A broadband provider has stopped all door-to-door sales in Newcastle after falling foul of cold calling restrictions.

Talk Talk has called a halt on doorstep sales across the city after being accused of “persistent” activity in a No Cold Calling Zone (NCCZ) in Kenton.

Kenton councillor Stephen Lambert said he had received “numerous complaints” about Talk Talk and other companies knocking on doors, despite signs warning that cold callers are not welcome.

However, the company has claimed that Newcastle City Council has not provided detailed enough information so that its agents could be “100% sure” about where the measures are in place.

In a letter to the local authority, Talk Talk said it had received only one complaint anywhere outside of Newcastle for entering a NCCZ in the last two years – but confirmed it was now suspending all door-to-door sales activity in Newcastle.

Coun Lambert, who reported Talk Talk to the council’s trading standards team after “scores of complaints” from residents, said: ”Every neighbourhood across the Kenton Ward is a ‘No Cold Calling Zone’. Despite this, we’ve had numerous complaints about uninvited cold calling from people claiming to be from broadband, telecoms and energy companies. The most persistent has been Talk Talk.

”Some residents have challenged these people, which is the right thing to do. Cold calling is a banned practice. The law forbids cold callers to knock at homes which display a No Cold Calling Zone sticker. The decision of Talk Talk to desist from this activity is welcome.”

There are currently 48 NCCZs implemented in Newcastle, covering some 84,410 households across 15 of the city’s wards.

While it is not illegal to cold call, the council says NCCZs are designed “to act as a deterrent to rogue traders” and “empower local residents to feel confident about sending unwanted callers away”.

In their response to the council, Talk Talk confirmed it had “ suspended all door-to-door sales activity in the Newcastle area in order to prevent any such breach from happening again”.

It said: ”Any third-party agents acting on behalf of Talk Talk are given thorough training and instruction not to enter NCCZs. As soon as we were made aware of complaints, all agents involved were taken through a formal disciplinary process and dealt with appropriately. In addition, agents across the UK were reminded of the importance of adhering to NCCZ guidance.

”Unfortunately, following these measures we were made aware of a further complaint in relation to a NCCZ, and therefore decided to suspend all activity in the Newcastle area.”

However, Talk Talk claimed that Newcastle was “unique among all councils across the UK” in not publishing a list of addresses and postcodes on its website detailing where the NCCZs are. Instead, the council website has a series of maps.

The broadband provider, which is the fourth biggest in the UK, said: “The method of Newcastle council is unique in that a series of maps are displayed, with no postcodes or house numbers and some without road names, so that a more visual and less specific approach has to be taken by any sales agents in the area. We expect this lack of specificity is the main reason for the breaches in Newcastle.

“Were we to begin to sell again in Newcastle, we would only do so with precise addresses and postcodes, so that all agents could be 100% sure where the NCCZs are, as is the case in the rest of the country.”

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Cllr Paul Frew, cabinet member for Resources at Newcastle City Council, said: “My thanks to Stephen and his residents for raising these issues. We have No Cold Calling Zones covering much of the city, 84,400 households in total in 48 zones. The council is looking into extending this for the whole city.

“These zones are the law and are there to protect our residents from the pressure of door-to-door sales. Stickers have been distributed to display in No Cold Calling Zones, so there is no excuse for any company to flout them. Residents can report businesses that are ignoring these rules by emailing tradingstandards@newcastle.gov.uk or dialling 101.

“While we are disappointed at the actions of Talk Talk’s agents, we recognise that the company has now acted by writing to the council and suspending all activity in Newcastle. We hope that other companies who may be breaching the law recognise how serious this is and follow their example. We won’t hesitate to act if they don’t.”