Elderly win protection from nuisance calls
VULNERABLE older people and dementia sufferers will be protected from nuisance calls under a scheme launched by the Prime Minister yesterday.
Theresa May said she wanted to clamp down on companies unscrupulously targeting pensioners.
Every year, thousands of complaints are made about nuisance phone calls.
Last year one firm alone was fined £350,000 for making more than 46 million automated calls.
The new scheme will see call-blocking devices installed in the homes of 1,500 Britons who have been identified by doctors, local councils and Trading Standards officials as at risk from phone scams.
The trueCall device blocks all recorded messages, silent calls and calls from numbers not already identified by the home owner.
It can ask callers for a security code or direct them to a friend or relative of the person instead.
Mrs May said: “This new, targeted scheme is the latest step in the Government’s fight against nuisance calls, protecting those who are most at risk, including those with dementia.
Impact
“We have seen people tricked out of thousands of pounds by scam callers and this government is determined to clamp down on their activities once and for all.”
Dementia UK chief Hilda Hayo welcomed the scheme, saying: “These calls can not only have a negative financial impact but can also lead to anxiety, depression and a loss of self-esteem.
“We frequently receive calls to our helpline from family members concerned that their relative with dementia has fallen prey to rogue traders.”
Last year a trial scheme run by National Trading Standards’ Scams Team, which is co-ordinating the project, resulted in 93 per cent of participants feeling safer in their homes.
NTS chairman Lord Toby Harris said: “The impact of nuisance calls – both emotional and financial – cannot be underestimated. We know that these call blockers can make a real difference to people’s lives.”
PRIME MINISTER Theresa May has announced a scheme to protect vulnerable people including dementia sufferers from nuisance callers. At its worst the aggressive sales tactics adopted by cold calling firms amount to nothing short of harassment. There is also the issue of fraudsters phoning people to try to scam them out of their money.
This scheme will help to protect people from being swindled out of their savings but it will also give them peace of mind. Having to deal with an endless stream of such phone calls would infuriate anybody. For people being targeted by unscrupulous individuals it can become a terrifying ordeal.
At present this scheme, which involves installing devices that block unwanted calls, is relatively modest. If it proves to be a success, hopefully the Government will consider offering this technology to more households.