Householders in Tayside and Fife already swamped by 1.4 million nuisance calls every year have been warned that things are likely to get even worse.
Kathryn Powell of the Call Prevention Registry said nuisance calls are expected to escalate as more call centres are being set up across the country.
Figures show that of the 1.5 billion nuisance calls made to UK households, an estimated 1.4 million are directed towards the Fife and Tayside areas every year. That’s roughly two calls for every man, woman and child.
Kathryn said it’s becoming easier for laymen to open call centres, with the profit outweighing the initial cost of setting such a company up.
Through difficult times such as the recession, there was a stark rise in calls from loan and debt management companies.
The Call Prevention Registry reported a total of 230,137 calls as the nation reached the height of the crisis.
“As we enter into a recovery, consumers should expect to see a similar occurrence with companies playing on the public’s false sense of security,” said Kathryn.
“Financial companies of all shapes and sizes will see a gap in the market and will surely exploit it to its full potential.
“For example, as we hear in the news that Scotland has the highest unemployment rate in the UK, marketers can see the opportunity to play on the public’s financial difficulties and choose to target that area for debt management cold calls.
“Where the affluent areas have previously been targeted, the focus has begun to shift to the 18-34 age groups who are considered to be less cautious towards their privacy and financial matters.”High-pressureShe said, taking into consideration Dundee’s recent ranking as the second in the RBS Student Living Index, students should remain vigilant to high-pressure sales tactics as they may now be the prime targets for scams and marketing ploys.
“It is also understood that call centres are using auto-dialers and robo-calls which are actually illegal in many states of America,” she said. “People are unable to talk to the callers to tell them to not to call again and the sales rapport is failing to relate to the customers at a sympathetic level.
“Silent calls can also be very intimidating for the elderly and vulnerable, although legislation stipulates that any call made without an agent must now relay a message with the company’s information within the first few seconds of the call.”
Companies gaining personal information from social networking websites is among the ever-adapting techniques used by today’s marketing workers.
A spokesman for independent regulator Ofcom said, “Malicious or nuisance calls can make lives a misery. It’s also a criminal offence to make them.
“If you’re receiving calls of this kind, whether from strangers or people you know, call your phone company straight away.”
Photo used under a Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user tylerdurden1.