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British regulators have fined United Kingdom-based issuer Barclaycard £50,000 (US$92,000 or 63,000 euros) for making too many annoying calls to consumers. The country's Office of Communications, commonly known in the UK as Ofcom, levied the fine, the maximum possible, for "silent" and abandoned calls that originated from Barclaycard call centers. "Silent" calls occur when automated phone systems dial more numbers than call-center workers can handle. That results in silence when cardholders answer the calls. Ofcom says the Barclaycard call centers made too many such calls, violating the agency's rules. The agency did not say how many "silent" calls Barclaycard made. The fines result from an investigation Ofcom started about two years ago. Barclaycard reportedly has apologized for the practice and said it has made changes in its call-center operations.
