See the Ofcom page on Protecting yourself from nuisance calls and messages.
Whilst Gamma has relationships and escalation paths within the telecommunications industry it is important to note that there are no formal processes within the industry for dealing with Nuisance and Malicious Calls. Individual Communications Providers adopt their own policies and procedures and have different philosophies for dealing with them.
What this means for our Channel Partners is that whilst we will do all we can do to help mitigate such situations as they arise, Gamma cannot own the problem or promise a resolution.
Malicious Calls #
These are calls that are threatening or abusive in nature and that are designed to cause offence or annoyance.
If any end user feels threatened and think that there is an immediate risk to their life they should always call 999. If they feel threatening but there isn’t an immediate risk to life then they should report this to the police by dialling 101.
Our Channel Partners can raise the issue with our Service Desk by calling the team (details in the Customer Service Plan) with the following information:
- End users name
- End users address
- End user contact number
- End user email address
- Telephone number called
- Dates and times of the calls
- Duration of the calls
- What was displayed when the end user received the calls
- Crime reference number (if applicable)
Permission for us to share this information with other Communications Providers / law enforcement agencies / regulatory bodies
This will then be referred to an internal team that specialises in handling these situations and this team will be in contact with either the Channel Partner or the end user as appropriate with possible ways to remedy the situation.
If there is an urgent need to take action (i.e. block incoming calls) then our Network Operations Centre can take this action out of hours.
Silent and Abandoned Calls #
If the calls are “silent or abandoned” and breach the following criteria:
Ensuring an abandoned call rate (including a reasoned estimate of false positives) of no more than 3 per cent of live calls per campaign or per call centre over any 24 hour period;
Ensuring that people are not contacted within 72 hours of their receiving an abandoned call without the guaranteed presence of a live operator;
Playing an automated message in the event of an abandoned call telling the person called on whose behalf the call was made and providing them with a number to dial to stop any future marketing calls from that organisation;
Making valid and accurate calling-line identification (“CLI”) information available to call recipients so they can identify who rang them via caller display or by dialling 1471 in the event of a silent call; and
Ensuring that where a call has been identified by dialler equipment as being picked up by an answer machine, any repeat calls to that specific number within the same 24 hour period are only made with the guaranteed presence of a live operator.
Then a complaint can be made to Ofcom; which we can refer for you if we have the dates and times and calling numbers etc. Strictly speaking the process for this is a consumer one (that’s the form you’ve completed) but Ofcom do consider those in the round – they amalgamate all of the responses and complaints and then tackle the biggest offenders.
Unwanted Telesales Calls #
All business sites with numbers that they do not want to receive direct marketing calls on should sign up to the TPS register – that should stop genuine, legitimate and honourable marketing companies in 28 days or so time once the entry permeates their database. Each individual DDI should be entered to be safe, including mobile numbers and non-geographic.
After 28 days, if these calls continue and there is a live operator, then remind the caller(s) that under Regulation 21(1)(a) and (b) of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, any subscriber on the TPS Database cannot be cold called and in any event, you are now telling them directly to cease.
If they still continue, make notes as to who is calling, the calling number, date and time, and complain to the Information Commissioner, pointing out that they have been told before and you are on TPS.