How to Stop Nuisance Calls on Landlines and Mobile Phones

As you’re here, we’re confident that getting nuisance calls isn’t the highlight of your day.

Well, it’s not just you; Ofcom saw an 83% increase in call complaints between October and December 2020 when compared with 2019. According to ISPreview, the ICO also saw a 27% rise in complaints between September and December 2020. So, if you thought it was getting worse recently, you weren’t imagining it.

Whether it’s someone asking you to take part in a survey, claiming you’ve won the jackpot or selling you a product, our useful guide will show you how to stop nuisance calls and texts on both landline and mobile phones, and protect yourself from scams. Let’s dive in.

Report a nuisance call

If your hard-earned downtime is marred by nuisance, scam or cold calls, report the number, ASAP. This will help to identify fraudulent callers and prevent them from contacting more people.

You can easily report a nuisance call to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), Ofcom, your phone operator or the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Register your number with the Telephone Preference Service

We’d advise anyone who is receiving nuisance calls to register their number (for free) with the Telephone Preference Service (TSP). By entering your details on their site, you’ve essentially let sales and marketing departments across the country know that you’re not interested in unsolicited calls. Quite the quick fix.

In theory, companies shouldn’t contact ANY numbers on this list, but some unethical companies will continue to badger you. Regardless, it’s a good place to start if you want to stop nuisance phone calls – think of it as emptying your screenshots folder when you’re tidying photo albums on your phone.

How to block nuisance calls on landlines

The number of nuisance calls on landline might be decreasing, but they’re still a problem and an annoying one at that. More importantly though, people can end up being scammed, especially those who are less tech-savvy. To stop cold calls on your landline, there are a couple of things you can do:

Step 1: Block calls using your phone provider

Did you know that most phone providers offer a free service where they block any suspicious numbers from calling you? It’s quick, easy and a no-brainer if you’re feeling harassed by nuisance calls.

BT Call Protect is free to all BT customers and will auto-divert calls that seem to be fraudulent or from nuisance callers. You can also compile a blacklist of numbers if you want to. Find out more in our handy BT Call Protect guide.

Step 2: Buy a landline with call-blocking technology

All BT phones feature the trueCall Virtual Assistant, which will block up to 100% of nuisance calls – ideal when you’re at your wits’ end. Our system means that you only talk to the people you choose to. Simple.

You can even block calls from everyone other than those in your address book if you want. If you already have a list of blocked numbers, you can easily add them manually, the same way you would add a list of contacts.

Here’s how it works when you get an unknown call:

• When you have an incoming call, the handset will show ‘announced call’. When you pick up the handset, you’ll hear the caller’s message saying who they are, so you can decide whether to take the call or send to answerphone.
• If you don’t want to do either, simply press the ‘block’ button. The caller will be told that their call isn’t accepted and will be disconnected.
• The number will then be blocked and added to the blocked calls list. If that number calls again they’ll hear, “Calls to this number are being screened by Call Guardian, the person you’re calling is not accepting your call. Please hang up.”
• You can also do this if you’re already in a call or answered it by accident. Pushing the ‘block’ button will add the number to your blocked numbers list and they won’t be able to contact you again.

The best call-blocking phones

Take your pick from these sophisticated, easy-to-use phones, complete with our unique, award-winning call-blocker technology.

1. BT Premium Phone (One Handset) – featuring a 3000-number directory, last-30-number redial and a large graphic display so you can easily see your missed calls and messages.
2. BT Advanced Phone (One Handset) – with a hands-free speaker, long-range reception and 22 hours of talking time (240 hours on standby). Ability to block up to 1,000 numbers.
3. BT4600 Premium Nuisance Call Blocker (Single) – is able to record up to 60 minutes of messages, block up to 1,000 numbers and comes in handy if you like large buttons and a large screen.
4. You can also do this if you’re already in a call or answered it by accident. Pushing the ‘block’ button will add the number to your blocked numbers list and they won’t be able to contact you again.

How to stop nuisance calls on mobile phones

The ‘block’ button on your smartphone will become your new best friend if you want to stop nuisance calls on mobile outright. You can add numbers to a dedicated blocked list, reject unknown numbers or only allow calls from your contacts to come through.

You can also download third-party apps, like TrueCaller, that can provide more extensive protection against nuisance calls on mobiles.

Block calls on iPhone

• Go to Recent Contacts to find the number, click the ‘i’ in the top right-hand corner of the screen and scroll down to click on ‘Block this Caller’. And you’re done.
• You can also silence calls from unknown numbers by going to Settings, then clicking ‘Silence Unknown Callers’. Easy-peasy.

Block calls on Android

• Click the phone icon then the clock icon to show recent calls and find the number you want to block. Click and hold your finger down on the number to bring up a small menu. Then select ‘Block/Report Spam’. All sorted.
• Another way to block calls on Android is to go directly to your contacts, click the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the screen and select ‘Block Numbers’. It only takes a few seconds and can save lots of repeat frustration!

Be wary of scam calls and don’t feel pressured into doing anything you’re not comfortable with, particularly if the person can’t prove who they say they are. We hope this article has shown you how to stop and block nuisance calls from both your landline and mobile phone effectively. Find out more information about the services we offer here at BT or view the full range of BT Telephones.