Which? response to Culture, Media and Sport Committee report on nuisance calls
Richard Lloyd, Which? executive director said:
“We’re pleased that MPs are joining our call to cut off nuisance calls which plague the lives of millions of people. We’ve been pushing for regulators to get more powers and to work together better so they can really crack down on firms who break the rules.
“We urge the Government to act on these recommendations and look forward to seeing its forthcoming action plan for tackling nuisance calls and texts.”
Which? research on nuisance calls:
- More than 8 in 10 people (83%) reported that they had received an unsolicited call on their home landline in the past month.
- Eight in ten people (79%) say that cold calls are an annoying interruption to their daily lives.
- One third (33%) say they have felt intimidated by them.
- More than half of people (56%) say they have been discouraged from picking up their landline phone when it rings owing to cold calls.
Notes to Editors:
1. Populus surveyed 2065 UK adults online between 25-26 September 2013. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all UK adults. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules
2. More than 107,000 people are supporting the Which? Calling Time on nuisance calls and texts campaign. Consumers can show their support at www.which.co.uk/callingtime
3. Which? has been campaigning for the Government to make changes to the way consumers’ data is used by introducing:
- An expiry date when a person consents to being contacted by ‘selected third parties.
- A requirement for businesses to demonstrate that they have consent to carry out marketing rather than the ICO having to ‘prove a negative’ by showing the business didn’t have consent.
- The rules to be extended to include firms selling on personal data, not just those that conduct direct marketing
Statement: Calling Time, Consumer, government, Technology, Which?