House Of Commons - Culture, Media And Sport Committee: Nuisance Calls: Volume I - Hc 636 (2013)

Business & Economics / Industries / Hospitality, Travel & Tourism -

NOT_MATURE -

Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee

12/05/2013
Overview
Nuisance calls, particularly unwanted marketing calls and text messages, are a bane to millions. A significant underlying feature giving rise to nuisance calls is the unfair processing of personal data, something that is proscribed by the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner already has powers to deal with this; he should use them far more. Where regulation fails, technology has a place with a number of useful products available and standard services like caller display can also help. Caller display should be a free service and the Committee regrets BT's decision to charging explicitly for caller display. Some nuisance callers withhold their numbers or hide behind a false one. Nuisance text messages can be simply reported by forwarding them to a dedicated "short code" number (7726) and a similar facility for nuisance calls to landlines is long overdue and would provide useful intelligence to regulators. There should be a single online complaints form. Given that many people do not have internet access, there should also be a single nuisance calls helpline. The legal threshold for the Information Commissioner to take enforcement action under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 must also be lowered. A single nuisance calls regulator might have superficial appeal, but a single point of contact for customers coupled with more effective coordination between regulators - behind the scenes - is both more achievable and desirable. Above all, organisations closer to the source of marketing calls, like the Direct Marketing Association
Original Language

English

Buy Print
amazon logo

Buy on amazon

More by Author

Dec 05, 2013
Nuisance calls, particularly unwanted marketing calls and text messages, are a bane to millions. A s...
Sep 26, 2013
This report warns that the extraordinary success of the UK's creative industries may be jeopardised ...
Mar 22, 2010
Incorporating HC 1040-i, ii and ii, session 2008-09. About the police search on 27 November 2009 of ...
May 15, 2001
No Description Available
Sep 13, 2013
On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committ...
Jan 01, 2011
In this report the Welsh Affairs and Culture, Media and Sport committees approve the appointment of ...
Dec 18, 2013
The Committee held a pre-appointment meeting with the government's preferred candidate for chair of ...
Sep 14, 2012
On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committ...

Comments


No Comments Yet
Be the first to share what you think