CAMPAIGN - Incoming international calls are driving me crazy

thepirates_2

Is anyone else getting incoming international phone calls every day? I am only getting 4 or 5 a day so far between 11am and 9pm so at least it's not waking me at night, but I'm at home all day just now and it's starting to drive me completely crazy. When I answer them there's no-one there, so I can't even tell them what I think of them! :mad:

I have only phoned BT three times (so far) and each time whoever I speak to is amazed that I want to ban international incoming calls . They obviously haven't had enough people with this problem for them to have done anything about it. The upshot so far is that they are not currently able to block international incoming calls. The latest guy tonight suggested I try "Choose to refuse" free for a month, but we've already had 2 international calls and it doesn't work.

If they can block witheld numbers and individual numbers surely they can ban international numbers. They just haven't done the IT work yet.

PLEASE JOIN THE CAMPAIGN!! :j
If you want to help everyone with this problem and it is happening to you, please phone BT, NTL or whoever to ask them to block international incoming calls. If enough of us phone asking for this surely they will eventually have to listen and set up a service for this.

Tally so far: I have phoned 3 times

normanmark

What are the people that are calling you wanting? Is it sales calls?

Graham1

Unfortunately this will never happen because of the way national telecoms companies in different countries settle which one owes the other money - it's done on a net call-minutes terminated vs call-minutes originated measure. Any telecom company that restricts the calls it terminates for the other party risks moving from a position where it receives money for the interconnection to where it has to pay money for the interconnection. I.e. very bad for their business.

Buzby

I don't see the billing arrangements as a valid argument - from what you describe anyone calling an invalid number would cause havoc with the originating telco wanting payment for delivering the call to the distant destination country.

No - the issue is more fundamental. You cannot block international calls with any certainty because of the way calls are routed - to block, the receiving exchange need to have a complete data field giving the originating network/number as part of the call set up information. Not all telcos are signed up to the ETSI standard, so this data is blank. There were times calls coming in from C&W UK were erroneously flagged as international because the data field was blank. Even BT International are guilty of stripping off valid numerical data with the excuse they don't have any agreement with the distant network to show the numbers when calls are delivered to the UK - they just send the 'Intl' flag as part of the CLI string.

And then there's VOIP... but that's another story.

I get about 3 calls per month when I answer where I get the announcement "Congratulations..." I have the phone back on its rest before the next word is uttered.

thepirates_2

normanmark wrote: »

What are the people that are calling you wanting? Is it sales calls?

No, there's no-one there and it hangs up after a few seconds.

scorpiolady

thepirates wrote: »

No, there's no-one there and it hangs up after a few seconds.

If you wait a bit longer someone will appear on the other end, they told me i won a holiday, i told them i dont want it and to stop calling me but they still do, i cant just not answer inernational calls or choose to rufuse because my dad lives in spain and it might be him calling

Heinz

scorpiolady wrote: »

i cant just not answer inernational calls or choose to rufuse because my dad lives in spain and it might be him calling

Or it could be anyone in the UK using the cheap calls providers 1899, 18866 or 18185 - calls via which normally present just an 'international' CLI.

r.mac_2

i've had several phone problems over the past few years I found that getting a caller display phone helped a little - I only answered numbers I knew, but in the end I changed my number completely. BT should do this for free for you - but it can take a while to be effective.

Also register with the TPS (Telephone Preference Service) where you choose not to recieve marketing/sales calls and there is also a junk mail equivalent - it doesn't 100% eradicate them , but it does help.

hope this helps you out a bit x

thepirates_2

Thanks, yes we have caller display and are on the telephone preference service. We're seriously thinking about changing the number, but we could just end up with someone elses number with more junk on it! Plus it would be such a massive pain to try to remember to let everyone know. Particularly worrying with all the online banks and utilities who never write to you, just bill your Direct Debit and phone once in a blue moon.

Down to 3 calls a day just now and it's ringing off after 5 rings. Can't imagine why?!

PS There really is no-one on the other end - I tried listening/shouting hello for several minutes when this first began, but it goes to a continuous bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Thanks for all you helpful answers. I still think if we harrass the providers enough as the problem becomes worse they will be forced to do something about it. After all, BT etc are not going to want 10% of their call centre staff answering calls about blocking incoming international calls.

mikeopvc

I get these annoying calls too, in fact I just had another which is what prompted me to come on MSE to find a solution. I dealt with this recent one by first speaking normally then turning the radio on full blast while holding the handset against the speaker.:p

I too get the calls that are silent for a few seconds before the person starts to speak but I recently have started to get the calls that are first silent then the line goes dead, I put this down to the fact I give these companies a hard time and this is there way of getting revenge, yes I truly do believe that some of these people make a note of my number and call back regularly just to wind me up (paranoid or what?).
One time I told a caller to "go away";) before hanging up and within the next 15 mins had no less than five more calls from his colleagues calling me every name under the sun.

This is why I try getting my own back and I know it is childish and will never solve the problem but I just feel that I am getting even with these nuisance callers by blasting the radio, putting them on hold etc.

Also why do they start off by lying at the start by claiming to be called "Jason Jones" or "Peter Davies" or any other typically british name when they are obviously from an eastern country due to there very strong foriegn accent.

Surely there must be something we can do to stop these calls getting through.

Jemma-T

Please rememeber changing your phone number can mess with your ADSL.