What is a Nuisance Call?

What is a Nuisance Call?

A nuisance call is an unwelcome or unwanted call which bothers the recipient. There are many different types of nuisance call, and they can be inconvenient and annoying. For the most part, people find them annoying, but for vulnerable customers, they can be anxiety inducing, distressing and confusing.

According to OFCOM, the following are types of nuisance calls:

•  Live telesales calls
  • These are callers who are trying to sell something.
• Automated marketing calls
  • A marketing message was played when the call was answered.
• Abandoned calls and silent calls
  • When the phone rang, there was nobody on the line.
• Robocall
  • The call has been automated to deliver a pre-recorded message.

OFCOM also has information on other forms of nuisance communications, including nuisance texts and emails.

The continued rise in nuisance calls has led to regulations and laws against certain types of calls.

Both OFCOM and the Information Commissioner’s Office are legally responsible for measures against nuisance calls.

There are methods to avoid telemarketing calls, such as registering with the Telephone Preference Service, in which you can identify your preference not to receive unwanted telemarketing calls.
Another step is to report the caller to the Information Commissioner’s Office, an organisation which cracks down on the nuisance callers, and if there have been repeated unwanted calls, the callers may be fined. There are other methods such as investing in a call-screening system or blocking individual telephone numbers.

Call centres may often be the culprits of these nuisance calls. For example, a call centre could send out 50 automated calls for one agent, and then when the recipient answers the phone, they are connected to an agent. Similarly, for automated telemarketing calls, the automated message is played, and then when the recipient presses on the touchpad to speak to an agent they are connected. This can be the cause of silent calls too, as there may be a drop-out or a problem with the connection to an agent.

For more information on how to stop receiving nuisance calls

Author: Jonty Pearce