"Free Message" Debt Reduction Phone Call

BB78

Is anybody else getting this, everyday I get a call from a withheld number its a recorded message saying "This is a free call, please do not hang up you will not be charged" and then goes on about reducing your debt in 12 months??
I don't know how they have got my number as I'm registered with TPS, I'm not interested and am fed up of receiving the call but it doesn't give any indication as to who is making the call.
Does anyone know who it is and how to make them stop??

GeorgeUK

In the message, does it give a contact phone number or anything?

Never heard one of these myself.

JES_F1

We get these recorded messages a lot at work for some reason - and I occasionally get them at home despite being registered with the TPS and ex-directory.

Does a number get displayed on your phone? Or perhaps a message such as "international out of area"? If you've not got a display, what's the message if you do 1471?

If you've got a phone number, Google it or go to whocallsme.com and you're likely to find many disgruntled people who've received similar calls!

You can report calls to the TPS online - click on the Complaints button and then fill in the detail. I've done this several times. The TPS will either investigate themselves, contacting the company concerned, or passing it on to the Information Commisioner's Office to deal with.

It might also be worth getting hold of BT (or whoever your phone provider is) and see if they can help. I'm with BT and have been able to bar calls. However, there doesn't seem to be a lot they can do if it comes up as "international out of area".

tori.k

have you a paypal account set up? i get an automated message everyday at 3pm on the dot and a few other's, we are ex-directory and registered with the TPS, Our's only started after we set up an paypal account as its the only time we have ever given out the landline number not mobile. i reckon they sold our number on even tho they say i dont give out information

BB78

GeorgeUK wrote: »

In the message, does it give a contact phone number or anything?

Never heard one of these myself.

No doesn't give a company name or anything. I listened to the whole message when I first got it (it went on and on and on!) and from what I remember it kept saying something about the Government or rather it was trying to imply it was a Government initiative or something. At the end it said if you wanted to apply press 2 and then went silent, I'm not interested so hung up and thought that as I had listened to the whole message and hadn't applied I wouldn't get called again!! I suppose thats what I get for assuming!!
I'll have to listen to it all again when they undoubtedly call tomorrow and at the end press 2 and if I get a human being ask who they are, where they got my number and to remove me from their calling list.

JES_F1 wrote: »

We get these recorded messages a lot at work for some reason - and I occasionally get them at home despite being registered with the TPS and ex-directory.

Does a number get displayed on your phone? Or perhaps a message such as "international out of area"? If you've not got a display, what's the message if you do 1471?

If you've got a phone number, Google it or go to whocallsme.com and you're likely to find many disgruntled people who've received similar calls!

You can report calls to the TPS online - click on the Complaints button and then fill in the detail. I've done this several times. The TPS will either investigate themselves, contacting the company concerned, or passing it on to the Information Commisioner's Office to deal with.

It might also be worth getting hold of BT (or whoever your phone provider is) and see if they can help. I'm with BT and have been able to bar calls. However, there doesn't seem to be a lot they can do if it comes up as "international out of area".

I like whocallsme.com and have found it useful in the past but unfortunately this one comes up with "Withheld" and 1471 tells me its a withheld number and without any details I can't complain to the TPS. I used to have a call bar for annonymous callers but it became a pain missing calls from people with withheld numbers that I did actually want to receive.

tori.k wrote: »

have you a paypal account set up? i get an automated message everyday at 3pm on the dot and a few other's, we are ex-directory and registered with the TPS, Our's only started after we set up an paypal account as its the only time we have ever given out the landline number not mobile. i reckon they sold our number on even tho they say i dont give out information

I have got a Paypal account but I've had it for years, its possible they've sold phone number lists with mine on it but it only started a week or 2 ago.

Its not so much the call that is annoying, its that it always seems to ring at the most inopportune moments!! :rotfl:

GeorgeUK

DON'T DO IT !!!!!

You know how banks have an automated service where you press x for various departments?
How about press 2 to be put through to a premium rate number.
I remember something similar was going around a few years ago but it was £10 per minute.

Supposedly they vouldn't do anything about it because it was not a company or number in the UK.

It's not worth the risk.

BB78

GeorgeUK wrote: »

DON'T DO IT !!!!!

You know how banks have an automated service where you press x for various departments?
How about press 2 to be put through to a premium rate number.
I remember something similar was going around a few years ago but it was £10 per minute.

Supposedly they vouldn't do anything about it because it was not a company or number in the UK.

It's not worth the risk.

Now you've said that I do remember hearing about a scam like that a few years back!! And you are right its not worth the risk!!
I won't be pressing 2!! Thanks!! :beer:

melli_jayne

I don't suppose you have recently entered any competions on this morning or gmtv have you ?

I never ever give out my home phone but ever since i was off work one day and entered the competion using my home phone I have had this recorded message about 5 times a day and it is driving me nuts!! and there is no way to stop it as i do not want to press 2 to speak to a human incase it is one of those premium rate scams!

BB78

melli_jayne wrote: »

I don't suppose you have recently entered any competions on this morning or gmtv have you ?

Nope, I was born unlucky so don't bother entering competitions!! Lol!!
I got the call 11.15am yesterday and 7pm tonight, I just wish they would get the hint and bog off!! :mad:

Kaleidoscope27

I registered with this forum just to reply to this message. That's how sick I am of these calls!

We get the call several times a day, most days of the week. At different times and sometimes one after the other (had two this evening in the space of 5 minutes.) I googled the message (having also listened to the whole thing - what a waste of 2 minutes of my life that was!) and came to this thread.

I don't understand how they got this number. We're registered on TPS and have been for a while. It's driving both of us insane, me (being in the house all day) to the point that I don't want to answer the phone because I feel it will be a pointless effort and I'm usually busy when it rings.

If anyone decides to hell with it and presses '2' at the end of the message, please spread the word of which company it is. I would myself but I don't want to chance ending up on a premium rate call (as I'm sure most other people wouldn't either.) But if someone decides it'd be worth it to report the company, then I would be most appreciative.

BB78

Touch wood & I'm whispering this; my calls have stopped but then again I just don't answer the phone when its a Withheld number anymore which means I also miss calls when people don't leave a message on the machine.