How to stop cold calling

Are you sick of cold calling and junk mail? Tired of companies trying to sell you products that you have no interest in? Here are our top 5 tips on how to avoid being pestered by; unsolicited marketing phone calls (cold calling), text messages and junk mail.

1 - The first step in stopping cold calling is to register your phone number with the 'Telephone Preference Service' (TPS). The TPS hold a central opt-out register which consumers can request they be added to if they do not wish to receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls. It is a legal requirement that companies do not make unsolicited calls to numbers registered on the TPS database. Once registered it can take up to 28 days before you will notice a reduction in cold calling. It takes less than a minute to register your preference with the TPS and it's free! (Don't forget to register your mobile number too!) Join here

If you're a BT customer you might also like to sign up for 'BT Privacy at home' it's completely free and BT will register your home phone number with the Telephone Preference Service. BT will also give you Caller Display so you can see the number of the person who is calling you and choose whether to answer. Joining BT Privacy at home will save you over £37 if you are currently paying for BT caller ID.
Find out more about 'BT Privacy at home' at www.bt.com/bt-privacy-at-home*

2 - Unsolicited text messages appear to be on the increase. The most common type of texts received relate to debt management, accident claims and mis-sold PPI insurance. To report unsolicited text messages, forward the SMS to your mobile phone provider - see details below.

• O2, T-Mobile, Orange and 3: Forward the SMS text to 7726
• or, for Vodafone: Forward the SMS text to VSPAM 87726

3 - There are many reasons why you may wish to stop direct marketing material (i.e. junk mail) landing on your doormat. For some people, it's environmental principles, others may be receiving mail for a previous occupier or deceased family member. Registering your marketing preferences on the 'UK Mailing Preference Service' (MPS) website will help to reduce junk mail. This service is also free and registration only takes a minute to complete. It can take up to 4 months to notice a reduction in junk mail. Register with the MPS here

4 - There is a separate mailing preference database that covers baby-related mailings. Whilst many new parents are happy to receive marketing material and free product trials, this is not always the case. If you wish to opt out, the service is effective, sympathetic and free! Register online here

5 - Unaddressed mail - Royal Mail are legally obliged to deliver all addressed mail, which includes mail that is addressed “To the Occupier” (or with any other generic recipient information) as well as mail that is personally addressed to you. It is not possible for Royal Mail to separate material you don’t want from material that you do want, such as advertising offers or leaflets from Central and Local Government. Opting out of Royal Mail 'Door to Door' stops all unaddressed items from being delivered by Royal Mail. Election material is not delivered by the 'Door to Door' service and is therefore unaffected. Opting out means that nobody at the address should receive unaddressed mail items. The opt out will not cover any other distributors, who will continue to deliver unaddressed mail items. If you would like to opt out of receiving unaddressed items delivered by Royal Mail, you can email your details to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you would like to opt-out from deliveries from other unaddressed mail distributors who are members of the Direct Marketing Association, you may wish to register with the 'Your Choice' preference scheme run by the Direct Marketing Association. The contacts details are as follows:

'Your Choice'
Preference Scheme Direct Marketing Association
DMA House
70 Margaret Street
London W1W 8SS

Telephone: 020 7291 3300
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.