StepChange Debt Charity response to record nuisance calls fine

30 September, 2015

In response to today’s record nuisance calls fine imposed by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Peter Tutton, Head of Policy at StepChange Debt Charity said:

“For many people nuisance calls can be dismissed as an everyday nuisance, but for others these types of unsolicited marketing calls can cause serious stress and anxiety. Today’s action is to be welcomed and should serve as a warning to firms that this kind of practice cannot continue.

“However, the UK still lags behind many other countries in how it deals with this problem and there are a number of reforms that could help combat this ongoing issue. The Telephone Preference Service’s current ‘opt-out’ [of marketing calls] system is the lowest permitted by the European Union; firms continue to sell high-risk financial products via unsolicited marketing calls and texts; and the resources available to regulators are insufficient compared to the scale of the problem”.