British consumers receive six cold calls a month on average
According to a new study from Which?, two thirds of the British respondents had received at least one cold call over the past three months - and the average number of cold calls received was six per month.
40% of the calls were sales calls, and 32% were silent calls (with 'autodiallers').
75% wanted the calls banned, and 60% said that they immediately hung up after answering the cold call.
Which? found that British Gas, BT, EDF, E.ON, Homeserve, Sky and TalkTalk were some of the big companies that called most often.
Ceri Stanaway of Which? said: "Cold calls are at best a nuisance and at worst an intimidating intrusion into our lives. Three quarters of the people we asked said they'd like the practice to be banned outright.
"Reputable businesses should stop making sales calls to you if you ask to be removed from their contact database, but if that doesn't work you should report the company to the information commissioner's office or Ofcom.
"Scam callers are more difficult to tackle, but start by screening your calls and if you do get a scam call, record as much information as you can - the name of the company and its phone number - and report it to your phone provider or to Consumer Direct."
