I’m a phone expert – 5 ways to stop nuisance calls now and it could save you thousands of pounds

CALLS out of the blue are not only a nuisance, but could cost you – and in some cases thousands of pounds.

Collectively over 100,000 have been duped into spending a whopping £1.8million since March 2022.

Nuisance marketing calls come from companies you don’t know and you haven’t given permission to contact you.

They persuade you to buy a product or service that you don’t need.

One tactic involves firms pushing households to take out insurance products on items that don’t need to be covered – leaving people out of pocket.

Another ploy includes getting drawn into taking lifestyle surveys over the phone.

While it may sound harmless, more personal data is being shared with other nuisance callers.

Most people think they’ll never fall for these, but there are several quick things you can do now to stop nuisance marketing calls and avoid the risk altogether.

We spoke to Andy Curry, head of investigations at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which is responsible for cracking down on firms that make these calls, including issuing fines.

From registering with a special database to investing in a phone blocker – there are a number of ways to prevent and reduce the amount of nuisance calls you receive.

1. Register with the Telephone Preference Sevice

Households can register their landline or mobile phone number with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to help ensure that they don’t receive nuisance marketing calls.

The service is free to use and if your number is on the list it is a legal requirement that organisations do not call you unless you give them permission.

Andy said: “While it’s not a preventative measure and it doesn’t prevent you from getting calls, it helps the ICO locate firms who are breaking the law.

“If you’re a TPS customer and you receive a marketing call – it is a breach of the law.

When customers flag callers for breaking these rules the ICO can take action and issue fines and penalties.”

To register you’ll need to visit the TPS website and make sure you have your phone number, postcode and email address.

If you can’t use the online form, you can register with the TPS by calling 0345 070 0707.

You can also register from your mobile by texting ‘TPS’ and your email address to 85095.

2. Get a free call blocker

Customers worried about nuisance calls can ring their telecom providers which will often provide useful advice as well as products to block certain calls.

Andy said: “While there’s no specific duty or law for telecoms firms to automatically provide customers with free call blockers – they are an extremely effective way to help avoid nuisance calls.”

For example, BT offers customers a free product called ‘Call Protect’ which automatically diverts calls that the telecom network believes are a nuisance.

The calls are sent directly to the customer’s ‘junk inbox’ allowing the customer to decide if they wish to permanently block certain callers.

Sky, Talk Talk and Virgin Media also offer similar call blocking services.

Customers can also buy landline handsets with built-in call blockers.

Andy said: “These allow customers to input numbers into a white list which includes family members and friends.

“Any numbers calling outside of this white list will then automatically get blocked etc.

“Others work by asking the caller to state their name before the call is put through to the receiver.”

The price of these handsets varies but the cheapest we’ve seen is the BT Home Phone with Nuisance Call Blocking and Answer Machine which costs £28 for a single handset on Amazon.

3. Help your elderly relatives

Those who are elderly are statistically more likely to be pushed to act on marketing calls and millions are scammed out of thousands every year according to Equifax.

So it’s vital that elderly relatives ar in the know to avoid being duped into taking out or paying for something they don’t need.

Andy said: “It’s essential that the elderly are aware of the TPS and the key things to never give away on the phone.

“Make sure your family members know not to reveal their bank account details, pin numbers or any other confidential bit of information to nuisance callers.”

4. Limit what you put in online forms

Limiting what you put in online forms when signing up for websites or newsletters is another valuable tip when it comes to avoiding nuisance calls.

Companies often include extra entries in these forms that aren’t compulsory.

But these entries are often there to aid data sharing which could mean your number is added to a marketing database – increasing your chance of receiving nuisance calls.

Andy said: “Always take your time filling out online forms and if there is not an asterisk next to the entry don’t fill it in.

“The less data shared, the less likely you’ll get nuisance calls.”

5. Report and block nuisance calls

Households can report any nuisance calls they continue to receive to the ICO using a handy online tool.

The ICO will use the information you provide to help investigate and take action against those responsible.

Andy said: “Customers can also report nuisance calls via text by sending a message to 7726 on their mobile phone.”

Over 160,000 complaints are received by the ICO each year relating to repetitive and unnecessary marketing calls.

It has issued 19 penalties to firms flooding households with nuisance marketing calls this year.

What should I do if I’ve fallen victim to a scam?

While nuisance calls don’t automatically indicate that you’ve been scammed, if you’ve been asked to share confidential information over the phone including bank details – it’s likely a scam.

If you think you’ve fallen victim to a scam or have shared confidential information with a nuisance caller you should end all further contact with the caller immediately.

If money has been taken from a bank account or credit card call the provider straight away and ask to speak to their fraud department to ensure that any future payment requests are cancelled.

After you’ve ended communication and spoken to your bank or lender report that you’ve been a victim of a scam to Action Fraud.

Report the scam by calling 0300 123 2040 or by filling in a form on the Action Fraud website.

If you live in Scotland, you’ll need to report the scam to Advice Direct Scotland by calling 0808 164 6000 or by visiting its website.