They used to be considered as essential in virtually every British home. But landline telephones are in danger of being relegated to museum pieces, thanks to the rise of nuisance callers.
Nearly two thirds of Britons now ignore their landlines in order to avoid cold calls and scammers.
Millions of people let their calls go to voicemail so that they can screen who it is that is trying to contact them. But others ignore the calls altogether.
The rise of nuisance calls could spell the end of landlines with two thirds of Britons now ignoring the phone ringing to avoid scammers
The findings – in a new TalkTalk report – come amid growing evidence that cold calls in the UK have reached epidemic proportions.
Earlier this month, it emerged that Britons were bombarded with 2.2million nuisance phone calls and texts about PPI, pensions and insurance scams last year.
Nearly 900million of those calls and texts came from ambulance-chasing firms trying to get people to claim compensation for accidents, an analysis of Ofcom data found.
The vast majority of victims were aged 65 and over – and often received multiple calls a day from different numbers.
Given these numbers, it is perhaps unsurprising that Britons would often prefer to ignore the phone altogether.
In fact, they go to such lengths to cold callers that the average UK household now misses at least one important call a month.
According to a survey of 2,000 adults, commissioned by TalkTalk, a third of people have missed key calls from their parents simply because they were trying to avoid scammers.
Tristia Harrison, TalkTalk’s chief executive, said: ‘It would be a real shame if landlines became obsolete just because we are too afraid to pick them up
Some 20 per cent have missed calls from work, 15 percent from their children’s school whilst one in 20 respondents said that they had missed a call from a ‘long lost love they thought had gone forever’.
TalkTalk released the findings as it unveiled a new, free ‘CallSafe’ service in order to help combat the problem.
People will be able to receive calls from the numbers they regularly dial – such as friends, family and work. However, they will also be able to block unwanted numbers, so that their phone never rings when nuisance callers try to get in touch.
According to the telecoms firm, customers can sign up for the service simply by dialling 1472.
Those who take an extra step will also be able to vet unknown numbers, by asking the caller to record a short introductory message before the phone ever rings.
Tristia Harrison, TalkTalk’s chief executive, said: ‘It would be a real shame if landlines became obsolete just because we are too afraid to pick them up.
‘CallSafe provides our customers with a free and simple way to avoid unwanted calls, enhancing their call security and allowing them take back control of their landlines – hopefully saving them from extinction in the process.’ Angela Rippon, who is helping TalkTalk launch of CallSafe, says: ‘The number of unwanted calls we receive on a daily basis has reached a ridiculous level and it’s clearly starting to impact on our relationship with our landlines. The result is that important calls are being missed.’
The new TalkTalk scheme follows the launch of similar services by other telecoms providers. BT’s Call protect service aims to block 30million nuisance calls every week.