Cold calls are on the rise – The amount of time Brits spend taking nuisance calls has risen more than 20 per cent, but older people are being targeted more, according to new research
Nuisance calls are on the rise, with almost 40 per cent of all phone calls coming from firms advertising services, new research has revealed.
Intrusive phone calls have risen by more than 22 per cent in the last three years, according to a study from consumer affairs organisation Which? and call-blocking firm TrueCall.
One in 10 TrueCall customers who took part in the research received more than 60 cold calls in three months.
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While the average customer is plagued by 26 cold callers a month, the study found that older customers were found to be targeted by firms more than those considered less vulnerable.
A quarter of people received between 11 and 20 nuisance calls a month, but older customers were bothered far more – taking almost 50 per cent more cold calls in the same period.
Meanwhile, Londoners have managed to avoid the worst of it. Those living in the capital receive lowest number of calls from marketers, with cold calls making up 34 per cent of city-dwellers' phone time.
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Alex Neill at Which? said: "Millions of people are still being bombarded with nuisance calls and consumers are sick and tired of this daily intrusion. While there have been steps in the right direction, this research highlights that more must be done to tackle this menace."
"With the government bringing forward legislation in the Queen’s Speech to tackle nuisance calls, they should introduce tougher penalties that hold senior executives personally accountable when their company makes unlawful calls and make sure the new rules give people more control of their data."