Member News
By Baroness Gardner of Parkes - 26th February 2010
Baroness Gardner of Parkes writes for ePolitix.com ahead of her question on unsolicited telephone calls.
What action do they plan to take to deal with unsolicited, computer-generated telephone calls offering to resolve 'any and all' debt and financial problems?
Every week, and often more than once a week, I receive an unsolicited phone call of this type.
The latest said, "You'll be able to work off 100 per cent of your debts in just 12 months. To see if you qualify to take advantage of this scheme and to have your entire debts written off, press 2 on your phone now."
My concern is that this message, unexpected and unsolicited, could so easily reach a person who is really worried about their financial situation, and that the most vulnerable people will be the ones taken in by what I believe to be either a cruel deception or a plan at some horrific rate of interest.
I have tabled the question to hear whether the government is aware of this being such a common occurrence, and indeed whether these messages might even be government-sponsored. If so, then I believe they should state clearly that it is an official message and how it is meant to really help those in debt.
It seems to me that the only action that the government can take, if this is as undesirable as I believe it to be, is to warn the public not to be taken in by these 'offers'. If they have other ways of stopping the practice, I would like to know what they are.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd
Gerald Phillips
27th Feb 2010 at 6:40 pm