Nuisance calls can now be blocked permanently in the UK by sending out one text message.
Thanks to a partnership between the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Ofcom, UK citizens can now opt to join a text-to-register service that will add their phone number to a database, which will effectively make it illegal for companies to contact them. While many British citizens recognise that they can register their landline number with the TPS, only 3 percent of mobile users have signed up to the service, meaning that nuisance calls such as false PPI claims have managed to continue harassing the general public.
This is why Ofcom has now developed a text-to-register service that allows mobile users to swiftly block these calls using only a single text message, swiftly placing your number in the database.
How to block nuisance calls
In order to block these nuisance calls, you must text TPS followed by your email address to the 78070. From there, you’ll receive a message that confirms that your number has been added to the TPS database, and you will no longer receive the nuisance calls.
While it will take a while for the nuisance calls to permanently stop bothering you – TPS estimates that the gradual roll-out takes around 28 days – eventually your mobile will no longer receive them. Unfortunately, this doesn’t prevent spam text messages, which are not prevented by the TPS database.
Speaking of the new service, the head of TPS John Mitchison told The Guardian: “Rogue callers operate illegally and against the interests of ordinary people. Texting will make it easier for people to register their mobile numbers on the TPS, which is the only official no-call list, and help us stamp out rogue callers once and for all by giving the Information Commissioner more ammunition to prosecute these cases.”
Image Credit: Georgijevic / Getty Images
[Via Pocket-Lint]
