Embargoed until 00.01 Tuesday 23 March 2010
Firms which cause nuisance and distress to consumers through
silent and abandoned calls will face a new maximum fine of £2
million, Kevin Brennan, Minister for Consumer Affairs confirmed today.
The new penalty is an increase on the current limit of £50,000,
and will be introduced to more fully deter organisations that
persistently make silent calls to consumers, following a
widespread Government consultation.
Silent calls are generated by call centres that use automated
calling systems (ACS). In some cases the system dials more numbers
than there are staff available to speak to the person who picks up
the phone, resulting in a silent call.
Kevin Brennan, Minister for Consumer Affairs, said:
"Companies who make nuisance calls by abusing automated
equipment should face the consequences, which is why those who
break the rules will be fined with a hefty penalty of up to £2m.
"Consumers can be assured that the new fines are
definitely more than a slap across the wrist for persistent
offenders. I hope our decision will be a catalyst for better
business practice, increasing customer loyalty and reducing
operational costs for handling complaints."
The new higher penalty will provide the telecoms regulator Ofcom
with a greater ability to deter and punish companies that ignore
the guidelines in this area. In addition, Ofcom will be reviewing
its ACS misuse guidelines to provide clearer advice to operators,
benefiting both business and consumers.
This work follows commitments in the Digital Britain and Consumer
White Papers to increase the maximum penalty for companies causing
unnecessary harm to many consumers across the UK by making
excessive silent calls.
The new penalty will be amended as soon as possible in the
Communications Act 2003 by statutory instrument.
Notes to editors:
Ofcom research into the issue, carried out between October and
December 2009, found that 47% of adults felt ‘very inconvenienced’
by silent calls and 32% were ‘very concerned’. During the same
period, 3,500 consumers contacted BT’s Nuisance Calls Bureau and
in February 2010, over 14,000 callers to the Bureau listened to
recorded advice on silent calls. OFCOM received over 6,500
complaints about silent calls in 2009.
The current framework for regulating silent and abandoned calls
is set out in the Communications Act 2003. The Act provides powers
to Ofcom to take action against those who persistently misuse
networks or services in a way that causes, or is likely to cause,
unnecessary annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety, but which falls
short of a criminal offence.
On 10 September 2008, Ofcom published a revised statement of
policy on the persistent misuse of an electronic communications
network or service, which tightened up the rules concerning the
usage of ACS. The previous penalty of £5,000 was increased to
£50,000 in April 2006. Ofcom has since then successfully pursued 9
cases against companies which were found to have generated
unacceptably high levels of silent and or abandoned calls. It has
issued financial penalties in each case and also has an ongoing
enforcement programme.
The Government consultation was launched on 26 October 2009 The
full document can be found at:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/Consultations/maximum-penalty-for-misuse-of-an-electronic-comms-network?cat=closedawaitingresponse
Apart from silent and abandoned calls other types of persistent
misuse include for example number scanning, misuse of call line
identification facility, misuse for dishonest gain and misuse of
allocated telephone numbers. The proposed penalty increase will
apply equally to all forms of persistent misuse. The majority of
cases are misuse in the form of silent and abandoned calls and
therefore the main purpose of this enforcement activity will be to
minimise the harm caused by silent and abandoned calls.
Plans to increase the penalties for misuse of ACS were set out
in the Digital Britain Report: www.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/building-britains-digital-future
OFCOM’s guidelines on persistent misuse of ACS can be found at:
www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/persistent_misuse/statement/.
Numbers consumers can call
BT’s (Easiserve) line where they speak to an advisor about
silent calls
0800 661441
Ofcom’s complaints line
0300 123 3333.
TPS registration
0845 070 0707
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Joanna Robotham
Phone: 020 7215 5950
Joanna.Robotham@bis.gsi.gov.uk