Unwanted phone calls Options

[JulieMarie]

Over the past few months we have started to receive increasingly frequent phone calls on our landline phone (which seem to be coming from from India) trying to sell us things, eg loft insulation, insurance etc. The number shows up as "international" or "unavailable" on the phone and there is always a delay before the caller speaks. Also, they always ask to speak to the householder. I know we can just put the phone down but the number of these calls has now reached a nuisance level and they are really very intrusive. Does anyone know how to get these calls stopped?

Thanks.

[corenfa]

Try registering here: http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html

If you have already registered then I don't know what else to suggest (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[owainsutton]

Try registering here: http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html

If you have already registered then I don't know what else to suggest (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

If the calls are from overseas, then it's highly unlikely that they will pay any attention to UK or EU regulations, unfortunately.

[pitcher54]

Owainsutton is right. I have registered with the Telephone Preference Service on more than one occasion and it makes no difference at all. My strategy is to lift the receiver, say Hello, and if there is no immediate response, or there is a tell-tale silence before the operator realises I have answered, I put the phone down. At least they can't call you back straight away because the calls are generated by computer, but I agree, they are very annoying.

[stetenorve]

I turn the call round, and try to sell them a garden building! The poor overseas folk are totally off guard, can't get back on script, and it actually counts against them because they have targets to complete phone calls in a certain way, and in a certain time, and they have no chance as I patiently explain to them that I can offer 30% off a sectional concrete garage before the end of the month! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Bagpuss]

Oh how VERY pleasing, stetenorve!!

Have a sticker.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Bx

[Tenor Viol]

Yes, these seem to have become a nuisance recently as UK operators are meant to comply with TPS - unfortunately it is voluntary. It really requires a concerted complaint to OFCOM to deal with this, but I don't see it happening yet.

My mum has been logging these - she had 14 of them a couple of weeks ago.

I spoke with her landline supplier and they said there was little they could do if the call originated outside of the UK.

Some are just sales, others though are scams, so best thing is to not get involved with the call at all.

[liseypeasy]

Yes, these seem to have become a nuisance recently as UK operators are meant to comply with TPS - unfortunately it is voluntary. It really requires a concerted complaint to OFCOM to deal with this, but I don't see it happening yet.

My mum has been logging these - she had 14 of them a couple of weeks ago.

I spoke with her landline supplier and they said there was little they could do if the call originated outside of the UK.

Some are just sales, others though are scams, so best thing is to not get involved with the call at all.

My understanding was that registration with the TPS makes it illegal to make unsolicited contact, and it gives somewhere for you to complain to (regardless of whether that makes a difference!). It makes it illegal for companies you have given your details to to sell them on to other companies for the purposes of selling stuff (Assuming you haven't or don't give permission - always check whether that little box needs ticking or unticking).

I've had quite a lot of interaction with Trading Standards recently with my job and they say always to flag up what is happening if you're registered with TPS, if only because if scammers are contacting you, they are contacting someone else, and eventually will happen to someone who is vulnerable and if they don't know about it, there is nothing they can do.

But I agree for most people it is a nusiance that you're never going to wipe out completely. (There are certain things that TPS can't do, detailed when you sign up)

And it is worth saying regarding companies that take advantage of vulnerable people, there may be local charities or other services that can intervene on your behalf (I've written stern letters with my employer's fearsome logo which has at least a temporary effect, and we let Trading standards and the police do the rest if it has come to that).

[sbhoa]

Yes, these seem to have become a nuisance recently as UK operators are meant to comply with TPS - unfortunately it is voluntary. It really requires a concerted complaint to OFCOM to deal with this, but I don't see it happening yet.

My mum has been logging these - she had 14 of them a couple of weeks ago.

I spoke with her landline supplier and they said there was little they could do if the call originated outside of the UK.

Some are just sales, others though are scams, so best thing is to not get involved with the call at all.

My understanding was that registration with the TPS makes it illegal to make unsolicited contact, and it gives somewhere for you to complain to (regardless of whether that makes a difference!). It makes it illegal for companies you have given your details to to sell them on to other companies for the purposes of selling stuff (Assuming you haven't or don't give permission - always check whether that little box needs ticking or unticking).

