Stella Creasy MP, Shadow Minister for Competition and Consumer affairs, responding to news that unsolicited calls and direct marketing are not proving effective, said:

“Just as you shouldn’t be followed if you decide to leave a shop, so you shouldn’t be hassled if you’ve asked a company to stop calling - yet for the millions of consumers who get unsolicited text messages, phone calls or spam emails, the news that companies are flouting schemes like the telephone preference service system will further highlight the current self regulation of this industry isn’t good enough.

"We know some companies are playing fair, but too many are flouting the rules and causing misery for many as they are plagued by these messages despite their best attempts to stop them. We want to see the Government and the regulators sending a clear message that this isn’t acceptable and a radical overhaul of how complaints are dealt with to better protect consumers and those companies which do listen to customer concerns.”