Almost 3,600 complaints about nuisance calls from energy suppliers were made in 2019, a freedom of a freedom of information request (FOI) has revealed.
The FOI submitted by communications company Quadient to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) found that a total of 3,581 complaints about nuisance calls and texts were made by consumers.
In total there were 2,800 complaints about live calls, 581 for automatic calls and 200 text-related complaints.
Even more (3,866) complaints about nuisance communications were made about companies offering energy saving and home improvement services. These include 3,256 for live calls, 428 for automatic calls and 182 about texts.
Accident claims topped the list with almost 38,000 complaints, followed by telecoms at almost 24,000. Meanwhile more than 5,000 complaints were received about debt management companies and more than 4,000 complaints about the banking sector.
Results split by industry
| Topic | Live calls | Auto calls | Text messages | Total |
| Accident claims | 18,671 | 18,769 | 533 | 37,983 |
| Adult content | 66 | 37 | 167 | 270 |
| Banking | 1,205 | 2176 | 802 | 4183 |
| Broadband, phone, TV or other telecoms services | 6,115 | 16,959 | 575 | 23,649 |
| Call blockers | 636 | 44 | 25 | 705 |
| Charities | 116 | 15 | 48 | 179 |
| Competition | 255 | 119 | 500 | 874 |
| Computer scams | 1,224 | 1,092 | 223 | 2,539 |
| Debt management | 1,528 | 2,616 | 902 | 5,046 |
| Energy saving and home improvement | 3,256 | 428 | 182 | 3,866 |
| Energy supply | 2,800 | 581 | 200 | 3,581 |
| Gambling | 279 | 43 | 845 | 1,167 |
| Health | 338 | 47 | 615 | 1,000 |
| Holidays | 200 | 27 | 343 | 570 |
| Insurance (including car, life and home) | 3,066 | 492 | 234 | 3,792 |
| Lifestyle surveys | 1,777 | 64 | 53 | 1,894 |
| Oven cleaning | 103 | 1,515 | 18 | 1,636 |
| Payday loans | 126 | 54 | 593 | 773 |
| PPI | 1,443 | 189 | 422 | 2,054 |
| Pensions | 243 | 40 | 25 | 308 |
| Silent/no answer | 1,237 | 1,908 | 57 | 3,202 |
| None of the above | 9,503 | 9,144 | 6,764 | 25,411 |
| Total across all industries | 56,324 | 58,425 | 14,605 | 129,354 |
Andrew Stevens, Quadient principal, banking and financial services, said among the reasons behind nuisance calls for energy suppliers were companies phoning to request meter readings when customers have smart meters installed.
Stevens added: “From damaging long-term relationships to risking an ICO fine, businesses will face the consequences if they can’t give consumers the information they want, when they want it, on the channel they request.
“Considering more consumers will now be trapped at home and on edge about possible news, there is a huge obligation to act responsibly. Customer communication teams need to put the groundwork in – this means logging key details, such as which channels customers prefer to be contacted over, and what time of day suits them best. It means ensuring this information is available to all departments that interact with customers, so that contact remains consistent, relevant and useful.”