Telemarketing companies that hound members of the public with unwanted calls could become easier to penalise under new government plans.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller wants to allow the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to take action against offending companies more easily.
And the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will consult on imposing heftier fines.
The ICO received 120,310 complaints about "unsolicited marketing calls" between April and November last year.
'Unwanted'Currently firms can only be punished if "substantial damage" is caused to householders by nuisance calls, but Ms Miller's plans will consider if this threshold can be lowered.
"Nuisance calls must stop. At best they are an irritation and an unwanted intrusion, at worst they cause real distress and fear, particularly to the elderly or housebound," she said.
"People need to feel safe and secure in their homes. The rules are clear - people have the right to choose not to receive unsolicited marketing calls. We will work to ensure their choice is respected."
The MoJ will launch a consultation tomorrow on whether firms that break the rules should face fines of up to 20% of their annual turnover.
Under the new rules, claims management companies (CMCs) could also face punishment if they buy leads generated by other firms who bombard customers with unwanted cold calls.
CMCs advertise widely on TV, newspapers and the internet, encouraging people to sue for personal injury compensation, and for other losses.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: "The Claims Management Regulator already takes tough action against companies which break the rules, suspending and closing down rogue firms, but now these fines will give us an extra weapon to drive bad behaviour out of the industry."
The Fair Telecoms Campaign group welcomed the announcement, but said it did not go far enough in dealing with the distress caused by constant nuisance calls.
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