Nuisance calls and texts: we’re dialling up the pressure

Following on from the launch of our campaign, Calling Time on Nuisance Calls and Texts, we’ve been taking note of the hundreds of comments you’ve left here on Which? Conversation.

It’s our second most popular post Conversation and more than 24,000 of you have voted saying you’re fed up with nuisance calls and texts.

Representing your views on nuisance calls and texts

So at today’s meeting, hosted by Ed Vaizey MP, I spoke on your behalf. Most in the meeting were all too familiar with the problem. As so many of you have made clear, unsolicited calls are more than just a nuisance – they’re also stopping you from from receiving calls about work, your family and even hospital appointments. So many of your comments reflect the seriousness of this problem, such as Caroline’s:

‘I have been off work for two weeks due to [the] fact that my father died and my mother is seriously ill. Every day I receive cold calls regarding PPI despite being ex-directory. This is very distressing. I dive to my phone every time it rings in case it is my mother needing help. I find it disgraceful that these people feel that they have the right to bombard me with calls everyday.’

And Chloe’s:

‘I’ve reached screaming point over automated phone calls. I am self employed and must answer the phone. Often there’s nobody on the line when I’ve run the length of my cottage and hurdled over the cats to pick up.’

Then there’s David’s views on the regulators:

‘The regulatory system does not work. ICO, Ofcom and TPS just play pass the parcel according to the type of call – what sensible person would think that voice, silent, or automated calls should be dealt with in three different ways?’

Two months to go…

You may remember that to launch our campaign, we asked the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Ofcom, the Ministry of Justice and the Office of Fair Trading to set up a joint taskforce within three months to crackdown on nuisance calls and texts.

One month has already passed. Some of the regulators have publicly said that they’re investigating complaints and are serious in taking action against companies that break rules. But we still believe we need a joint taskforce that starts by focusing on targeting PPI and personal injury nuisance calls and texts. According to what you’ve told us, these are the industries you’re most likely to be bothered by, and we think this could be the key to getting action, now.

I urged the regulators to use the powers available to them. For example, the ICO has the power to investigate where nuisance callers get your details from. It’s also very complicated to complain about nuisance calls and texts, so the regulators agreed that they will work with us at Which? to make it easier to complain or register your number to block cold calls.

So, two months to go until our deadline. I’ll keep putting pressure on the regulators and sharing your comments with them. Then it’s over to you. You will be the ones to decide whether you think the regulators’ action has been good enough. In the meantime, keep in touch. Your experiences are key to us hanging up on nuisance calls and texts once and for all.

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