Telephone Survey. Nationwide Surveys?

bonytooth

I just now got a call from Nationwide Survey of Manhester. At the beginning of the call I asked what his company's policy was in relation to the Telephone Preference Service. He said they were told to remove TPS people from their data base, that he would do so, and rang off.

This was further than many such callers get. For most unsolicited calls, as soon as I mention the TPS they put the phone down on me.

kindofagilr

I've just registered on the tsp so fingers crossed

kittyl

These guys keeps calling me every week even after i told them i'm on TPS! argh kevin was rather aggressive and annoying why are these people still around?

red_sunshine

The TPS cannot do anything about 'nationwide surveys' as they are not directly selling you anything. But it's still worth joining for other annoying calls!

Goldcrest

Mukesh wrote: »

I just received about my tenth call from these scumbags. But through pure luck it was only the first time I'd actually been in to accept the call. I usually dial 1471 when I get home to see if anyone had called. Usually I get a message telling me that it was a marketing call and requires no further response from me. Which is fair enough as they wouldn't get a response from me anyway.

However, today I was at home.

I took the call from some Indian sounding male, whose English was not very good. I decided to listen to his questions and answer falsely to everything he asked. Specifically answering NO to questions that required follow up calls (i.e. Would you like to receive information on how to make savings on your electricity bill/phone bill/life insurance).

At the end of the survey he asked me to give him my name, which I then refused. He then immediately proceeded to tell me my surname, which was wrong. He said my surname was Bladon, which was incorrect and BTW not even close. I told him he had gotten it wrong and I was not that person. He then asked again for my surname. It was at this point I turned the whole conversation around onto him. I asked him who he worked for and where he was based. I was told "I work for a company called Nationwide Surveys and we are based in Manchester". I then asked for a telephone number I can contact them on. I was told there is no number I can call them on. I told them that was rubbish because if they can call me I can call them, and I demanded he give it to me. I was asked why I wanted it, and I told him I wanted to be placed on their DNC (Do Not Call) list. I was told that now I had completed the survey they would not call me again. I told them that I didn't believe that. I told them to give me their phone numbers and their company address. Again I was asked why I needed this.

I said OK I'm going to come clean with you, my name is Markus and I work for British Telecom Security based in Wolverhampton (Not true). I'm interested in this info because you have called a private ex-directory number and I'm very interested to know how you came to get this number. I was told the number was on a list their company had purchased. I then asked again for the companies address and phone numbers. The guy all of a sudden was stuck and didn't know what to say. I told him, look you can either tell me yourself or I could find out this information for myself once I return to work on Monday, but if I have to find out this info for myself I will have no choice but to launch an investigation into both your company and it's business practices, which could end up with us suspending your services if you don't comply.

His response was "Erm, erm, erm I'm very sorry. I, I will never call you again". He then hung up.

Something tells me that will be the last I ever hear from them.

Just so you know impersonating a Police Officer, a Lawyer or a Judge also works well against telemarketers but nothing scares the crap out of them more than BT Security. Keep it in mind for future reference.



As it happens, I actually live in Wolverhampton, guess who I'm going to be paying a visit too on next week, I'll post back to let you know how it goes.

:T:T Nice one Mukesh!

Any update on them?

mobile48

red_sunshine wrote: »

The TPS cannot do anything about 'nationwide surveys' as they are not directly selling you anything. But it's still worth joining for other annoying calls!

The exception is for genuine market research only.

CrapSurveys

these companies keep calling people who do not want a these kind of stupid calls because they make money out of it ....dont give them any information and it is not safe to give them personal information when they calll....

CrapSurveys

Unwanted phone calls or cold calls are a pain and one of the most despised marketing tactics. Under government regulation, it is illegal for a UK company to call any individual who has indicated that they don't want the calls. Skip related content

RELATED PHOTOS / VIDEOS
How to protect yourself from unwanted phone calls
Enlarge photo
On 1 February, new rules by Ofcom came into force to prevent consumers being harassed by repeated silent calls from the same company. To protect yourself even more, here are six practical measures you can take to prevent both silent and nuisance calls.

1) Get removed from sales call lists

This may seem the obvious way to prevent you from being contacted by cowboy companies, but when an unwanted caller contacts you, don't immediately say 'sorry, I'm not interested' and then slam the phone down. Remember that the first and last thing you should firmly ask them is to be removed from the company's sales call list.

