How to stop nuisance calls and text messages
Bosses of firms that make nuisance calls can now be fined £500,000 in a government crackdown on cold-calling
BOSSES at rogue firms who bombard the public with hundreds of nuisance calls could be fined up to half a million pounds in a government crackdown.
Ministers will beef up the law to hold company directors personally responsible for unlawful sales badgering.
They plan to close a loophole that allows company directors to dodge payment by claiming bankruptcy for firms that are fined.
The government is hoping the crackdown will spell the end of rogue firms who plague vulnerable old people with up to 60 calls a month.
It comes after hefty penalties introduced last year to curb cold calling failed to stop the problem.
Only four out of 22 fines imposed were paid as some bosses closed down the business to open new ones as a way of dodging a fine.
But from next year, directors can be fined up to £500,000 if their firm makes persistent calls - on top of that already imposed on the company.
More than 114,000 nuisance calls and texts were reported to the Information Commissioner this year – but the total number made runs into tens of millions.
How you can block nuisance calls
1. Register your phone with the Telephone Preference Service, which adds your number to a list that don't want to receive sales and marketing calls
2. Buy a call-blocking product from your phone provider or install one yourself
3. To stop nuisance texts, forward it to 7726 - this spells ‘SPAM’ on your phone keypad. This will report the sender to your mobile network company
4. Always make sure you report the calls to the Telephone Preference Service or the Information Commissioners' Office so the company can hopefully be fined
Four in every ten calls answered on a typical landline is from a cold caller, according to a recent poll of 4,000 subscribers.
Customers receive an average of 26 unwanted calls a month selling everything from insurance and home improvements to legal services.
One in five older, vulnerable people take 60 calls a month.
Tragic poppy seller Olive Cooke, 92, threw herself into the Avon Gorge after her details were sold by more than 20 database companies.
The pensioner was hounded by phone calls and begging letters seeking charity donations.
Watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office have already issued eight fines this year totalling £740,000.
In March, cold-calling company Prodial was slapped with a record £350,000 fine after making 46 million nuisance calls to families.
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More than 1,000 people complained that Prodial plagued them with automated messages about payment protection insurance claims.
One doctor feared the calls might prevent him from answering emergencies while another victim said they felt “helpless” to stop the intrusion.
The company, based in Brighton, used PPI messages to collect personal data to sell to claims management firms.
Last month,
They were fined £200,000 making "people’s lives a misery”.
In 2014, star of TV show The Call Centre "Big Nev" Wilshire was fined £225,000 for making nuisance calls.
Unwanted calls by his staff racked up 2,700 complaints between May 2011 and December 2012.
And in December 2014, the company behind Manchester's Parklife festival was fined £70,000 after sending text messages claiming to be from revellers' mums.
Although the new plans won't come into effect until next year, there are ways you can protect yourself from nuisance callers.
According to the , the best way to stop getting nuisance calls is to register your phone number with the .
You'll be added to a list of numbers that don't want to receive sales and marketing calls and it is illegal for companies to call numbers on that list.
There are also products available that block nuisance calls. Ask your phone provider if they have a service to block some numbers, or you can install a call blocking device on your phone yourself.
To stop nuisance texts, forward it to 7726 - this spells ‘SPAM’ on your phone keypad. This will report the sender to your mobile network company.
Report nuisance calls to the Telephone Preference Service or the Information Commissioners' Office.
You can also report unwanted phonecalls using a tool on consumer guide
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