Partnership working with the local Citizens Advice Bureau will enable Shetland Islands Council’s Trading Standards team to install a further 25 free call blockers for people at risk of financial harm.
David Marsh, Trading Standards Team Leader, says: “We already have more than 250 of these devices in Shetland, which work quietly and almost unnoticed in the background to block over 90% of scam and nuisance calls so the phone won’t even ring, preventing the anxiety, worry and risk of fraud associated with such calls getting through. The units plug into existing phone lines (whether analogue or digital) and can work alongside broadband and any other installed devices, such as care alarms.”
Della Armstrong, Shetland Islands Citizens Advice Bureau Manager, adds: “We are delighted to partner with Trading Standards on this project, which will protect even more households from financial harm. We are always here to support people with financial or other issues, and this collaboration with Trading Standards can help prevent problems of this nature arising in the first place, which is good news for local folk”.
To request a free call blocker, whether for themselves or for someone else, folk can simply email trading.standards@shetland.gov.uk or phone 01595 744887.
Notes for editors
- For this project, the two organisations are using funds from the UK government to assist local networks in supporting consumers.
- The call blockers to be installed are trueCall Secure units, which filter scam and nuisance phone calls to prevent them from reaching a landline phone.
- The National Trading Standards Scams Team Call Blocker Project 2019-20 (PDF) concluded that “call blockers are an effective way to prevent scam and nuisance calls and help protect members of the public who receive scam calls. Most importantly, it is evident that installing a unit is an effective way to improve wellbeing and build consumer confidence.”
- Bournemouth University (National Centre of Post-Qualifying Social Work) conducted research (PDF) on wellbeing that concluded that “Older people, those who self-identify as vulnerable, and individuals who live alone are most likely to benefit from the installation of a call blocker ...”