2 November 2005
Ofwat's measures to protect home phone users from silent calls coming from automated dialling devices in call centres have been welcomed by a leading provider of call centre technology solutions.
Earlier this week the regulatory body announced fines of up to £50,000 for companies who plague the public with silent calls, and Amcat has now lent its wholehearted support to these measures.
In a press release, the firm said that the new regulations should help restore home phone users' confidence in the call centre industry, and said that technology is available to meet all of Ofcom's requirements - which include the playing of a recorded message to inform the person answering the phone of who is calling them.
Marcus Robinson, Amcat's managing director, said: "We have been campaigning for the use of the best practices and uniform regulations to include an informational message for some time, and are now extremely pleased that Ofcom has clarified its position on this.
"The new measures will greatly reduce the inconvenience, frustration and stress caused by such calls and also help restore public confidence and appreciation of the services that contact centres provide."
Amcat runs its own "Smart Call" programme, designed to keep call centre staff up to speed with regulations such as those just announced.