Reduce nuisance calls by adding your mobile number to the TPS database.

8th Jul 2016

Mobile phone users can add their number to the UK’s official ‘do not call’ database by texting ‘TPS’ followed by their email address to 85095.

The ‘text-to-register’ service has been launched by the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Ofcom to make unsolicited sales and marketing calls illegal if a person has registered with the TPS and not given consent to receive further calls.  After this simple sign up process, registrants should notice a gradual reduction in unsolicited sales and marketing voice calls after a few days. It may still take a further 28 days for the service to become fully effective as callers can still legally make a call this time.

Rouge callers ignoring this after 28 days have ended may be liable for a hefty fine following a series of measures recently introduced by the Government aimed at tackling the issue.

A similar service is set up for landline phones that you can register for on the TPS website, but so far of those who are aware of the TPS service realised that mobiles could be added as well as landlines.

Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom Consumer Group Director, said: “Many millions of landline customers already take advantage of the protection the TPS gives against nuisance calls, and we want to ensure it’s as easy as possible for mobile users to do the same.

The following tips, offered by O2 on their website and produced by Ofcom, will further help protect against nuisance calls:

1. Be careful who you give your contact details to, whether it’s online, on the phone, or in person.
2. Look carefully at any marketing ‘opt-in’ and ‘opt-out’ boxes. These boxes are often buried in the small print. If you don’t pay attention to them, you could find yourself inadvertently agreeing to be contacted by companies you don’t recognise.
3. If someone rings and asks for financial information over the phone, such as your account details or PIN number, don’t provide it.
4. Talk to your phone provider to see what privacy services are available, and consider a call-blocker – though be aware, you may need to pay for these services.
5. If you receive a nuisance call or message, make a complaint. Complaint information helps regulators take action against companies acting unlawfully. If the call is a live telesales call, an automated marketing message, or a spam text message, complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. You can report spam texts to your mobile network operator by simply forwarding the text to 7726. If you receive a silent or abandoned call, complain to Ofcom.

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