Nuisance callers will be forced to display their numbers

‘Anonymous’ firms face heavy fines as ministers get tough on marketing calls

MARKETING companies will be forced to display their telephone numbers or face heavy fines in a new crackdown on nuisance calls.

Ministers will announce plans this week to end anonymous phone calls from British companies which have call centres based in the UK and overseas.

A change in the law will force companies to display their working phone numbers so that customers know who is calling and can make formal complaints. A consultation on the reforms is due to begin later this week, with the new legal requirement expected to come into force in the spring.

According to official figures, one in five direct marketing calls is from an anonymous or false number. The Information Commissioner’s Office, which regulates marketing calls, typically receives more than 14,000 complaints about nuisance calls every month.

Ministers want to act because they say unsolicited phone calls can cause anxiety and stress, especially to older people who rely on the telephone to keep in touch with family members and friends.

Vulnerable customers can also find themselves falling victim to fraudsters, who pose as marketing agents when they make “cold calls”. Under the new plan, it will be a legal requirement for direct marketing callers to provide a valid caller identity that shows up on phone displays when they ring.

This will make it easier for recipients to decide whether to answer the phone and to report the source of unwanted calls to watchdogs.

A valid caller ID will also make it easier for the Information Commissioner’s Office to investigate firms that break the rules by making repeated nuisance phone calls to landlines or mobile phones.

Companies breaching the rules on marketing calls can be fined up to £500,000 by regulators.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the minister for data protection, said: “Being pestered by marketing calls is annoying at the best of times and at its worst it can bring real misery for the people on the receiving end.

“There is no simple solution to the problem of nuisance calls, but making direct marketing companies display their telephone number will help consumers and regulators take action.

“Companies are already being financially punished when they blatantly flout the rules, and mandatory caller ID is just another step we are taking as part of a closely coordinated effort with regulators, industry and consumer groups to tackle the problem.”

A government source said ministers were driving “a major crackdown on nuisance calls”. The proposed law change will mean “an end to anonymous calls”, the source said.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has imposed more than £1million of fines on firms found to have breached the rules on nuisance calls and text messages last year. A similar figure is expected this year.