Ofcom asks consumers to report nuisance calls
26 May 2014
The UK telecom regulator Ofcom has asked consumers to report nuisance calls to the Information Commissioner's Office after asking the calling party their identity, The Guardian newspaper reported.
The regulator had come out with a series of leaflets and videos to help householders, after its research showed that the number of unwanted calls received over the past year had not reduced.
A survey of consumers over a four-week period had showed that although the number of calls about PPI claims had reduced, the increase in cold calls about other matters had offset the decrease.
Of almost 1,000 people who maintained records of daily nuisance calls over the period, one in 10 received almost 20; while the number of calls received by households daily averaged nine.
In 2013, calls relating to PPI constituted a fifth of the total, but that was down at 13 per cent this year. Over the same period, however, calls about home and loft insulation, solar panels and other home improvements all increased.
According to the regulator certain nuisance callers were using "number spoofing" to hide their identity.
Number spoofing allows display of false number on the recipient's phone, or uses the number - without consent - of a legitimate business.
According to Claudio Pollack, of Ofcom, a new system of tracing calls was being put into place across the industry but the regulator said a lot more needed to be done.
Unsolicited calls are mostly annoying to recipients as these tend to interrupt work or meals.
According to research PPI calls were starting to be replaced with calls about other "offers" as claims for compensation for the mis-sold loan insurance started to taper off.
The year saw, 8 per cent of nuisance calls related to loft insulation as against 2 per cent in 2013, while calls for solar panels increased from 2 per cent to 6 per cent, and other home improvements made up 7 per cent of calls, up from 3 per cent.
According to Ernest Doku, telecoms spokesman at price comparison site Uswitch.com, unwanted calls were a modern day scourge that clearly showed sign of abating, BBC reported.
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