Only for calls trying to sell you something and only where the call centre is in the UK. Unless they changed it since I signed up.
Anybody notice that some places didn't call with a sales pitch but to ask if they could call later with one......?

Then there are the nuisance calls from your energy suppliers, BT, the bank, firms you get stuff from but don't want them calling you offering other products .....

[owainsutton]

Some are just sales, others though are scams, so best thing is to not get involved with the call at all.

If it's a scam, you can always tie up their time by pretending to be a combination of oblivious, gullible, and hard-of-hearing. Every minute spent failing to scam you is a minute they're not using to scam somebody else...

[Swell Box]

I once made the mistake of taking part in a telephone survey, which was only supposed to take two minutes, but actually took nearer twenty. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

I was promised all sorts of freebies for taking part, but all I got was nuisance calls, until I got hold of the [UK based] company who was selling my number, gave them a rollicking, and told them to remove my details from their database, or otherwise face legal action. The calls dropped off after that, to the point that we rarely receive any now.

However, if I do receive one, I usually say something like "Welcome to Swell Box Limited; your call is important to us. For sales press one; for technical service press two, etc". They usually hang up before I get to "for Accounts press five". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Otherwise your only option is either to change your number, or not to answer international calls unless you are expecting one.

SB

[lottie]

Some are just sales, others though are scams, so best thing is to not get involved with the call at all.

If it's a scam, you can always tie up their time by pretending to be a combination of oblivious, gullible, and hard-of-hearing. Every minute spent failing to scam you is a minute they're not using to scam somebody else...

I interrupt them by saying "could you hold on a minute.." then laying the phone down without hanging up and go and do something else. After about ten minutes of waiting they've usually gone and don't call back.

The other thing I do is ask them to repeat everything they say. Boring but effective (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

If it's a UK company, such as double-glazing, I ask to speak to the supervisor and then calmly lose my temper. I was at my elderly parent's house one day during a dramatic family crisis and they called at 4.30pm on a SUNDAY asking about new windows!!! I was given a grovelling apology and promised they would never call again.. and they never did.

We're registered with TPS and don't get these calls at all now here at home. But I rarely answer the phone anyway unless it's my OH (we have caller display).

[sbhoa]

Some are just sales, others though are scams, so best thing is to not get involved with the call at all.

If it's a scam, you can always tie up their time by pretending to be a combination of oblivious, gullible, and hard-of-hearing. Every minute spent failing to scam you is a minute they're not using to scam somebody else...

I interrupt them by saying "could you hold on a minute.." then laying the phone down without hanging up and go and do something else. After about ten minutes of waiting they've usually gone and don't call back.

The other thing I do is ask them to repeat everything they say. Boring but effective (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

If it's a UK company, such as double-glazing, I ask to speak to the supervisor and then calmly lose my temper. I was at my elderly parent's house one day during a dramatic family crisis and they called at 4.30pm on a SUNDAY asking about new windows!!! I was given a grovelling apology and promised they would never call again.. and they never did.

We're registered with TPS and don't get these calls at all now here at home. But I rarely answer the phone anyway unless it's my OH (we have caller display).

We don't have caller display.
I was very cross to find out that when I bought a phone with this facility it didn't mean I could use it!!
Can't ignore the foreign based calls without knowing that they are....

For the ones who start by asking if you are the house owner the quickest way to get rid of them is to tell them it's a council house.
I tell them that Mrs sbhoa isn't in and I don't know when she'll be home.

[anacrusis]

Often the staff in the call centres give improbably European names: I have a friend who gives a similarly incongruous one in the opposite direction, and then waits for the first bit of the spiel, before leaving the phone dangling whilst going off to make a cup of tea. Not perhaps fair on the one caller, and callcentre jobs are absolutely soul-destroying to do, but at least diverting for the individual who might otherwise just have been somewhat annoyed...

[Pixie*Porsche]

Does anyone else get the "This is an urgent message regarding your PPI" calls? I don't even have any PPI / finance!