It's the third call this week about the accident you never had. You're registered with the TPS, you've said "take me off your list" twice, and the number changes every time. You've heard the fines went up. So why is your phone still ringing?
For years the rules on marketing calls in the UK had an obvious weakness: the maximum fine. Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, known as PECR, the Information Commissioner's Office could fine a company no more than £500,000. For a large call operation, that was a cost of doing business.
That changed on 5 February 2026, when most of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 came into force. The maximum fine for breaking PECR is now £17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher - the same level as data protection law.
Our view: this is a real change, but it changes the behaviour of legitimate companies far more than it changes the behaviour of the people who ring you most. Knowing the difference tells you which calls will fade and which ones you still need to deal with yourself.
What exactly changed
Three changes matter for anyone who receives unwanted calls and texts.
| Area | Before | Since 5 February 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum PECR fine | £500,000 | £17.5 million or 4% of global turnover |
| Calls that never connect | Arguably outside the rules if nobody received them | Communications count even if they fail to reach you |
| ICO investigation powers | Relied more on voluntary cooperation | Wider powers, including requiring people to attend interviews |
The second row is easy to overlook. Automated dialling systems often place far more calls than they connect, and some of them ring once or go silent. Under the amended rules, calls and messages count even if they don't reach the person, which makes that "spray and pray" dialling a bigger legal risk.
The basic rules on who may call you haven't changed. Companies still can't make live marketing calls to numbers registered with the Telephone Preference Service unless you have told that specific company you are happy to hear from it. Recorded marketing calls still need your explicit consent. And whoever instigates the calls stays responsible, even if an outside call centre does the dialling.
Who the new fines will actually stop
Here's the thing about a £17.5 million fine: it only frightens someone the ICO can find and collect from.
The companies most likely to change their ways are identifiable UK businesses that market by phone: energy suppliers, home improvement firms, insurers, broadband sellers and lead generators that sell your details to them. For them, a fine of 4% of turnover is a board-level risk. Expect more careful consent records, more screening against the TPS and fewer "we bought a list" campaigns.
The fines are much less relevant to:
- Outright fraudsters. A caller pretending to be your bank is already committing a crime far more serious than a PECR breach.
- Operations based abroad with no UK assets to collect a fine from.
- Phoenix companies that shut down and reappear under a new name when enforcement gets close.
In practice, the calls you can expect to decline are the "legal but annoying" kind: pushy but real companies ignoring the TPS. The calls that remain are more likely to be outright scams, and those need a different response.
Nuisance call or scam call: which one is it?
The distinction decides where you report it and how worried you should be.
- A nuisance marketing call tries to sell you something real: solar panels, a loft insulation survey, a claims service. It is annoying and often unlawful, but it isn't trying to steal from you. Report it to the ICO.
- A scam call pretends to be someone it isn't, or asks for money, passcodes or remote access to your device. Hang up and report it as fraud.
Some calls start as the first and turn into the second. The "you were in an accident" call is a classic: often a lead generator fishing for claims, occasionally a front for something worse.
How to make a complaint that actually helps
The ICO builds cases from patterns in public complaints. A vague complaint ("I get loads of calls") is hard to use. A precise one can tie a number to a company. This is how to make yours count:
- Write down the details straight away: date, time, the number shown and what the caller said, especially any company name.
- Ask who is calling and where they got your number. Legitimate companies must tell you. Evasion is itself useful evidence.
- Note whether your number is on the TPS and since when.
- Report marketing calls and texts to the ICO using its online form.
- Forward unwanted texts to 7726, free on the major UK networks, so your network can act on the sender.
- Check the number on Who Rang and add your report. If dozens of people describe the same pitch from the same number, that pattern is visible to everyone.
If a call asks for money or passwords, it is fraud rather than nuisance marketing. Report it to Report Fraud, or to Police Scotland on 101 if you live in Scotland.
Is the TPS still worth it?
Yes, and the new fines make it more useful, not less. Registering with the Telephone Preference Service is free and takes up to 28 days to take full effect. It won't stop scammers, who ignore every rule, and it doesn't cover companies you have given permission to call. What it does is turn a legitimate company's call into a clear breach - the kind that is now much more expensive.
What nobody tells you is that consent is often the loophole. Many "legal" marketing calls happen because you ticked a box on a competition, a comparison site or a free quote form. When a caller insists you agreed to be contacted, ask where and when. If you can't remember and they can't say, that is worth putting in your complaint.
What you can do today to cut the calls
- Register your landline and mobile with the TPS.
- Untick marketing consent boxes on quote forms, especially "partners" and "selected third parties".
- Use your phone's built-in filtering: "Silence Unknown Callers" on iPhone or call screening and spam protection in the Android Phone app.
- Don't press "1 to be removed" on recorded calls - it confirms the number is active.
- Let unknown numbers go to voicemail. Genuine callers leave a message.
Silencing unknown callers has a cost: the GP surgery, the courier and the job interview may land in voicemail too. For many people it is still the most effective single setting, but go in knowing the trade-off. If a UK number keeps calling, looking it up first is often the better middle ground. Our guide to UK dialling codes and number types explains what a 0333 or 0800 number can and can't tell you.
Frequently asked questions
When did the £17.5 million PECR fines start?
The higher maximum applies from 5 February 2026, when most of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 came into force.
Will the new fines stop scam calls?
Not by themselves. Fraudsters and operations based abroad were already breaking much more serious laws. The fines mainly change the behaviour of identifiable companies making unlawful marketing calls.
Who do I report nuisance calls to?
Report marketing calls and texts to the ICO. Report calls that ask for money, passcodes or bank details as fraud to Report Fraud, or to Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland.
Can a company call me if I'm registered with the TPS?
Only if you have told that particular company you are happy to receive its calls. Otherwise a live marketing call to a TPS-registered number breaks PECR.
The bottom line
The new fines are big enough to change how real UK companies market by phone, and that should thin out the pushy but legitimate calls. They won't touch the fraudster ringing from abroad with a fake number. Register with the TPS, report marketing calls with precise details, and treat anything asking for money or passcodes as a scam rather than a nuisance.