A petition calling for pensions and investment related cold-calling to be made illegal has received industry backing.

The petition, hosted on the Parliamentary petitions website, was started by IFA Darren Cooke from Red Circle Financial Planning. It has already attracted over 1,800 signatures and has the backing of a number of networks of financial advisers.

However, Royal London has also pledged its support in the hope of raising the petition’s profile. Its first goal is to achieve 10,000 signatures, which will require a government response.

Royal London CEO Phil Loney said: “As a member-owned business, Royal London is focused on ensuring the best outcomes for consumers. Unless tougher action is taken on cold-calling, vulnerable people will continue to be at risk of unscrupulous sales calls which can put their savings at risk. I am pleased to commit Royal London to supporting this campaign.”

Author of the petition, Darren Cooke said: “This campaign is gathering momentum and I’m pleased to welcome Royal London as the first major pension provider to support the petition. I hope that other providers across the industry will now give their support. It is vital that we unite to tackle the scourge of cold-calling.”

Former Pensions Minister Ros Altmann has also pledged her support to the campaign and has said she is “in favour of measures that will help people avoid losing their hard earned ‎savings to fraudsters”.

The petition runs until 21 March 2017 and can be signed here.

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