Make it illegal to cold call your telephone
Suggested by freelance and tagged cold calling, tps.
The big idea
My telephone number is ex-directory, I have registered to opt out of telemarketing using the TPS telephone preference service. Companies get around this by 'randomly selecting numbers from a computer' to call me at ridiculous times of the night. Even when I tell them I am not interested and to stop calling me. There are plenty of websites on the internet to track down the serial offenders (type in 'British Gas cold calling' into a search engine and you'll see who they are and how they work. I propose that you make it illegal to make an unsolicited call for the purposes of selling a product with stiffer penalties if they call after 8pm in the evening. This would mean that inadvertent wrong-numbers would not fall foul of the law, but it would make telemarketing companies think twice.
Why does this matter?
If you have ever been on the receiving end of this cold-calling, it can disrupt your kids sleep, get you infuriated with the caller because you have absolutely no recourse.
This is a great idea but I would suggest that the existing laws regarding harassment and more importantly fraud be utilised. Particularly for companies persuading people to buy services, mostly insurance, which are clearly scams. One such company actually targets the elderly & will quickly hang up if they know they are dealing with a competent person.