Fiona Bruce MP Co-Leads Parliamentary Report to Tackle Nuisance Calls
Fiona Bruce MP for Congleton, has worked with a small group of colleague MPs to produces a report published this week into the unsolicited Marketing industry and to call for action now to protect the public from wanted nuisance calls and texts.
The All Party Parliamentary Group against nuisance calls, of which Fiona Bruce is the Vice Chair, was set up to help the many thousands of constituents plagued by nuisance calls by investigating existing unscrupulous practices and identifying deficiencies in the current legislation. The Group launched the inquiry into nuisance calls in July with the aim of finding a solution to the menace affecting everyone in the UK.
Commenting on the inquiry, Fiona Bruce MP said:
“Millions of us are being bombarded with nuisance calls and texts and people are totally sick and tired of it. It is appalling that consumers are not being properly protected and are being targeted every day.
“Doing nothing is no longer an option, and this report paints a worrying picture of a country under siege. We need action now, not in a year’s time. I hope the regulators; Government and industry rise to the challenge laid down by this report and make the necessary changes which are so desperately needed.”
The Report’s recommendations to tackle Nuisance Calls and Texts include:
- An easy to use short dialling code for people to report nuisance calls and texts
- Encouraging telecoms companies to block the numbers of nuisance callers and text senders
- Tightening loopholes with the Telephone Preference Service Register which have enabled organisations to circumvent this
- Ensuring the TPS is constantly checked and updated in real time
- A requirement that persistent offenders have their data management systems audited
- Caller line identification to be provided free of charge
- Establishing a co-regulatory body for nuisance calls and texts
The Inquiry obtained evidence from members of the public aswell as telecoms providers, regulators, and consumer groups.
The report was presented to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ed Vaizey MP, on Wednesday 30th October and was launched on the 31st October 2013.
The full report and their recommendations can be accessed at http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/no2nuisancecalls/pages/158/attachments/original/1383134265/Report_-_Inquiry_into_the_unsolicited_marketing_industry_FINAL.pdf?1383134265
