Image caption Six in 10 people registered with the TPS are not satisfied with the service, Which? said 
 
 An industry-run service to prevent unsolicited marketing calls is not working, according to a survey by the consumer group Which? 
 
 Cold-calling people subscribed to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is not allowed without consent. 
 
 But Which? said that people registered with TPS still received double the average number of unsolicited calls than those not signed up. 
 
 And most TPS users interviewed were not happy with the service. 
 
 Nineteen million phone numbers are registered to the TPS - around three-quarters of all landlines in the UK. 
 
 "While people registered with the TPS report a decrease in nuisance calls after signing up, they received on average 10 unsolicited calls in the last month," the group said. "This compares to five on average for those who have not signed up." 
 
 About six in 10 people registered with the TPS are not satisfied with the service, Which? added. It sampled 2,070 people in the UK. 
 
 "Consumers are sick and tired of being bombarded with nuisance calls and texts," said Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd. "The current system is failing the public and given the scale of this problem, it's time for the government to step in. 
 
 The Telephone Preference Service The Telephone Preference Service runs a register that allows people to opt out of any unsolicited sales or marketing calls. Individuals can register for free by visiting the website or calling 0845 070 0707. It takes 28 days for registration to become effective. Mobile phone numbers can also be registered, although this will not prevent unsolicited text messages. It is a legal requirement that all organisations - including charities, voluntary organisations and political parties - do not make such calls to numbers registered on the TPS unless they have the individual's consent to do so. Telephone Preference Service 
 
 "We urgently need to see a new approach, new laws and new technology to tackle this scourge on people's lives. People must be put back in control of their personal data." 
 
 It called on the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the Ministry of Justice, Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading to form a joint taskforce within 12 weeks to stop unwanted calls and texts. 
 
 The ICO can issue fines of up to £500,000 for breaches of regulations on unwanted calls, texts and emails. 
 
 The Telephone Preference Service - which is not paid for by the government and is funded by the direct marketing industry - runs a register that allows people to opt out of any unsolicited sales or marketing calls. 
 
 It is a legal requirement that organisations do not make such calls to numbers registered on the TPS unless they have the individual's consent to do so. 
 
 John Mitchison, head of the TPS, said: "By law, companies can't make unsolicited sales and marketing calls to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service. 
 
 "TPS registration stops unsolicited calls from law-abiding companies that check names against the TPS's 'do not call' list. However, it can't physically block calls from rogue companies that flout the law. 
 
 "We agree with Which? that further steps must be taken to stop nuisance calls. The legislation to support this already exists: companies breaking the law are liable to fines of hundreds of thousands of pounds. 
 
 "Government regulators need to enforce the law to punish those breaking the law, which would deter others from doing so." 
 
 A spokesman for the ICO said: "The ICO would welcome any improvements that make it easier for us to stop consumers receiving unwanted marketing calls and texts. 
 
 "We have been working with the government and other relevant organisations, including Which?, to look at how the law around consent might be improved to provide greater consumer protection. 
 
 "We have also been discussing changes to the law that would make it easier to prosecute organisations who break the rules." ||||| Image caption Lee Beaumont is taking on the cold callers 
 
 A man targeted by marketing companies is making money from cold calls with his own higher-rate phone number. 
 
 In November 2011 Lee Beaumont paid £10 plus VAT to set up his personal 0871 line - so to call him now costs 10p, from which he receives 7p. 
 
 The Leeds businessman told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme that the line had so far made £300. 
 
 Phone Pay Plus, which regulates premium numbers, said it strongly discouraged people from adopting the idea. 
 
 Mr Beaumont came up with the plan when he grew sick of calls offering to help him reclaim payment protection insurance (PPI), or install solar panels. 
 
 He said: "I don't use my normal Leeds number for anyone but my friends and family." 
 
 Once he had set up the 0871 line, every time a bank, gas or electricity supplier asked him for his details online, he submitted it as his contact number. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lee Beaumont told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme about his 0871 number 
 
 He added he was "very honest" and the companies did ask why he had a such a number. 
 
 He told the programme he replied: "Because I'm getting annoyed with PPI phone calls when I'm trying to watch Coronation Street so I'd rather make 10p a minute." 
 
 He said almost all of the companies he dealt with were happy to use it and if they refused he asked them to email. 
 
 Warning 
 
 The number of calls received by Mr Beaumont has fallen from between 20 and 30 a month to just 13 last month. 
 
 Because he works from home, Mr Beaumont has been able to increase his revenue by keeping cold callers talking - asking for more details about their services. 
 
 Annoying calls Citizens Advice commissioned a survey about unwanted PPI calls. One in four of those who had received unwanted calls said this had interrupted family meals. Calls remain the most common form of contact about PPI claims, followed by automated landline messages and text messages to mobiles. Anyone who believes that they have been mis-sold PPI can make a claim directly to their provider. PPI: The unintended consequences of a scandal 
 
 He admitted the scheme had changed his attitude, saying: "I want cold calls", and that he had moved on to encouraging companies to make contact. 
 
 After a recent problem with his online shopping, he declined to call an 0845 number but posted his number on Twitter in the knowledge that the number could be picked up by marketing companies. 
 
 But the premium number regulator Phone Pay Plus says the public should think twice before setting up their own lines. 
 
 They say phone line providers must meet consumer protection standards, which include transparency, fairness and complaint handling, which would mean clearly setting out the cost of each call to any organisation that rang. 
 
 They told You and Yours: "Premium rate numbers are not designed to be used in this way and we would strongly discourage any listeners from adopting this idea, as they will be liable under our code for any breaches and subsequent fines that result." 
 
 A survey for charity Citizens Advice found that two-thirds of those asked had received unwanted calls, texts, emails or letters about PPI mis-selling. 
 
 More than half said that they had been contacted more than 10 times in the past year.
– Lee Beaumont was sick of telemarketers calling him, so he came up with a brilliant solution: He made them pay him for the privilege. The Leeds man signed up for an 0871-number (the British equivalent of a 900-number), and began giving that out to banks, utility companies, and other commercial concerns, he tells the BBC. Now, whenever anyone calls him, it costs them 10 pence a minute. He has a non-pay number, but he only gives it out to friends and family. When companies ask why he has a pay line, Beaumont says he's "very honest," telling them it's "because I'm getting annoyed with PPI phone calls when I'm trying to watch Coronation Street." The line has so far earned Beaumont around $465, while reducing the number of calls he receives a month from 20-30 to about 13. Schemes like Beaumont's make sense in the UK, because its version of the do-not-call list is a tad ineffective. A study this year found that people on it get twice as many calls as people who aren't.