The consumer organisation surveyed 2,092 members of the public, and discovered that two thirds of people have received at least one cold call recently, averaging around six calls per month over the past three months.

To identify the worst culprits, Which? also asked 737 of its members to keep a two-week diary of the cold calls they received. Most (39%) were sales and marketing calls from a range of companies, with British Gas, BT, Sky, and TalkTalk some of the most frequent callers.

Silent calls were the next most regular, accounting for 32% of cold calls received during the two-week period, followed by known scams and competitions (8%), debt agencies (7%), and charities at 3%.

Which? phone expert Ceri Stanaway comments: ‘Cold calling may be a legitimate business practice, but it’s clear from our investigation that unwanted phone calls drive many people to despair.’ However, she also noted that few had taken steps to reduce cold calls, such as signing up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or going ex-directory.

‘Despite public dislike of cold calls, only one third of the members of the public we asked had taken action to stop cold calls,’ she adds.

Silent calls are also a big issue. Back in June, the MMC reported on Ofcom plans to clamp down on silent calls through the introduction of new rules, one of which would prevent companies from calling more than once in any 24-hour period unless an agent is on hand to take the call. The consultation period ended on 27 July, and Ofcom hopes to introduce the rules early next year.