4 April 2006
UK homes are the victims of a cold calling epidemic, according to switching and comparison website, uSwitch.com.
Almost 18 million UK households are receiving around 128 million telephone sales calls every month, it revealed.
A similar number of homes are receiving over 100 million silent calls a month, many of which are caused by automated calling systems, which generate more calls than can be dealt with by agents.
The online switching and comparison company said that BT was the worst offender, making 75 million unsolicited calls every year.
Chris Williams, home telephone expert at uSwitch.com, said: "These findings highlight the extent of the cold calling epidemic that is affecting the nation.
"More than 75% of households have found themselves on the receiving end of these unwanted calls."
Mr Williams said that there were some simple steps that consumers could take to protect themselves from cold callers.
"They can register with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), an independent service that will ensure that their number is no longer available to organisations that would otherwise continue to 'cold-call' them with information and offers that they have not requested."
He added: "Alternatively, BT customers can opt for BT Privacy, which is a free service that performs a similar role to TPS, although it does permit BT themselves to continue making sales calls with the customer's consent."
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