In response to an issue raised by constituents, Theresa May has written to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform to express concern about the extent of nuisance unsolicited telephone calls received by Maidenhead residents.
Theresa said, “This is an issue which has been raised by Maidenhead residents and I think the Government needs to look closely at it. We all know what a nuisance these calls are but it can also cause great distress to be targeted by recorded messages. I am aware of one case where these unwanted calls have targeted an elderly lady living alone who was distressed by the calls. These are completely unacceptable tactics.”
“I hope the Government will take very seriously the concerns that have been voiced by local residents.”
Text of the letter Theresa May sent to John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform:
Rt Hon John Hutton MP
Secretary of State
Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform
1 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0ET
15th January 2008
Dear Secretary of State,
Several of my constituents have contacted me recently with concerns about the number of unsolicited nuisance telephone calls that they are receiving. These phone calls – which are often automated – invariably attempt to sell them a product, or convince the person that they have won a competition that they did not enter. In one case the calls targeted an elderly lady living alone, who was distressed by the calls.
I am sure that you would agree that these tactics are unscrupulous. As you will be aware, the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 require that marketers who leave recorded phone messages must obtain the prior consent of the subscriber before they can make that call. It is clear that this is not happening in many cases.
Unfortunately many people are unaware of the Telephone Preference Service, which offers protection against unsolicited calls.
I am writing to ask what the Government is planning to do to address this issue, which can cause great distress to many people. I would also be grateful if you could inform me of what measures the Government has taken to increase awareness of the means that already exist by which people can take action to prevent unwanted calls.
Thank you in advance for your response on this matter. Given the inherent public interest in this issue, I am releasing a copy of this letter to the media.
Yours sincerely,
Rt Hon Theresa May MP
