The number of scam and nuisance callers to phone home lines continues to be a considerable problem to people across Scotland. In June of this year over 1100 complaints were made about nuisance calls in Scotland. It is especially worrying for the most vulnerable in society.
Funding of £75,000 has been added to the £50,000 already ear marked by the Scottish Government to tackle what is a serious problem for vulnerable people.
Paul Wheelhouse,Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy in the Scottish Government said:
“This additional funding will ensure that over 1,200 of Scotland’s most vulnerable citizens are now protected from the threat of scam callers. Trading Standards Scotland will distribute the new call blockers and will work closely with local authorities and third sector organisations so that the units go where they are needed most.”
“The power to legislate in this area is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government shares the frustration of those affected that there has been a lack of legislative progress to date, but we will continue to press UK Ministers to do more to stop nuisance calls, including exploring a model which automatically opts people out of unwanted calls and greater powers to prosecute those companies who are found to be responsible.
The Nuisance Calls Commission was established in November 2016. Its remit was to explore practical solutions to reduce the impact and volume of nuisance calls. The outcome of the collaborative work has resulted in the Scottish Government’s Nuisance Call Action Plan .
How will the call blocking units be distributed?
Trading Standards Scotland will distribute the call blocking units, building on good practice already developed with social work, healthcare and charitable agencies so help goes where it’s most needed.
Information from Citizens Advice on How to Stop Nuisance Calls
The best way to stop nuisance calls is to register your number with the Telephone Preference Service – they’ll add you to their list of numbers that don’t want to receive sales and marketing calls. You can also call them to register on 0345 070 0707.
It’s illegal for a company to call numbers registered with the Telephone Preference Service, so registering should scare companies away and stop them bothering you.
It’s a free service and it’s easy to register. You’ll need your phone number, postcode and an email address to sign up on the Telephone Preference Service website. You can also sign up from your mobile by texting ‘TPS’ and your email address to 85095.
If you get nuisance calls after you’ve registered with the Telephone Preference Service, it may be because you gave the caller your number. Tell the individual caller you don’t want to be contacted again, and they should stop calling you.
Additional information
Scottish cities top the table for nuisance calls via Which
Categories: Uncategorized
Helpful hints for dealing with those calls –
We’ve been with the TPS for years, and it made a huge difference to how many calls we receive. Unfortunately, calls from outside Britain, aren’t included, so, some of them still get through – quite a few, still get through.
I realise it could be said that not everyone can afford to get an answer-phone – but well, I argue that, if you can afford a phone, you can afford an answer phone. and it is worth it. So, we have an answer-phone, which is permanently on. The machine picks up the calls, and we reply to those that we want to talk to. A lot of the nuisance callers don’t bother, when they get an answer-phone – they just leave it. Some of our family and friends kicked up about this, when we first did it – but – well, it was our life that was being disturbed by these calls, it was for us to deal with it as we saw best. They got used to it. And, seriously, you can guarantee that if we turn the phone ringer back on – if we are expecting a call that matters – a nuisance call, or more than one, will happen. This particularly gets to me when, for example, we might we waiting for news about someone who is ill, and….we get someone going on about PPI or pretending to be from Microsoft Support Services. That’s when I do let rip at them, asking have they no conscience?
If you do pick up a nuisance call, just tell them to go away – and then put the phone down! It’s best to not get involved at all.
Anyone who appears to be trying to sell you something – just put the phone down. An elderly friend of ours – a Yorkshireman, told me with great relish that “I just tell them to f*** off, and I don’t care if it is a girl!” For him – that really meant something! I don’t advocate this approach – just saying “Go away” and putting the phone down is enough. Admittedly, if I’m in a certain mood, I’ll ask why they don’t go and get a proper job instead of annoying people? and how do they like it when they get these calls, at their own home?
Sometimes they try to lure you by asking if you’ll take part in a survey and it soon becomes apparent that they will, ultimately, try to sell you something. For example, sometimes the ‘survey’ is allegedly about water quality, which then turns into trying to sell you a water-filter system If it looks like it’s going that way – ask “Are you trying to sell me something? Then listen to them try to wriggle out of it and round it, then tell them to go away- and put the phone down!
The main thing is – never, ever, give anyone your details over the phone – they’ll pretend to be from your bank, or from BT or from the ‘lecci company – if they are from any of those kind of organizations – they’ll have your details already! Tell them that and put the phone down.
Basically, unless it’s someone you know you want to talk to – put the phone down, with or without telling them a thing or two about what you think of what they’re doing, first!
‘Prevention is better than cure’ though, and the TPS, combined with an answer-phone, has worked very well for us, for years.
Here endeth my epistle for today!