European Parliament supports local MEP's bid to ban phone scams

12.22.23pm GMT Fri 25th Feb 2005

The European Parliament voted yesterday, Thursday, February 24, to end the telephone prize scams currently plaguing Britain's households. The banning of scam calls is part of a new package of EU consumer protection measures. Now the legislation is approved the UK government is obliged, along with all the other EU countries, to put the rules into their national laws and to ensure that they are enforced.

Local Liberal Democrat MEP Diana Wallis, who led moves to include telephone prize scams in the new legislation, says that the scammers' days are numbered.

"These scams are a real headache for many people across the region. Not only are the calls an unwanted nuisance, they can also end up costing a lot of money for vulnerable and unsuspecting people." she said.

"The law will apply not only in the UK, but throughout the EU, so scammers will not be able to hide away in other European countries. This is good news for British consumers. It is important now that we put pressure on the UK government and the Department of Trade and industry in particular to implement this law as soon as possible."

The move by MEPs reflects the recent explosion in the number of people receiving unwanted automated phone calls telling them they have won a prize if they return the call. When the number is dialled back the caller has to pay for a premium phone call, usually lasting several minutes, and which can cost up to a hundred pounds. Only last month the Office of Fair Trading said that Britons lose out to unfair marketing tactics to the tune of £1 billion each year.

Many of these scams are based in another country to escape the attention of the UK authorities. Up until now, the phone scam has fallen outside UK and EU consumer laws, but the new rules will make clear that such practices are illegal.

Ends.

Notes:

Below is the text of Amendment 19 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, tabled by Diana Wallis MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, which introduces the ban on telephone and other similar scams by making them an illegal practice under the terms of the Directive.

Creating the false impression that the consumer has already won, will win, or will on doing a particular act win, a prize or other equivalent benefit, when in fact either:

- there is no prize or other equivalent benefit, or

- taking any action in relation to claiming the prize or other equivalent benefit is subject to the consumer paying money or incurring cost