Silent calls

For many people, silent calls – when your phone rings but there’s only silence at the other end – can be unnerving or indeed frightening.

Almost always, there is actually nothing sinister going on. They’re usually caused by companies using ‘predictive diallers’ to make large volumes of calls. But even so, we know these calls are at the very least annoying and disruptive, and we have strict rules governing how these companies must behave.

Predictive diallers

Predictive diallers are used for: selling products; market research; debt collection; contacting existing customers (such as a bank or a utility); and many other services.

They work by automatically calling phone numbers and connecting the call to a call centre agent once the consumer answers the phone. Unfortunately, if all of the call centre agents are busy when the phone is answered, there will be no-one free to answer the call. As a result, you may simply hear silence – and can become concerned or frightened.

Predictive diallers are also designed to disconnect calls picked up by answering machines. However, sometimes they mistake you, a real live person, for a machine. So they cut off the call, again leaving you with silence.

Silent calls are not only unwanted – they can also be illegal. Ofcom has levied heavy fines on companies that make silent calls in large numbers and we will continue to take strong action where it’s needed. You can see details of recent investigations in our Competition Bulletin.

Ofcom Consultation: information about our rules (see 1.4).

Malicious silent calls

If you believe you are receiving silent calls as a result of someone purposely trying to cause you anxiety, you should report this to the police. Depending on the circumstances, this can be considered a criminal offence.

Preventing silent calls

If you don’t know the number of the person or company phoning you, try dialling 1471 after each call. This will either tell you the number, or let you know the number was withheld.

If you still cannot get the number, or want some help, you can call your phone company’s nuisance calls department. They may be able to trace the caller’s number or offer other services such as:

• Anonymous Call Rejection. This simply blocks any callers who withhold their number. However, this can have the down side of blocking genuine calls from friends or companies who choose not to display their number.
• Choose to Refuse. This gives you the ability to block specific phone numbers from calling you.

It is likely that your phone company will charge you for these services.

If you have got the phone number of the person or company, please tell us what happened. It is important you give us as much information as possible.

The information you provide will be used for monitoring purposes and we may use it to decide whether to investigate a particular company.

We will not respond to your individual complaint.

Silent calls monitoring form

Communications Market Report 2010