Nuisance Calls A 'Modern-Day Menace' - Report

Company bosses should be held accountable for nuisance calls made to customers, according to a Government task force.

The expert panel said more than a billion unwanted calls are estimated to be made every year and are causing considerable distress to some people.

Complaints to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) reached 18,594 for live calls and 22,072 for automated messages between April and June.

Most related to accident claims, payday loans and debt management.

Businesses must prioritise the issue at board level and ministers should review the ICO's powers to hold executives to account if their firm breaks the rules, updating the law if needed, said the Nuisance Calls Task Force.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd, who headed the panel, said: "(Consumers) are often confused or misled by requests for consent to being contacted, so today we set out recommendations to introduce tougher rules and more action from businesses, the regulators and the Government.

"Only through concerted and co-ordinated action will we put people back in control of their data and help bring this modern day menace to an end."

High numbers of calls and text messages are still being sent in breach of the existing legislation, according to the report.

It said consumers often do not realise they have given permission to receive messages and called for them to be able to easily withdraw consent.

Companies should ensure any sales leads they buy have been fairly and legally obtained and records of what consent has been obtained, as well as how and when, must be kept.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey said: "For too long nuisance calls have plagued consumers, often at very inconvenient times of the day and in some cases leaving vulnerable people like the elderly too scared to answer the phone.

"That's why we're determined to tackle this scourge through the first ever nuisance calls action plan.

"We've already made progress including making it easier for Ofcom to share information with the ICO about companies breaking the rules, and we're currently looking at lowering or removing the legal threshold before firms could be hit with fines of up to £500,000."

Justice minister Simon Hughes said: "We have already increased the level of fines available to punish rogue companies.

"We now want to make it easier for the Information Commissioner to take action against these companies which break the law.

"Those responsible should be held to account, and we will review how they are made to answer for any wrongdoing."

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