Good news for people sick of nuisance calls.
"Cold callers will no longer be able to hide or disguise their phone numbers as Government continues to crack down on nuisance calls.
Baroness Neville Rolfe, minister responsible for data protection, is expected to confirm tomorrow that from Monday 16 May 2016, direct marketing companies registered in the UK will need to display their phone numbers when making unsolicited phone calls - even if their call centres are based abroad."
Cold callers to be forced to display phone numbers - gov.uk
The Information Commissioners Office (ico) has issued over £2million in fines in the last 12 months, but there is a great blog entry from the ico that explains there is a lot more to it than the recent headlines.
They are now actively pursuing firms that play recorded messages as well as habitual email spammers. What I found encouraging is that they are going after smaller businesses that typically fold when caught and re-appear else where doing the same thing.
"these companies are typically limited companies, directors can be quick to look to liquidation as a way out of paying fines.
But it’s not as easy as that. The UK has a strong insolvency regime and the ICO is committed to pursuing money owed on behalf of taxpayers and those millions of people who have been bothered by unwanted calls.
Even companies which have stopped trading or try to get themselves struck off cannot escape because we use all means available to us to pursue the debt.
Of the 19 fines we’ve issued since April 2015, three have been paid (fines worth £165,000) and one is being paid in instalments. Four firms still have time to pay because they are still within deadline or the deadline has only recently passed and two companies are appealing their fine (FEP Heatcare Ltd and UKMS).
That leaves nine others that have gone into liquidation or have not paid, which we’re actively pursuing."
Nuisance calls – the facts behind the headlines - ico
The ico blog article is well worth a read, and if you are considering this form of marketing, I would rethink your strategy. 
