On the whole the TPS is very effective. Any reputable company that values its customers and its brand image takes the TPS very seriously. Sometimes mistakes happen, when they do if you make a complaint we can contact the company and ask them why they contacted you, warn them of their legal obligations and ask them to add you to their own Do Not Call list so that you do not receive any further calls.

We are aware that in recent months there has been a rise in the number of unsolicited calls being received by people registered on the TPS. These calls mainly from companies that deliberately ignore the law and either hide or disguise their identity. They might withhold the number they are calling from or display a fake number. They sometimes use generic sounding names that cannot be used to accurately identify an organisation . Solar Panels UK, PPI Claims Ltd etc or they may refuse to give you any details at all. Understandably this makes contacting these companies or targeting them for enforcement extremely difficult or even impossible.

There are thousands of calls every day from companies like these trying to benefit from short term financial opportunities based on generating sales leads for things such as accident claims, PPI claims, solar energy installation, and insulation grants etc.

If you receive an unwanted call but cannot get the information required to make a TPS complaint there is a form on the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) website where you can give them the details click here to report to the ICO

There are also companies, usually operating from overseas that are running scams. One of the most common is based on a bogus PC support service where their aim is to get you to pay for an unnecessary service or gain access to personal information on your PC. Another is where they claim to be from TPS and ask for a payment for the service. Companies running scams like this from overseas are usually outside of the authority of the UK regulators and law. (See our section of Bogus TPS Calls)

Although SPAM SMS messages are not covered by the same legislation that regulates live sales and marketing calls we often hear about them because they are received on your phone. A company should only send you an SMS is you have given them prior permission. Identifying the companies that send these texts can be difficult for the same reasons as mentioned above. But you can report these to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) on the following website click here to report to the ICO

If the text is from an unknown company you should report the text message to your network operator, who may be able to prevent further messages from the originating number. You can either contact your network operator.s customer services or use one of the reporting numbers below:

An easy way to remember 7726 is that they are the numbers on your telephone keypad that spell out the word SPAM.

For a full list of the different types of unwanted calls you might receive and who to contact see our Unwanted Calls NOT covered by TPS.pdf