AN EPIDEMIC of nuisance phone calls has prompted the local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) team to ring the changes.

They have joined forces with consumer protection group Which?, to spearhead a campaign to rid Scots of an unwanted statistic.

Research shows that Scots receive more nuisance calls than any other part of Europe, and that nine out of 10 Scottish households received an unwanted call within a one month period.

Sarah Hammond, manager of East Ayrshire CAB, said: "Nuisance calls are far too common today, and affect huge numbers of people both locally and across the country. One of our roles in the CAB is to protect peoples’ rights as consumers, and one of those rights is that you don’t need to put up with calls that you don’t want.

"Nuisance calls include any kind of unwanted sales or marketing call. People find these irritating or even distressing. But our message today is that you really can fight back. There are actions you can take to cut the number of calls considerably, and even stop them altogether.

"Together with Which? we are highlighting the simple steps you can take to block nuisance calls, but we want to make sure people here in Cumnock and Doon Valley are among the first to take action.

"We will be out and about in the area over the next few weeks passing on the simple steps you can take. But the information is also available online and on social media.

 "Our message is that there are actions you can take to block unwanted calls for good. We urge local people to take these actions themselves, and then to pass the information on to anyone they know who might benefit from it.

"Particularly elderly or isolated people, who may be more vulnerable to nuisance calls. Together we can make sure people in our community are not bothered by nuisance calls again.”

Fight Nuisance Calls

Register with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) — this is a free service available by calling 0345 070 0707.

Report nuisance calls using the complaint tool on the Which? website.

Talk to your phone company — they may have a service that can help to reduce nuisance calls Report spam text messages — send them to your network operator by forwarding the message to 7726.

Remember to opt out of receiving calls — whenever you’re asked to provide your contact details online, make sure you tick the ‘opt out’ boxes for marketing calls.

Go ex-directory , which makes it harder for businesses to obtain your phone number.

Consider a call blocking device, either attached to your phone, or get a phone with one already built in.