By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor
Most of us have sat down to eat after a long hard day’s work, and the phone rings. Reluctantly you answer it, and the person on the other end of the line is trying to sell you double glazing, offering PPI refunds or the classic “have you been in an accident in the last…” Well new research in England has discovered that northerners receive more of these calls then people down south, with Geordies getting the most.
A government crackdown on cold callers will be more welcome in the north, than in the south, according to new research. As pestered northern householders receive a massive 286 nuisance calls a year.
Topping the charts as Britain’s cold call capital is Newcastle, where badgered locals receive 344 nuisance calls a year, followed by York and Aberdeen, where residents receive an average of 278.
According to the study by leading home phone specialist, Gigaset, frustrated households spend over 29 million hours a year fending off 1.9 billion cold calls.
The best places in the country for quality conversations are Belfast where locals receive only 122 nuisance calls a year and Gloucester where the average is 162.
Worryingly, the research found the calls are even affecting our personal lives, with 82 per cent of adults feeling harassed by unwelcome callers and a fifth admitting that cold calls put them in such a bad mood, they cause friction between them and their partner.
The research also discovered that despite the nation taking an average of just 17.5 seconds to hang up on cold callers, almost 90 per cent of people are left feeling angry, stressed or annoyed following the intrusive companies calling them at home.
The over 55s are the age group most affected, with more than four in five of them (85%) feeling harassed by callers.
The poll of 1,000 men and women across the UK was commissioned by Gigaset, following the launch of its nuisance call block technology.
Further survey results showed Worcester has the least patience with nuisance callers, taking just 11 seconds to hang up on a call, while Coventry has the most, listening to the speaker for 30 seconds before hanging up.
Speaking about the results of the study, Amy Ward, marketing manager at Gigaset, said: “Our research has shown homeowners are receiving more unwanted calls than ever and the majority of these calls tend to be received at awkward times of the day – when dinner is being prepared or when we’ve just put our feet up to relax from a long day at work.
“To combat the problem, we’ve launched pioneering technology, aiming to make cold calls a thing of the past. The latest technology, coupled with government plans to fine firms which plague the public with nuisance calls should help people to enjoy only quality conversations.”