Please read these instructions carefully before submitting information to Ofcom.
This complaint form can be used to submit complaints about abandoned and silent calls.
An abandoned call is one that is terminated when you pick up the receiver. Instead of there being a person on the other end of the line you may hear an information message from the organisation that was trying to call you.
A silent call happens when your phone rings but there's only silence when you answer it and you have no means of knowing whether anyone is at the end of the line.
For many people, silent calls can be unnerving or indeed frightening. Almost always there is nothing sinister going on. They are usually caused by companies using predictive diallers or other automated calling systems to make large volumes of calls.
But we know that these calls can be annoying and disruptive, and we have strict rules governing how these companies should behave.
If you have received an abandoned call or silent call we want to know, so please tell us what happened and give us as much information as possible.
However, please do not use this complaint form for submitting complaints about other types of nuisance call. Ofcom's
consumer guide provides information on other types of nuisance calls and details of how to complain about them.
Apart from a confirmation email we are not able to respond to individual complaints. However, the information you provide will be used for monitoring purposes and we may use it to decide whether to investigate a particular company.
Please provide us with accurate contact information. We will use the details you provide to update any contact information we already hold about you.
Additional Information.
The majority of abandoned and silent calls are caused by call centres using automated calling systems (ACS), such as predictive or power diallers, which generate more calls than their agents can handle.
In some instances an ACS user may disconnect a call without playing an information message. This may be the result of an agent making an error with the call or be the consequence of a technological error. This is referred to as a silent call. These calls are highly likely to cause consumers annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety and can be very frightening, particularly for vulnerable people who live alone and may receive repeat silent calls in a short space of time.
Whilst registration with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) will not stop the receipt of abandoned and silent calls, it may help reduce the numbers received as you will not appear on the lists used by the companies making the marketing calls.
The TPS can be contacted at: www.tpsonline.org.uk (opens in a new window), or by telephone on: 0845 0700707
It takes about 28 days after you've registered before the service takes effect. If you are still getting calls after 28 days, you can complain to the TPS using the contact details above.
If you'd like to see Ofcom's regulations on Silent Calls, please click the following link: Silent calls consultation