The government has launched a second consultation on cold calling, a month after regulations around a ban were set to be implemented.

The consultation, launched by HM Treasury today, 20 July, comes a week after Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen said that he had laid before parliament the progress that has been made on the ban, as required under the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018.

According to HM Treasury, the consultation will run until 17 August, with a view to laying the regulations before the Houses of Parliament in the Autumn.

Furthermore, the draft regulations in this consultation are only concerned with a ban on live, unsolicited direct marketing calls relating to pensions, not electronic communications such as emails or texts.

Royal London pension specialist, Helen Morrissey, said: “With every day that passes more people are being targeted by scammers and we need to get this ban in place as soon as possible.

“The consultation says it seeks ‘final views’ with the intention being to lay the regulations before both Houses in Autumn 2018 ‘subject to Parliamentary timetabling’. We urge the government not to let the timetable slip any further on this vital issue.”

The government missed the initial June deadline to introduce the ban, after the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill was given royal ascent in May, however it now said that it has only just started to seek the views on the draft regulations of the ban.

Recent City of London Police figures revealed that £51m had been lost by savers to investment fraudsters in the first three months of 2018, up from £30m over the same period last year, highlighting the urgency of the issue.

AJ Bell senior analyst Tom Selby, said: “Indeed, these recent figures suggest the problem could be getting worse rather than better, yet the government continues to prevaricate over introducing a ban on pensions cold-calling that was first announced in November 2016.

Share Story: