Ministers to crack down on nuisance phone calls by firms and charities

Ministers will announce a crackdown on nuisance phone calls by firms and charities this week, with some rogue companies set to face fines worth many hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Maria Miller, the culture secretary, wants to lower the threshold for taking action against companies, which are currently liable only if it can be proved that their calling has caused "substantial damage or distress".

The government, on the advice of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the regulator responsible for unsolicited marketing calls, wants action to be taken where "nuisance, annoyance, inconvenience, anxiety" are caused – even if a person receives just one call, but others report receiving similar calls.

Miller said: "Nuisance calls must stop. At best they are an irritation and an unwanted intrusion; at worst they cause real distress and fear, particularly to the elderly or housebound. People need to feel safe and secure in their homes. The rules are clear – people have the right to choose not to receive unsolicited marketing calls. We will work to ensure their choice is respected."

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/mar/29/nuisance-phone-calls-ministers-crackdown?guni=Keyword:news-grid%20main-1%20Main%20trailblock:Editable%20trailblock%20-%20news osition8

The problem of course is that these days most come in from abroad.