90% respondents getting pesky calls despite being in DND list: LocalCircles

Around 90 per cent of people surveyed stated that they are getting pesky calls from individuals selling financial services, real estate projects and other products despite being registered on the Do Not Disturb list, says a survey by LocalCircles.

A vast majority of respondents surveyed have shared that they get spam calls every day and most of the calls are from individuals selling financial services and real estate products and services, according to the survey.

The survey comprising seven questions claims to have received 60,000 responses from 378 districts but the number of replies on each question varied.

In response to a question on the number of calls that people get, 90 per cent of respondents shared that they get at least 1-2 calls daily while 3 per cent said that they get over 10 pesky calls daily.

Similarly, 90 per cent of respondents shared that they have been getting unwanted, pesky, sales promotional or robo phone calls on their mobile number in the last 12 months despite being registered on the Do Not Disturb (DND) list.

"Despite multiple efforts by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) over the last few years, the pesky call situation has not improved enough for the consumer with 90 per cent surveyed still receiving such calls," LocalCircles, founder, Sachin Taparia said.

According to the survey, calls from different mobile phone numbers that seem to belong to companies/brands have risen from 29 per cent in February 2023 to 36 per cent in February 2024.

The survey conducted between November 15, 2023 - February 16, 2024, found that 40 per cent of respondents have identified most of the calls from a leading listed non-banking financial services firm followed by pesky calls from a leading listed private sector bank.

The survey found 48 per cent of mobile subscribers surveyed indicated that they get the majority of the pesky phone calls from different mobile numbers that seem to belong to individuals.