls?
To date the Scottish Government hasn’t formally responded to our campaign or pledged publicly to tackle the problem, but have assured us that they’re looking into whether there is a role for the Scottish Government in addressing this growing problem. We can only hope that this pursuit has a sense of immediacy to it, if you agree that more needs to be done then sign our petition today.
So what are your thoughts on nuisance calls – is it time for action from government, businesses, or both? Are you one of the 85% who think government can do more to fix this problem?
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