Firstly, the Bad News.

According to a BBC Panorama investigation broadcast in July of this year, the Telephone Preference Service is being ignored.

Now, for the unfamiliar, the Telephone Preference Service (and its lesser known sisters, the Fax Preference Service and the Mail Preference Service) are one of the longest standing, but coolest, bits of consumer protection legislation in the UK.

By registering your telephone number (or fax number or postal address) on a website, you are added to a list of numbers that cold calling marketing companies are NOT ALLOWED TO CALL.

See? How cool is that?

Sadly, if they lie, and say you asked them to call, or if they say they are not selling, but just conducting a survey, they can circumvent the rules. Naughty.

Or just pretend they have no idea what the TPS is.

The answer is, if you get a cold call, and you’ve put your number on the website (which takes all of thirty seconds, you’re a fool if you don’t), you just interrupt the blah and tell them:

“This number is registered with the Telephone Preference Service and you are therefore breaking the law by telephoning it. Please give me your name and company name so that I can report this to the Information Commissioner”.

You’ll hear a dialling tone by about “and”. Ideally, the first ‘and’, but at worst, definitely by the second.

The Telephone Preference Service can be found here:

http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/number_type.html

The left hand column contains links to the Fax and Mail Preference Service and also to the Baby Mail Preference Service.  It is sad that this is needed, but this is a truly wonderful and thoughtful service. It blocks people from sending you (or someone you care about) baby-related junk mail and adverts if your child has died.  It must be hard enough to deal with such a thing, without Pampers putting vouchers for nappies through your door every morning. What a wonderful idea.

A bit of the recent Panorama programme can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18670314.

Further advice on how to deal with cold callers can be found here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/learners/rip-off-britain/rip-off-britain-cold-calls

And now for The Good News: if you’re able to record your telephone calls, you can fight back.  The legal precedent has been set.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20068927

This man said “I am going to charge you £10 a minute for my time  if you keep talking to me”.  And then he sent them a bill. And when they didn’t pay, he sued them.

And he won.

So there is now no reason to put up with cold callers, unsolicited faxes or even unsolicited junk mail through your letterbox. You have the power. Take control. Consumer, Fight Back!