Cold calling ban in January says Economic Secretary to the Treasury

Pensions cold calling is set to finally be banned on 9 January, a top Treasury Minister has confirmed. Last night, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister, John Glen MP, tweeted: “Pensions cold calling is a scourge, so I was pleased and proud to see Parliament pass a ban on it this week. “This means the ban will officially come into force on 9th January. “Spread the word.”The confirmation came after a wait of nearly two years. In his last Budget, in October, Chancellor Philip Hammond finally revealed a pensions cold calling ban would get the green light. A draft statutory instrument was published following the Budget and was laid before Parliament this week. Once the regulations are approved by Parliament they should become law within 21 days.A ban could see a maximum fine of £500,000. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) will be the enforcing body.A wider ban on text and email cold contacts was ruled out for the time being by the Treasury because other regulations already cover these areas.However the Treasury says that the cold calling ban will be part of a “suite“ of preventative measures designed to tackle pension fraud.Cold calls to consumers have been blamed for some of the worst examples of pension mis-selling as ruthless individuals have targeted some of the most vulnerable, often persuading them to transfer their pensions to much riskier investments.In its report on consultation on the ban the Treasury said: “Pension scams can have devastating consequences, such as the loss of an entire pension fund. “On top of this, the chances of recovering these savings are very low, leaving most victims without the means to fund their retirement.“Cold calling is the most common method used to initiate pension fraud. “The serious consumer detriment caused by pensions scams means that the Government has chosen to intervene directly to implement a pensions cold calling ban.The Government first consulted on the policy through the Pensions Scams consultation launched in December 2016, and outlined its approach in the response published in August 2017. “In July 2018 the Government sought comments on draft regulations to implement the ban through a further consultation.”

Cold calling ban in January says Economic Secretary to the Treasury

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