Home phone News

Ofcom winning the war against nuisance calls

Tuesday 6 December, 2011

By Anthony Hill

Watchdog clamps down on silent calls from rule-breaking firms.

Fewer home phone customers are being bothered by silent and abandoned calls.

According to the Consumer Experience Report, published today by communications watchdog Ofcom, nuisance calls have decreased as a result of action it is taking against companies which make them.

An abandoned call is one that is terminated when you pick up the phone, while a silent call is simply that - no sound on the line whatsoever. Most of them come from the automated dialling systems used in call centres.

Nearly one in four landline customers have had an abandoned call so far this year, though in 2009 the figure was much higher, at 35% or more than one in three.

The proportion of people experiencing silent calls has fallen too, from 30% two years ago to just 24% in 2011. These improvements follow Ofcom’s enforcement action to target companies which fail to comply with its rules.

Claudio Pollack, consumer group director at Ofcom, said: “We are pleased that companies are getting the message that silent calls are unacceptable and we will take action against those that flout the rules. We put the consumer at the heart of everything we do, and we are committed to ensuring that competition in the communications sector delivers benefits for consumers.”

The watchdog has also been working with UK landline providers to reduce the charges they make customers pay for leaving their contract early. In some cases, the early termination charge was reduced by as much as 85%.

Ofcom’s research has also shown that, while bundling communications services - taking phone, TV and broadband from one company - provides good value for consumers, switching from one supplier to another can prove difficult.

However, it recently banned rollover home phone contracts, which automatically renew from one minimum term to another, giving more landline customers the freedom to switch with ease.

Photo by wmrice