Which? response to Government’s proposed action on nuisance calls
In response to today’s Government announcement on plans to clamp down on nuisance calls and texts, Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd said:
“Action to make it easier for regulators to punish companies who break the rules cannot come soon enough for the nearly nine in 10 of us who receive nuisance calls and texts.
“More than 81,000 people have already joined our campaign to help end this menace. We also want to see the Government go further, faster by strengthening the law on consent and the use of personal data.”
Consumers can pledge their support for our campaign Calling Time on nuisance calls and texts at: www.which.co.uk/callingtime
Notes to Editors
1. The Which? new online complaints tool will direct consumers to the relevant regulator’s complaint form in a matter of seconds, making it easier to register their frustration with nuisance calls and texts.
2. The Government should go further 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.
- An obligation on businesses to be able to prove to the Information Commissioner (ICO) that a person gave consent to being contacted.
- The rules to be extended to include firms selling on personal data, not just those that conduct direct marketing
3. Previous Which? research found more than eight in ten (85%) people received an unsolicited call in one month, of these a staggering one in 10 (8%) people received 50 unwanted calls or more. Six in 10 (62%) people received calls about Payment Protection Insurance and half (48%) from accident claim companies.
4. Populus, on behalf of Which?, interviewed a representative sample of 2,070 UK adults between 19th and 21st April 2013, of these 1,827 had a landline. 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.
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