<p>The Office of Communications (Ofcom) has issued monetary penalties to four companies in the last five years (2009 to 2013) for breaching Ofcom's statement of policy on persistent misuse, in respect of abandoned and silent nuisance calls. In total, Ofcom has issued 12 monetary penalties for abandoned and silent calls since the start of 2007. Ofcom has also undertaken informal enforcement action, the result of which is that companies about whom Ofcom may have concerns, are brought into compliance more quickly without having to pursue formal action. In the first half of this year, Ofcom took such action against 11 companies, and as a result complaints linked to the telephone numbers used by seven of those organisations stopped and complaints in relation to the remainder fell significantly.</p>