Silent calls ruling will bring privacy back to homes

1st February sees new rules come into force preventing consumers being harassed by repeated silent calls from the same company.

Silent calls are when a phone rings but there is no one appearing to be making the calls.

Ernest Doku, communications expert at uSwitch.com, comments: "Consumers have the right to own a telephone in their home without being too scared to pick it up when it rings. Silent calls have brought unjustifiable inconvenience, distress and even fear to consumers' lives for far too long. This marks the return of privacy to people's homes.

"We believe that the new rules will go a significant way towards stamping out this appalling practice that gives the call centre industry such a bad name. Unlike some regulations, this is not just an empty threat. The £2 million penalty that Ofcom is imposing on anyone that breaks the rules should be enough to force many companies to change their practice. This cannot happen soon enough."