At last, you can send a text to end nuisance cold calls on your mobile

eXasPerated mobile phone users have an easier way to block nuisance cold calls from today.

telecoms regulator ofcom has joined forces with marketing call watchdog the telephone Preference service.

texting the letters ‘tPs’ plus your email address to 78070 will add your mobile to the list of blocked numbers.

In theory this will stop firms in the UK bombarding people with calls about PPI refunds, accident claims, pension advice or solar panels.

a system already exists to add landlines via the tPs website. Now, it will be quicker and easier to do the same thing for mobile numbers. But the scheme is not foolproof, with ofcom research suggesting that up to two in three cold calls may still get through.

this is because the scheme cannot not stop companies based outside the UK from targeting Britons. at the same time, rogue firms in this country may simply ignore the new controls.

and the system will not stop junk or spam texts. Firms calling people whose numbers are on the list should face action, including large fines, from the Information commissioner’s office.

But only three of the 20 fines announced by the Ico in the past year have been paid.

ten of the firms have gone bust or not paid – and most of the rest still have time to pay or have appealed. as a result, only £165,000 of more than £2million in fines has been collected.

It has always been possible to register a mobile number. But just 3 per cent of mobiles are registered, compared to 85 per cent of landlines.

the new text-to-register process should boost take-up. Head of the tPs, John Mitchison, said: ‘rogue callers operate illegally and against the interests of ordinary people. texting will make it easier for people to register their mobile numbers.’