Government considers giving out free phone call blockers to stop those awful PPI spam calls

The existing 'do not call list' is increasingly ineffective, its operators warn

Call blockers could be rolled out to the elderly (Ciaran Griffin/Getty Creative)

The government is considering distributing free phone call blocking devices to deal with nuisance calls offering PPI insurance claims, ministers have said.

The kits would be installed on the phones of people who were particularly at risk from falling for the calls, such as the very elderly or people in difficult financial situations.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey said the government was looking at whether rolling out the devices was the right answer after the operators of the Government’s ‘do not call’ list warned that it was being increasingly ignored by marketers.

“While call blockers are available on the open market for consumers to purchase, the government is exploring options to provide free devices to people identified as being at higher risk of financial damage and personal distress as a result of nuisance calls,” Mr Vaizey said.

In 2013 the charity Citizens Advice found that around 32 million people in the UK had been subject to unwanted phone calls about PPI insurance.

Nearly all, 98 per cent, felt they had not given their permission to be called in this way.

The unprecedented move by the government would come despite an existing system under which people add their number to an official list which direct sales firms are not supposed to call.

The Information Commissioner can in theory fine firms who do not comply with the Telephone Preference Service list up to half a million pounds.

The Telephone Preference Service’s website however warns 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,” the service says.

“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.”

The telecoms regulator Ofcom says most PPI spam calls are conducted by organisations which generate “leads” and then sell them on to firms that actually pursue PPI claims.