Barclaycard answers to Ofcom over silent calls
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclaycard answers to Ofcom over silent calls
Barclaycard could be fined for pestering consumers with so called silent telephone calls.
Telecoms regulator Ofcom has indicated that the UK’s largest credit card company persistently misused an electronic communications network or services through its use of automated calling systems.
The alleged offence dates back to the period between the beginning of October 2006 and early May 2007.
Automated systems are used in call centres and produce silent calls when insufficient staff are in place to deal with the volume of numbers dialled.
Consumers can have their evenings interrupted by telephone calls that appear to have no caller and putting the nuisance element to one side, such calls can be extremely distressing to people who are anxious about their security.
Ofcom has the power to impose a fine of up to £50,000 on firms that exceeds its permitted level of abandoned or silent calls and the regulator fined Abbey £30,000 earlier this year for just such an offence.
Barclaycard has until 21st July to explain itself to Ofcom, which is promising to continue its campaign to reduce silent calling.
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Braclaycard are still making silent calls. I have received 3 in the last 3 weeks and complaints have been lodged with Barclaycard and Barclays HQ before this misleading statement from Barclaycard appeared. The Telephone Preference Service has passed on my silent call records to Ofcom as I am regsitered with TPS. Barclaycard use the number 08453 007 027 which has an ominous message on it. When I did manage to get a human she hung up when I wanted more ID than “Barbara from Barclaycard”. I have a statement on youtube about my experiences.
As far as I am concerned Barclaycard are still offenders and a £50,000 fine is a drop in the ocean. We need action to ban all auto diallers as the perpetrators of these silent calls cause untold distress to the vulnerable and people living on their own.
And I haven’t been a customer of any part of the Barclays group in over 25 years.
Comment by john loader — June 26, 2008 @ 1:39 pm
Ofcom didn’t just indicate to quote from a letter I have received from them:
Barclays Bank PLC (trading as Barclaycard) is currently under investigation by Ofcom. We have reasonable grounds for believing that Barclaycard has been persistently misusing the communications netwrok or services by virtue of its use of automated calling systems.
Comment by john loader — June 29, 2008 @ 11:12 am