Optimum Calls Telephone scam

[Hardi]

Beware if you are cold called by a company called Optimum Calls. They will offer a good headline rate but omit to mention 0845 charges etc.

The real stinger comes when they mention the contract as 60 months, on the recording of this conversation it will sound perfectly clear, however on the other end of the telephone you will hear it as six months.

Once the charges go up after a year and you want to leave you find out about the 5 year contract and the £395 + vat termination fee for business users.

They also promise to match any other telecom offer, unfortunatley the offer needs to be in writing and addressed to the account holoder, I tried several companies all declined to put the offer in writing, pointing me to their websites and saying that all the information is there.

In short if you get a cold call from Optimum Calls say very loudly and clearly for their recording, "**** off I'm not interested" its the only language they understand, as I found out when I called to complain,

A more rude agressive abusive call centre I have yet to find!

Just google 'optimum calls complaints', there are many many people they have duped

 

[EngStudent]

Just so you know, Dominic Littlewood investigated something similar to this (though a different company) on Don't Get Done, Get Dom. He might be the person to contact for help/advice.

Good luck!

 

[RebeccaWilliams]

To the OP 'Hardi'

My name is Rebecca Williams and I am the Customer Relations Manager at Optimum Calls. I was sorry to hear about the poor service you have experienced at Optimum Calls, and would like to invite you to discuss the reasons of why you felt this way, so perhaps we can make some changes for future consumers. I can be contacted on ***********

 

[EngStudent]

Rebecca; with all due respect, a similar situation arose on a different forum over a year ago. Again, to do with the six/sixty-month contract.

Why is it that customers/potential customers are hearing 6 months but the recording states 60 months?

 

[Hardi]

Rebecca I have already spoken to someone else at your organisation about this matter, your company were not interested in my complaint and were rude and dismissive. When I said that no other companies would give written quotes I was told that that was rubbish and that you were constantly getting quotes and matching them, yet when I asked which companies, I was told that due to data protection that information could not be divulged. I

 

[Corgigrouch]

Generally, I use the argument, If their product is so good, then why are they calling me rather than me calling them... I object to overly cheerful spotty faced oxygen thieves calling me whilst I am busy working stealing my time.... MY time is money.

Even more do I object to is the line going dead without a goodbye or a thanks for your time when I politely tell them that I am not inerested or they just ignore me and start off in their speel off their computer screen...

I find it objectionable that someone sitting in a call centre doing nothing of importance steals my time.... My phone is for paying customers to contact me not for the convinience of a call centre trying to peddal stuff or services that no one wants.

 

[expertgasman]

Good god, you ARE a bit grouchy!

 

[JohnD]

You should make more use of Caller Display.

 

[Agile]

What number do they call from?

 

[JohnD]

I mean, if it's a "number withheld" or a "number unavailable" you can expect it to be from someone tiresome, and let it go to answerphone.

Number unavailable means an overseas call, usually from India. My relations in Canada and Australia sometimes seem to show their number on my phone though.

If your phone allows you to store numbers with name, you'll recognise people you've spoken to before.

 

[Corgigrouch]

You should make more use of Caller Display.

A great many of my customers withold their telephone numbers too... And my advertised number is a land line number that is routed through an exchange so that I don't look like a one man band with a mobile ....

 

[Mickymoody]

Sorry Admin for excess quoting....it should be pointed out that 'cold calls', from anyone, should be disregarded. As the normal way of shopping is to go to a shop to buy something you want, not be sold something you didn't want.

Rebecca Williams, not that is your name, or probably profession, how do you justify ringing people up, that are TPS registered, trying to sell stuff, to people that don't even want to speak to you?

So you prey on the vulnerable? How sorry is your company at causing distress? How do you recind the money you receive, paying those that you rang illegally?
Can you explain to your unwilling 'customers', how to avoid your future calls?

 

[Hardi]

Optimum calls are not at all sorry for the worry/distress they cause, this is how they make money. I have since found out through someone else they scammed that they used to trade under a different name, until they got too many complaints, they then set up Optimum Calls. No doubt they will close Optimum Calls within the next year or so and start again.

 

[RebeccaWilliams]

Rebecca; with all due respect, a similar situation arose on a different forum over a year ago. Again, to do with the six/sixty-month contract.

Why is it that customers/potential customers are hearing 6 months but the recording states 60 months?

Sorry for the delay in getting back to everyone on this thread.

I really do try and be as honest as I can regarding things like contract disputes, and am readily able to admit that sometimes we get things wrong. The mishearing of the contract length is something that has come up since a post on a forum a few years ago and we have investigated the matter.

When we sell our package we make it as clear as possible that it is a longer term as it is in fact our unique selling point! We charge line rental in advance for a year, not six months and I have not yet been advised by a customer that they were unaware of this and secondly in exchange for a 60 month contract term we offer a price match promise. 60 months is a substantial amount of time to stay with one supplier, however in that time if anyone offers a better offer than what we are advertising or supplying at the time we match or beat it. If someone is unhappy with the response they have got it is pretty easy to say they heard different on the recording, but we always send out the same information to our potential customers in a no obligation period, and have the same information on our website.

As I am sure you are all aware, once someone has used a technique such as this, with the use of forums it is pretty easy for anyone to claim they misheard.


Hardi, as mentioned above, we will always price match for customers, we have an entire department dedicated to it! However just to confirm the rates we ask for whatever bumph or leaflet you were given to make sure it is that package you have been sold. As you can imagine, anyone could ring in and claim free calls to mobiles, international etc, and we would have to give it to them! So we do have to check it out first! If you want to contact me direct and explain what you have been offered, I can assure you we will be happy to find a more suitable tariff for you.

Cold Calls are annoying. However most suppliers you use for your gas, electric, mobiles, phones all have outbound sales strategies. Simply, it is the most cost effective direct and successful way to gain new business. Sadly, I do not think cold calls are going to stop being used, however you can register for the TPS service or ask your service provider to block witheld numbers. Optimum Calls buy their data pre TPS screened so that we don't call anyone who has opted out of sales calls. Sometimes, the TPS needs to be re registered which is why you may get called even though you have registered, and again even the call centre staff are only human and one can 'slip through the net.' Optimum Calls only sell to business consumers, so I doubt that many people running a business could be considered 'vulnerable.' All our sales centres are based in England and are trained to identify if anyone is elderly, disabled or impaired in anyway that they are unable to make a decision; quite simply we won't sell to these people.

I was concerned about the information you claimed to have found regarding Optimum Calls trading under another name. I can confirm that Optimum Calls has not, nor has ever operated or traded under any other name since we were registered with companies house on 8th April 2009. Optimum Calls have also neither been bought nor sold in any acquisitions or mergers and is not affiliated with any other company.

As always I am here to discuss any concerns people have on my email or on our customer service help line.

 

[Corgigrouch]

Cold callers, telemarketers, call them what you will are vermin, to be eradicated..... They serve no useful purpose, they consume valuable Oxygen and steal time from folk who work for a living. They are a drain on small and large businesses alike and prey on the vulnerable..