MPs set to debate our Pick Up Or Pay Up campaign in Parliament

MPs will debate Money Mail’s Pick Up Or Pay Up campaign in Parliament today.

We are calling for consumer protection laws to be updated so that big businesses will be fined if they do not answer their phones within ten minutes.

It would put an end to customers being left on hold for hours when trying to get an answer to an urgent inquiry.

Conservative MP Robert Halfon will today present a bill on this initiative for backbench MPs to debate. 

He says: ‘I am incredibly proud to present my Consumer Telephone Service Standards Bill to Parliament today, and to have worked closely with Money Mail to support their Pick Up Or Pay Up campaign.

‘Every day across the UK, utility and service providers are providing poor customer service, with hours-long waiting times, automated responses or requests to use online chat boxes. 

‘These providers have created a Kafkaesque torture chamber of customer service, and this needs to end.’

Mr Halfon’s bill is another step towards our vision becoming law.

Money Mail’s proposal is simple: we want to update the Consumer Rights Act 2015 with a statutory instrument — a form of secondary legislation which can make changes to an existing Act of Parliament. 

This would make it illegal for big firms to keep their customers on hold for more than ten minutes.

Earlier this year, a similar consumer law was approved in Spain.

It means that Spanish firms will face fines of up to £85,000 if they do not answer their phones to customers within three minutes.

The rule will apply to companies that make more than €50 million (£43 million) a year and have 250 staff or more.

h.kelly@dailymail.co.uk