The Telephone Preference Service is a failure and needs to be replaced or given stronger powers. In a hard-hitting report published today the consumer group Which? says the TPS is failing to cut off nuisance calls and texts leaving 57 per cent of those who register with the service unhappy. It has demanded that the Government steps in to strengthen the law on consent and the use of personal data, to give regulators more powers to enforce the law, and to work with industry to provide technical fixes to filter out unwanted calls and texts. Which? research shows that 85 … Continue reading →

The electoral roll is a register of people in the UK who have registered to vote. However, not many people know that there are two versions of the electoral roll. The second version is known as the edited electoral roll. So what’s the difference? FULL Electoral Roll The electoral roll holds the details of every individual in the UK who has registered to vote and is held by the council that you registered under. Credit Reference Agencies are allowed access to the FULL electoral roll but have to purchase this and are only allowed to use the full version as set out … Continue reading →

DM Design, a company based in Scotland who specialise in kitchens and bathrooms, were recently fined £90,000 by the Information Comissioners Office (ICO). The company operated cold calling and spam emails against the wishes of those registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), whilst ignoring communication from the ICO. The ICO received over 2,000 complaints from UK citizens who received unsolicited marketing from the company. It is evident were aware of their unsolicited actions. In one instance, an employee refused to remove a complainant’s details from the company’s system and threatened to “continue to call at more inconvenient times like Sunday lunchtime”. The … Continue reading →

Seven in 10 people receive unwanted phone calls Which? is campaigning for tighter restraints on ‘nuisance’ calls and texts after a study shows seven in 10 UK adults received unsolicited marketing calls within the last three months.  The Which? survey of 1,000 people also found that 40% of UK adults have received unwanted texts. Companies selling financial products and services (such as PPI claims or insurance) were responsible for more than half (53%) of cold calls to land lines, and a third (33%) came from accident claims companies. Joint task force Which? is calling for regulators to set up a taskforce to … Continue reading →

Unwanted phone calls – or cold calls – are one of the UK’s most-hated marketing tactics. Don’t put up with them – use Which? top tips to keep unwanted phone calls to a minimum. 1 Register for free with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) UK-based companies must not make unsolicited sales and marketing calls to TPS-registered phone numbers, even if the call centre is overseas. To register with the TPS, call 0845 070 0707 or go to the TPS website. Which? research has found that signing up to the TPS cuts cold calls by around a third. However the TPS … Continue reading →