Unsolicited telephone calls

[JBR]

Despite our being registered with the Telephone Preference Service, we regularly receive unsolicited telephone calls which, up until recently, I have just ignored. We have an answering machine built into our telephone, which allows us to listen to the initial part of any message after the answerphone is tripped. If I recognise the caller, I pick up; if not, it just records until they go away and I later delete the message.

However, recently I have made a point of answering and pretending interest. In this way, I can usually obtain the name of the company and its telephone number (and if they refuse to give it I can always dial 1471 to obtain it anyway).

I have twice now supplied these details to the TPS, who say they will follow them up. On each occasion, the caller spoke excellent English, so it seems unlikely they would be from foreign locations (which I believe the TPS can do nothing about). Twice now I have received an e-mail from the TPS stating that they can find no valid name and address of the caller and that the telephone numbers I have supplied have been found to be fictitious, despite the ones I obtained by dialling 1471 appearing to be UK telephone numbers.

It seems that, regardless of whether people register with the TPS, these companies have found ways of avoiding their means of detection. I don't think I shall be making the effort to make any more reports and just go back to ignoring them.

 

[joe-90]

They can't sell you something unless they tell you who they are and how they can be contacted.

 

[JBR]

They can't sell you something unless they tell you who they are and how they can be contacted.

But they do, at least these last two did and, after some prompting, their telephone number as well.
Making up some sort of name is easy, and I suppose they can string any old numbers together and proclaim it as theirs.

 

[joe-90]

So what's in it for them then?

 

[JBR]

I don't know how they operate, but I suspect that they manage to persuade many people to buy whatever it is that they are selling. Perhaps once hooked on the line, they pass customers' details on to other connections.

Where loopholes exist, there will always be those with the will and the means to take advantage of them.

 

[Shutpa]

Is 080 678 3393 one of them? We had loads of these until we decided to block them. Also had a few enquiring about a non existing accident I was supposed to have. Gave up on TPS a long time ago.

 

[handyjack]

Often they are not trying to sell you anything they just want you to supply personal details.

 

[fender]

Does your phone have call barring?
I can just go through the list of any odd numbers that have called and then just press a couple of buttons on the phone to bar the number.

 

[Shutpa]

Does your phone have call barring?
I can just go through the list of any odd numbers that have called and then just press a couple of buttons on the phone to bar the number.

Not always a solution! For example, the fake accident callers use a series of phone numbers and nowadays, if I don't recognise the number, I just don't answer. If I can trace the numbers in my phone I will post them here.

 

[Shutpa]

Does your phone have call barring?
I can just go through the list of any odd numbers that have called and then just press a couple of buttons on the phone to bar the number.

Not always a solution! For example, the fake accident callers use a series of phone numbers and nowadays, if I don't recognise the number, I just don't answer. If I can trace the numbers in my phone I will post them here.

Edit: This one for starters!
http://www.tellows.co.uk/num/08438799144#statsqueries

 

[HERTS P&D]

I love these calls, if I am at home I will Google the number and read back to them all the bad feed back. They always end up hanging up, just when I'm having fun.
Or if they call on my mobile offering an advert deal which is unbelievable then I will ask them them every question regarding terms and conditions and ask them to repeat the offer to me again, they always hang up as well.

Andy

 

[JohnD]

I have pretty well solved it now. I looked up how to set the standard ringing tone on my phone, and how to set personal ringing tones for people in the phone's address book. It's Siemens cordless so copies the address book to all handsets.

All the people I ever want to speak to are now in the phone, and go "ring, ring"

Any other number, and "number withheld" or "overseas" goes " , " and is picked up by the answering machine without disturbing me. I don't even hear it. They mostly ring off when they get the answerphone message, otherwise I hear them say "Hello, this is Premium Bonds Winners department, for Mr......." and pick up the phone if I want.

It means I don't have to maintain a "barred" list, and new scammers won't get through just because I haven't barred them.

My view is that any business which still chooses to use "number withheld" should have learned by now that its calls will be treated as scam.

 

[fender]

That's true.

If our phone ever rings with a withheld number, it's automatically ignored.

 

[PBC_1966]

the telephone numbers I have supplied have been found to be fictitious, despite the ones I obtained by dialling 1471 appearing to be UK telephone numbers.

The problem with some of these callers is that they obtain services through a provider which permits them to send whatever CLID information they like with no checking. So they can "spoof" any number they like on you, either one which is completely nonsensical in a U.K. context, or one which is (or could be) a valid number but is fictitious.

Reputable telecoms companies won't allow that to happen, and will permit only the number of the actual line making the call, or of some other number verified as belonging to the company concerned (e.g. sending the main company switchboard number regardless of which line is used to call). The less reputable ones don't care, and will do nothing to stop it even after complaints.

 

[nauseous]

I have pretty well solved it now. I looked up how to set the standard ringing tone on my phone, and how to set personal ringing tones for people in the phone's address book. It's Siemens cordless so copies the address book to all handsets.

All the people I ever want to speak to are now in the phone, and go "ring, ring"

Any other number, and "number withheld" or "overseas" goes " , " and is picked up by the answering machine without disturbing me. I don't even hear it. They mostly ring off when they get the answerphone message, otherwise I hear them say "Hello, this is Premium Bonds Winners department, for Mr......." and pick up the phone if I want.

It means I don't have to maintain a "barred" list, and new scammers won't get through just because I haven't barred them.

My view is that any business which still chooses to use "number withheld" should have learned by now that its calls will be treated as scam.

Just to advise you. Our local Dr's surgery withhold their number on my mobile phone, not sure if others do tho.