- 61% of Brits are ignoring their landline calls to avoid unwanted sales or scam calls
- 300 million calls from friends and family could be going unanswered every year
- TalkTalk launches new free service CallSafe to empower customers and give life back to their landlines
The phone rings and we don’t recognise the number. Rather than pick up and risk talking to another cold-caller, many of us now ignore it or let it go to voicemail, according to research by TalkTalk.
This is the reality for nearly two-thirds of Brits (61%) who admit they now regularly ignore their landlines to avoid unwanted calls. Recognising the problem and to help empower customers reclaim their home phone once again, TalkTalk is launching CallSafe - a free service that screens unwanted calls.
The average Brit misses at least one important call a month because they’ve tried to avoid speaking to an unwanted caller. Over the course of a year, this potentially represents a staggering 300 million potentially important calls being missed across Britain.
Important calls from parents (32%), work (20%) and schools (15%) were the most likely to go unanswered.
Despite our growing reluctance to even cross the room to see who’s calling, 70% of Brits claimed they would return to answering the landline if they had a feature that blocked unwanted calls, and over half felt their landline provider isn’t doing enough to stop them receiving unwanted calls. TalkTalk has listened and stepped in to combat nuisance, sales, scam and silent calls by launching CallSafe, a simple, free solution that puts customers back in control of their home phone, so they only speak to the people that matter.
Tristia Harrison, Chief Executive Officer, TalkTalk, says: “We’re tackling the industry-wide issue of unwanted calls head on. Protecting our customers is incredibly important to us and we’re committed to eliminating the disruption caused by unwanted callers. It would be a real shame if landlines became obsolete just because we are too afraid to pick them up. CallSafe provides our customers with a free and simple way to avoid unwanted calls, enhancing their call security and allowing them take back control of their landlines - hopefully saving them from extinction in the process.”
Consumer champion Angela Rippon, who is helping TalkTalk launch of CallSafe, says: “The number of unwanted calls we receive on a daily basis has reached a ridiculous level and it’s clearly starting to impact on our relationship with our landlines. The result is that important calls are being missed. I have regularly been on the receiving end of unwanted calls myself and have encountered many people who’ve been left deeply frustrated after missing important calls. It’s great that TalkTalk is taking the lead in helping to protect its customers with CallSafe and empowering them to pick up their landlines again.”
How CallSafe from TalkTalk works?
Every time you get a call, CallSafe will automatically check the number to make sure it’s someone you want to hear from. Regularly dialed numbers like friends and family, will be put straight through. For any new callers, CallSafe will:
1. Check to see if the number is on a list of unwanted callers. If so, it’s automatically blocked and your home phone never rings.
2. Manage any other callers with an extra step. It will ask the caller to record a short introduction before your phone rings. You’ll hear this message when you pick up your home phone and have the choice to either answer, ignore, or block the call.
CallSafe needs no extra kit, simply dial 1472 to turn it on and leave the rest to us. If you want, you can view and manage your approved and blocked callers through My Account or by calling 1472. Or you can let CallSafe manage it, giving you one less thing to worry about.
For more information visit: talktalk.co.uk/aboutcallsafe