Ofcom claims victory against silent callers

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Communications watchdog Ofcom has given itself a pat on the back after fewer consumers complained of silent or abandoned calls.

Almost a quarter of consumers said they had an abandoned call in 2011, down from 35 per cent in 2009.

The number of those who had been hit by silent calls went down from 30 per cent in 2009 to 24 per cent in 2011.

Ofcom said the drops were due to its increased focus on targeting companies who make such calls.

Businesses which break the rules face fines of up to £2 million. TalkTalk is one company facing action from Ofcom for breaking rules.

In October, Ofcom said it had "reasonable grounds for believing that between 1 February 2011 and 21 March 2011, TalkTalk persistently misused an electronic communications network or electronic communications services, through two call centres, one based in the UK and one in South Africa."

The result of the action is expected to be revealed early next year. Homeserve and nPower are also facing action from Ofcom.

Ofcom also boasted about the increased consumer awareness surrounding such calls.

"In 2011 Ofcom received around 30,000 visits to the consumer advice on its website about silent and abandoned calls," the regulator said in a statement.

"Increased media coverage, and improvements to Ofcom’s online complaints process have also resulted in an increase in the number of complaints it receives."

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