New action on nuisance calls

Citizens Advice Scotland has welcomed a new regulation which makes company directors personally liable if their company breaks the law on nuisance calls.

CAS ran a campaign last year on this issue after research found that Scotland gets more nuisance calls than any other part of the UK, with the big cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen) most affected.

The same study found that:

• 9 in 10 Scots had received a nuisance call to their landline,  
• three quarters were discouraged from answering their phone as a result.
• 4 in 10 felt intimidated by the calls.

Welcoming today’s announcement, CAS Chief Executive Derek Mitchell says,

“Nuisance calls cause inconvenience and distress, and people should not have to put up with them, yet we know that Scots get more of these calls than other parts of the UK.  

“We have campaigned to raise awareness of this issue and have called for action to protect consumers, so we are pleased to see this new measure. Consumers deserve protection against nuisance calls and it is right that those who are responsible for such calls have no place to hide.

“We would also remind people that there are ways to stop unwanted calls, The simplest way is to register with the Telephone Preference Service. It’s free and only takes a few moments. You can do it online, or call them on 0345 070 0707. You can also report nuisance calls to which.co.uk/report-calls.”