CHARGES - 12.11.2012

Charging telephone cold callers for your time

Like most directors, you probably routinely receive cold calls on your mobile and landline numbers. One ingenious businessman has just hit back by charging these telephone “pests” £10 per minute for his time. Can you do the same?

Nice one Richard

Every so often, we hear a story that makes us chuckle. Businessman Richard Herman’s recent court action against PPI Claimline Ltd has earned a place in our top ten. Annoyed by the fact that they wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, he decided to try a different tactic altogether. It turned out to be a very successful one that netted him well over £200. What’s more, it potentially opens the floodgates to other similar complaints. So read on if you want to know how to play telephone cold callers at their own game.

Leave me alone!

The story starts on an ordinary day when Mr Herman was busy minding his own business. His home phone rang whereupon he was informed that he’d “previously been mis-sold PPI insurance by the Halifax” and the caller could “get him compensation”. This was news to Mr Herman - he’s never bought PPI and doesn’t have an account with that bank. He’s also been registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) for many years so shouldn’t receive these calls.

Set the hourly rate

Despite Mr Herman’s “No thank you”, he received another call from the same company a few days later. He told the caller: “If you call me again, I’ll charge you £10 a minute for my time!”. Thinking that would be the end of the matter, he put the phone down. Soon afterwards, there was another call. So there could be no dispute, Mr Herman recorded it. After 19 and a half minutes, he established that the calls were being made by marketing firm AAC on PPI Claimline’s behalf.

Here’s my invoice

True to his word, he raised an invoice for £195 and sent it off to the latter company. When they didn’t reply, he wrote again saying proceedings would be issued in the small claims court if the invoice wasn’t settled. You can guess what happened next. That’s right: nothing. So Mr Herman claimed for “the use of his time, phone and electricity for receiving telemarketing communications from PPI Claimline Ltd”. As requested, the judge awarded him £10 per minute for his time, plus £25 costs.

Tip 1. To help others in a similar situation, he’s set up a “Say no to cold calls” website that goes through the small claims process step by step (see The next step).

Tip 2. It’s important to note that this ruling isn’t binding on other courts - so it’s possible (although by no means certain) that another claim along similar lines could fail. That said, cold callers are now likely to sit up and take serious note if you greet them with a Mr Herman response.

Tip 3. In theory, you can demand more than £10 per minute for your time. Where you’ll come unstuck is if the amount is clearly “excessive and unreasonable”, e.g. £1,000 per minute.

Tip 4. Also, although this particular point wasn’t dealt with by the court, it’s sensible to register with the TPS as this shows you’ve done all you reasonably can to stop these calls.

For a link to the “Say no to cold calls” website (CD 14.04.02A) and for further information on the Telephone Preference Service (CD 14.04.02B), visit http://companydirector.indicator.co.uk.

Absolutely - but you must first advise the caller that their contact is unwanted, retain clear evidence, e.g. in the form of recordings, and charge a reasonable amount for your time. However, following this high profile ruling, a simple warning of what will follow if they persist should now bring a swift end to any cold calls.

© Indicator - FL Memo Ltd

Tel.: (01233) 653500 • Fax: (01233) 647100

subscriptions@indicator-flm.co.ukwww.indicator-flm.co.uk

Calgarth House, 39-41 Bank Street, Ashford, Kent TN23 1DQ

VAT GB 726 598 394 • Registered in England • Company Registration No. 3599719