Do you get time-wasting nuisance calls? I get offers of PPI refunds (I wish), ambulance chasers offering to solve my injury claims (sadly I am not injured), energy companies offering to change my gas and electricity supplies (to what? a different flavour of gas?) and so on.

Ratilal Sharma is getting pestered by people from what he thinks is called UK Electric Safety Check ringing his shop, Small Dole Post Office near Brighton. “They call every day, every week. They keep telling me I need a safety check.”

I last wrote on this subject three years ago when Vijay Patel was chased by an energy compliance company claiming to work for his local authority and threatening to shop him if he didn’t get a portable appliance test. Of course if your electricity is faulty and causes a fire, don’t expect the insurance to cover you. You do have a duty of care but your own regular inspection plus a safety check every five years should be all you need. And go local - as in fact Ratilal always does.

There is one more thing he can do. His telephone line is with BT and if he takes on the Caller Display service (which is free for one year and doesn’t cost much thereafter) he can block all those 0845 numbers and number-withheld calls.

It works a treat.

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