Could nuisance callers lead to the death of landlines?

THEY used to be considered as essential in virtually every home.

But landline telephones are in danger of being relegated to museum pieces, thanks to the rise of nuisance callers.

Nearly two thirds of Britons (61 per cent) now ignore their landlines to avoid cold calls and scammers, a study found.

Millions let their calls go to voicemail so that they can screen who it is that is trying to contact them. Others ignore the calls altogether.

The findings come amid growing evidence that cold calls have reached epidemic proportions.

This month an analysis of Ofcom data showed that Britons were bombarded with 2.2million nuisance phone calls and texts about PPI, pensions, and bogus insurance claims last year. Most of the victims were aged 65 and over.

Now a survey, commissioned by TalkTalk, has found that in order to avoid cold callers the average UK household now misses at least one important call a month. According to the survey of 2,000 adults, 32 per cent have missed calls from their parents, 20 per cent from their work and 15 per cent from their children’s school. Five per cent said they had missed a call from ‘a long-lost love’.

TalkTalk released the findings as it unveiled CallSafe, a free call screening service to help combat the problem.

People will be able to receive calls from the numbers they dial regularly – such as friends, family and work – but they will also be able to block unwanted numbers so that their phone never rings when nuisance callers try to get in touch. Tristia Harrison, TalkTalk’s chief executive, said: ‘It would be a real shame if landlines became obsolete just because we are too afraid to pick them up.

‘CallSafe provides our customers with a free and simple way to avoid unwanted calls, enhancing their call security and allowing them to take back control of their landlines – hopefully saving them from extinction in the process.’

BT and other telecoms firms provide similar services.