MSE News: Silent calls targeted in Ofcom crackdown

Silent_Calls_Victim

kevanf1 wrote: »

I didn't think that calls originating overseas were covered?

I quote from the clip viewable here.

"... Ofcom has just been given new powers ..."
"... Ofcom can't look into individual complaints ..."
"... The TPS ... it is a criminal offence if companies then call you ..."
"... it won't stop overseas callers ... and it won't stop autodial callers ..."

Each of these statements is essentially false and misleading.

The description of the cause of Silent Calls was hopelessly confused as it combined two totally separate causes as if they were necessarily related and totally omitted what many see as the most common cause. A wholly spurious reference to PhonePay Plus was thrown in.

The contributor also expressed the view that people should not withhold their number if making Silent Calls. He and the presenter agreed that this was a gap in some illusory regulations.

I profoundly disagree with the idea that we should be aiming at a position where one is able to opt out of receiving Silent Calls by opting out from receiving all marketing calls. Properly delivered information about products and services is quite different from nuisance, although if people wish to opt out from ever receiving such information by telephone, then I see no reason why that wish should not be respected. Nobody should be subjected to nuisance. It is absurd to suggest that they should have to explicitly say that they do not wish to be subjected to it and at the same time have to refuse information about products and services.

Silent Calls are a wholly unnecessary nuisance, in any context. There is no good reason why the practice should not simply be stopped, by will, and by use of all appropriate powers of regulation. It is unfortunate that Ofcom and Watchdog, as well as BT and British Gas, seem to disagree with me.