Elderly to be given cold caller blockers

The elderly are to be given free nuisance calls blockers as regulators get set to hit more dodgy firms with fines under new laws.

New government plans will see call blockers given to some of the most vulnerable

members of society as part of a £3.5 million Government package to stem the tide of nuisance calls.

Last night campaigners praised the move, which has come after a long-running campaign by the Sunday Post to halt the menace of cold calls.

Simon Bottery, Director of Policy and External Relations at charity Independent Age, said: “We welcome measures that help vulnerable people from receiving unwanted calls.

“Some elderly people can be susceptible to scams or pressurised by cold calling.”

There have already been some successful trial runs of call blockers by local authorities across Scotland.

Last month, Orkney Council said they were to order more devices following the success of a test they carried out in 2014.

The government have not announced how many call blockers they will hand out and what the criteria will be to qualify for one.

Whitehall sources say the plans are still being formulated.

Various private firms already offer their own call prevention systems but many can cost consumers hundreds of pounds a year.

Some people have complained that as well as blocking marketing calls the devices can limit other calls.

The UK’s leading nuisance call expert said more needed to be done to tackle the makers of cold calls and not “isolate” the elderly.

David Hickson of the Fair Telecoms Campaign said: “The government must take great care not to encourage vulnerable people to use devices that isolate them from the world, by using an over-simplistic approach that ends up blocking wanted and even vital calls.

“The government should also help save us all from the unnecessary distress of unwanted calls, by using existing regulatory powers to stop claims management companies, energy efficiency providers and debt management companies from using blanket telephone marketing as a legitimate marketing technique.”

The minister who has promised a crackdown on cold-calling said it was an important step to protect some of society’s most vulnerable members.

Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey said: “For too long nuisance calls have plagued consumers, in some cases leaving vulnerable people like the elderly too scared to answer the phone.

“This £3.5m package will include looking at how innovative call blocking technology could be used to reduce this scourge.

“It will support the action we have already taken including making it easier for the Information Commissioner’s Office to take action against companies breaking the rules, hitting them with fines of up to £500,000.”

In February the Government announced changes to the law that made it far easier to punish cold callers with the directors of firms for fines of £500,000.

The Sunday Post has learned the new rules mean the ICO has a number of firms in their cross-hairs with some of them Scottish based.