How Is It Possible My Sister Gets Cold Calls Already?

[Deleted User]

Was at my sisters last week and i answered the phone to an annonymous number. It was a recording from a company saying how they can get peoples bank charges back so i hanged up the phone. Told my sister and she said she has had quite a number of calls like that.

1. She only got her phone number, line etc about a month ago in her new flat.
2. Nobody has even got her number! Only family as other people including companies just have her mobile number
3. When she said she is getting calls, am not sure if she just meant just voice recordings or possibly also cold calls from companies too

Any idea how anybody could have her number? surely BT doesnt hand out new numbers to companies?

Thanks

utilitybroker

When you are allocated a residential phone number its unlikely to be new,they just recycle them. On some exchange,s where their is a number shortage they can be recycled quite quickly.

Registering for TPS can help but it will not prevent telemarketing calls originating from overseas.

http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/

MothballsWallet

Also, they may be generating numbers and dialing at random. If you register with TPS, the volume should reduce as companies are supposed to cleanse their generated lists against the TPS list first, but some don't, and some real bad apples actually buy into the TPS list to get extra numbers to add to their database (that's supposed to be illegal, but they never get prosecuted for it).

DVardysShadow

Some numbers get on a 'mailing list' for low end financial products if a company finds that the subscriber has debt or might be in the frame to accept. Once the number is recycled to a new subscriber, the calls continue. Take note of Mothballspost - any calls which come like that are bound to be from bad eggs.

ellybelly89

When I moved house and changed phone numbers, a new Wilkinson opened a month later and they got our old phone number so had loads of calls for us!!

MUMMYTO2BOYS

BT sell the numbers.

They put the wrong surname on my account when I got a landline, they must have mis-heard it and didn't ask for it to be spelt out.

I rectified it very quickly but I got cold calls in the mistaken name for a long time.

DVardysShadow

MUMMYTO2BOYS wrote: »

BT sell the numbers.

They put the wrong surname on my account when I got a landline, they must have mis-heard it and didn't ask for it to be spelt out.

I rectified it very quickly but I got cold calls in the mistaken name for a long time.

That is really interesting. Really interesting. I don't know what can be done about it, I presume this is no longer fresh. But it does look like a private job to lift details, perhaps in India?