18 July 2006
Call centres are generating over 2.7 billion calls a year to UK homes, according to a uSwitch.com survey.
The price comparison and switching website found that 2.5 million homes receive more than 20 sales calls a month in the UK.
In the north-west of the country, 91% of households are being plagued by the calls.
Eight in ten homes in London are being targeted, while the south-west was also hard hit with 71%.
London is also bombarded by an extremely high number of silent calls with 77% of the region's homes receiving at least one per month.
"Our findings highlight the magnitude of the cold-calling epidemic that is affecting particular regions and effectively the nation," said Chris Williams, home telephone expert at uSwitch.com.
But he said that there were steps consumers could take to stop being targeted by sales calls.
"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 explained.
"Alternatively, BT customers can opt for BT Privacy, which is a free service that performs a similar role."
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