LG John

Every bloody day at the most inconsiderate times the house phone goes and some loser is on the other end trying to sell me gas, new phone connections, whatever! I've told at least 10 people in the last few weeks that I'm not interested, that I do not have a gas connection or BT landline and to please remove me from their list and not phone again. The next night I sit down to tea and some online poker and.....RING, RING, F*CKINGRING!!

I seem to recall that there is a number you can call or something you can do to get these a-holes to stop calling me. Advice appreciated

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

http://www.tpsonline.org.uk

D

boxst

Hello

The Telephone Preference Service can help you (http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/). I very rarely get cold callers these days.

(Remember that it does take a few months to filter through all the marketing lists)

Steve.

muppet paster

Once you've registered with TPS it's an offence punishable by a max fine of £5000 )If memory serves) for peeps to make an unsolicited call to ya.

Cupramax

some use it is too, I'm still bombarded after being registered for 9 months...

ProperCharlie

Popular topic this, innit?



I found TPS worked a treat, btw.

LG John

Cheers guys

Nimbus

Cupramax,

Then I guess you need to report these companies to TPS...

LG John

just had another!!! I'm trying REALLY hard not to be in anyway racists but the next person that phones my phone when I don't want them to and says 'allight' (all right!) after every 3rd bloody words is getting abuse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :

ProperCharlie

if i am doing something or don't want to speak to anyone then i just don't answer the phone. this idea that you *have* to answer the phone just cos it's ringing - where did that come from? the answer machine kicks in after about 4 rings, so unless a handset is close by i probably won't get there in time in any case. if it is important, no doubt the caller will leave a message. if it isn't important then i don't want to know about it.

john banks

I still get a few even after 2 years of TPS.

Why do they always ask for the house owner? You can spot them a mile away.

JoeyDeacon

Having caller ID on your landline helps massively as well. If I don't recognise the person phoning then I usually don't bother answering the phone.

Lots of phones these days have caller ID built in and all you have to do is pay a small charge to BT each month to activate it.

LG John

Right, on the basis it would seem I can't stop them anytime soon I'm going to have some fun. From now on Kenny MacLeod shall not be answering the phone but rather Ace Ventura will. I'll see how long I can quote the film before they get freaked out and hang up

hedgehog

I agree, they can be great sport. I've actually managed to get them to slam the phone down on me. However, you've got to watch that as well as they then put you in the book for an 0800 call-back on a Sunday morning.

I sometimes tell them I'm neutering the cat and can't hold the cat, instruction book and the phone at the same time so could they ring back as the cat is bleeding quite badly. I've never had any of them ring back.

I have also found that mobile phone companies with whom you have a contract can't speak to you until they have established your identity which they do by asking your date of birth or similar. If you don't provide this information then they can't continue the conversation, even better if you ask them to prove who they are. I mean someone ringing your phone could be anybody. You can get a bit of sport out of this. One of them even tried to tempt me by offering a second, free, phone but he hung up when I asked him if I had to grow a second mouth to talk into it and the phone I already have!

Leslie

I am ex-directory and have had very few calls at all.

Les

r32

TPS works, if they cold call they are breaking the law, simple ........

Frosty The Snowman

I had one the other day, the line was atrocious, and the person on the other end, who was demanding to know whether I had a BT line, didn't seem to have a wonderfull grasp on English. I am registered with TPS but do they cover calls from call centres in other countries?

andypugh2000

I have private number rejection on my NTL line and dont get ANY calls from people trying to sell me stuff as these companies wont reveal their number so they get immediately bounced back before my phone even rings, how refreshing, how NTL

ChrisB

That was probably a BT sales call...

wez_sti

think most phone company's do this, i know BT do. trouble is your bank etc wont be able to contact 99% of the time as they all have withelds aswell.

my last rented house was rediculous, was getting about 7 cold calls a week. didnt bother answering the phone in the end.

Scooby-Doo

Tell whoever calls you rent the house and they will have to contact the landlord. Usually stops them in their tracks.

Geezer

What I can't understand is that I know of no one who actually wants these calls. Everyone I know (and the responses on this BBS seem to back up this) basically tells these people to eff off. So why do they do it? Surely it must cost them more to run these bloody call centres than it brings in.

Geezer

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

also registered with TPS and after about a month the calls trickled to a stop.

We occasionally get an automated one call.. "Welcome, you have won one of the following prizes" etc..

The best one I remember before registering was a windows sales woman..

she says "If you change the windows in your house for free how many would you change"
"None" I say
"Why have you changed them recently?"
"Nope I bricked them all up"
"Muffled giggle and silence"
then in a slightly laughing voice she said
"We sell doors too"
I lost it at that point and laughed lots
"No thank you"

Cupramax

NTL only do blocking of number witheld calls (this is useless for calls centers that are abroad as it doesn't block non detectable numbers). I have this set up on my line, the number that keeps calling is an 0870 number, I actually tried it last night and it even had a prerecorded message saying it was telemarketing.... They will get such a roasting when I'm actually in the house as I'm sick and tired of the 4 or 5 blank messages a day on my answerphone.

Mark Miwurdz

This is the way forward. Anything which pops up in the window as "Witheld", "Unknown" or "International" (offshore & outsourced) we just don't answer. If it's important, they'll leave a message anyway. Sorted.

Cheers
Kav

LEUVEN

Spot on mate, thats exactly how I see it.

Dapster

Well apparently not it would seem. Call centres are companies trying to make money just like everyone else, so for every irate Scoobynetter there must be a 100 sad, misguided, unfortunate people out there with double glazing they can't afford, driveways they don't need resurfaced and kitchens they can't repay.