How to stop recruiters and salespeople calling your mobile

A UK guide for professionals. Last reviewed October 2026.

If recruiters and salespeople keep calling your mobile, your number is probably in one or more contact databases. Here is how it got there, what the Telephone Preference Service can and cannot do, and how to get your number removed.

How do they have my mobile number?

Contact databases sell phone numbers to sales and recruitment teams. Lusha sells business contact details to sales and recruitment teams, RocketReach lets sales teams and recruiters look up phone numbers, and Cognism focuses on direct-dial and mobile numbers.

Numbers reach these databases in several ways. Some, such as Lusha, say that members of their community programme share their professional contacts, so your number can be added from someone else's contacts. Others collect from public websites, partners and data brokers.

Does registering with the TPS stop the calls?

It helps with sales calls. The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) covers home phones and personal mobiles, and registration is free. Ofcom says it can take up to 28 days for calls to reduce after you register.

There are limits. The TPS covers live sales and marketing calls, so it may not stop every call from a recruiter. It does not cover email, and it does not remove your number from the databases callers use. If your mobile is supplied by your employer, the account holder is normally your organisation, so ask whether its numbers are registered with the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS).

How to get your number removed

1. Register your personal mobile with the TPS on its website or by phone.
2. When someone calls, ask where they got your number, and tell them you object to direct marketing and want to be removed from their lists.
3. Contact the databases that sell numbers. Send each one an objection to direct marketing and a request for erasure. Our guides cover Lusha, Cognism, RocketReach, Apollo.io and ZoomInfo.
4. Keep a note of the dates. A company must normally respond within one calendar month. Check again every few months, especially after you change role.

Your rights under UK law

Your mobile number is personal data, even when you use it for work. You have an absolute right to object to its use for direct marketing, and in many cases a right to have it erased. These rights apply to the databases that sell your number as well as to the people who call you.

Let ColdStop Pro handle the databases

Step 3 takes the most time. ColdStop Pro sends formal requests to more than 25 sales databases on your behalf, deals with the replies, follows up with any that do not respond, and reports every outcome. Plans start at £29.

We cannot guarantee a reduction in calls, because some come from lists we cannot reach. ColdStop Pro is not affiliated with any of the companies named. This guide is general information, not legal advice.