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How to stop nuisance calls in the UK

By the StoryCheck team · 6 min read · Published 29 September 2026

The quickest way to cut nuisance calls in the UK is to register your landline and mobile with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), which is free and makes unsolicited live sales calls to your number unlawful within 28 days. The TPS does not stop scammers, and recorded sales messages fall under separate consent rules, so pair it with your phone's call screening and report what still gets through: sales calls to the ICO, silent calls to Ofcom, and scam calls and texts to 7726.

Which kind of nuisance call are you getting?

How do you register with the Telephone Preference Service?

The TPS is the UK's only official "do not call" register for landlines and mobiles, and registering is free. Once your number is listed, organisations are legally required not to make live sales and marketing calls to it. They must screen their lists against the register at least once every 28 days, so the law gives them up to 28 days to stop, although the TPS says you are likely to notice a drop sooner.

1. 1

   Online

   Register at tpsonline.org.uk, choosing Residential for a personal number.

2. 2

   By phone

   Call the TPS registration line on 0345 070 0707.

3. 3

   From your mobile

   Text TPS followed by your email address to 85095, a route both EE and O2 publish.

4. 4

   Once only

   A TPS registration never needs renewing. Companies use the Corporate TPS (CTPS) instead, which asks for a yearly confirmation.

The TPS has limits worth knowing. It covers live marketing calls, not scams, which criminals make regardless. A company you have specifically agreed to hear from can still call. And it does nothing for texts: the ICO confirms there is no equivalent text or email preference service, because marketing texts already need your consent.

What rules must UK sales callers follow?

The rules sit in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), enforced by the Information Commissioner's Office, which can fine firms that break them. A company making a live sales call must:

• not call a TPS-registered number unless you have specifically consented to its calls
• not call you again once you have said you do not want its calls
• say who is calling and let its number, or another contact number, be displayed
• give you an address or freephone number if you ask for one

Recorded marketing calls are stricter: they need your specific consent to that type of call, and general consent to marketing is not enough. Cold calls about claims management services need your specific consent, and cold calls about pensions are banned unless they come from an FCA-authorised firm or a scheme's trustees or managers who have your consent or an existing relationship with you. Marketing texts need your consent too, unless you bought something similar from the sender and were offered an opt-out.

How do you block nuisance calls on your phone?

• iPhone: in Settings, then Apps, then Phone, you can have unknown callers asked for a reason before the phone rings, silence unsaved numbers, and send calls your network flags as spam to voicemail.
• Android: the Google Phone app offers caller ID and spam protection, and Settings, then Blocked numbers, then Unknown, blocks private and unidentified numbers.
• BT home phone: Call Protect is included at no extra cost and sends known nuisance numbers to a junk voicemail, with a personal blocklist of up to 100 numbers.
• Your mobile network: O2 shows Brand ID and Call Defence labels at no extra cost on Pay Monthly custom, SIM Only and Business plans, and EE offers a Scam Guard add-on for Pay Monthly customers.
• WhatsApp: turn on Silence unknown callers under Settings, then Privacy, then Calls.

Where do you report nuisance calls and texts?

• Sales calls and recorded messages: the ICO's online form, which takes about five minutes. The ICO does not reply to individual complaints but uses them to take action.
• Live sales calls to a TPS-registered number: the TPS complaint service, if you have been registered for 28 days or more and can give the company's name or number and the date and time of the call.
• Silent and abandoned calls: Ofcom, not the ICO.
• Scam and spam texts: forward them free to 7726. For scam calls, text CALL followed by the number to 7726.
• Not sure where it belongs: the Which? nuisance calls tool passes complaints to Ofcom or the ICO.
• Scams where you lost money or shared details: your bank on 159, then Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud) at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101, and Advice Direct Scotland gives consumer advice on 0808 164 6000.

If one number keeps ringing and you want to know who is behind it before you report it, our guide to repeat callers walks through the options, and a private reverse lookup shows the line type, network and any scam signals in about 60 seconds, without the caller knowing. Calls with no number at all are different: see what you can do about withheld numbers.