Under the Data Protection Act, a company is by law prohibited from calling you again for marketing purposes if you've made a request not to be called, even if you're one of their customers.

2) Join the Telephone Preference Service

British communications regulator Ofcom advises that a victim of unsolicited and silent calls should register with the Telephone Preference Service. This is the official central opt-out service, which means it is illegal for unsolicited sales and telemarketing companies to call you once you're registered. The service covers landlines as well as mobile telephone numbers.

Companies have a responsibility to check whether the people on their call lists are signed up to the TPS. According to research, consumer watchdog, Which? found that signing up for free to the TPS cuts the cold calls people receive on average by one third.

The Telephone Preference Service recommends that before registering it is worth reflecting on the fact that doing so may well prevent you from receiving relevant and worthwhile information. So make sure you contact the companies who you do not wish to hear from and ask them to remove your details from their call lists. However, the service doesn't cover companies contacting you for market research purposes, or not-for-profit organisations, like charities or political parties.

Click here to register with the Telephone Preference Service, or phone 0845 0700707. It takes about 28 days after registering for all calls to be stopped. The service is completely free so if a company ever tries to scam you by making you pay for this service, refuse and inform the TPS.

3) Make your telephone number ex-directory

Companies may add phone numbers that are publicly listed in the phone book or listed online to their call lists. This is the easiest way for them to find potential customers and target their annoying sales calls. By getting your number excluded from these directories, rogue marketing companies will find it more difficult to obtain your details.

4) Make a formal complaint

When it's absolutely necessary, complain to Ofcom via their online complaints form or by phone on 0300 123 3000. Report the name and number of the company that is making the calls, plus any other details you may have (including how many times you have been called by the same number and over what period of time). If you are unable to identify the caller you should contact your phone company which can trace the caller.

Ofcom continually monitors complaints about silent calls, and has the power to investigate any company which it believes may not be complying with its guidelines. Ofcom can fine companies that are found to be leaving silent and abandoned calls. For example, one of the worst silent call offenders, Barclaycard, was fined a maximum penalty of £50,000.

As of 1 February, Ofcom said it intended to use the full extent of the new financial penalty of £2 million on a company responsible for silent calls. Ofcom's chief executive, Ed Richards, warned: "Silent and abandoned calls can cause significant consumer harm. Ofcom has given sufficient warnings to companies about silent calls and is ready to take appropriate action against those companies which continue to break the rules."

You can also report problem calls, such as silent calls, to your phone provider which is responsible for tackling them. Most phone companies have a nuisance or malicious calls team, who will be able to give you advice on what to do.

Report TPS rule breaches to the TPS, who will contact the company and pass complaints to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which can take action against repeat offenders.

5) Blocking and screening calls

Phone companies can offer their customers a variety of services such as call blocking and anonymous call rejection to help them deal with unwanted calls. Contact your provider to subscribe to a call barring service for unwanted phone calls. However, you may be charged for using this service.

Many cold calls come from abroad, so unless you need to receive international calls, ask your phone provider to block calls from international numbers. You can also block calls from withheld numbers, though this may prevent some calls you want to receive, such as a friend or relative calling you from their workplace on a withheld number.

If you have caller display and an answer phone, consider only answering calls from numbers you recognise. Legitimate callers are likely to leave you a message.

There are also call screening devices you can invest in, for example Truecall (as seen on 'Dragon's Den') is a £99 unit designed to reduce the number of nuisance and telemarketing calls that you receive. It plugs into your regular home phone, and is able to create lists of welcome and unwelcome callers.

6) Be sparing with your personal details

Become a proactive consumer and carefully manage the way you distribute your personal information. Be wary of how much information you give out during consumer transactions, and read the privacy policies of each company or organisation you deal with. Inform companies that you do not want your personal information distributed. There are certain companies which gather personal information for databases and sell them onto a third party for purposes of B2B data, mailing lists and sales leads for marketing purposes.

Opt out of as many lists as you can, including those companies you deal with on a frequent basis.

Written by Gaby Leslie

jamesy1986

An an ex Cold Caller, TPS means pretty much !!!! all to someone wanting their bonus. Its not the agents responsability to find out if they are on the TPS. Unfortunately for some places in the UK its a major source of employment (belfast.. ) If the call comes up on the screen, they don't give a flying !!!! if you're the next US president.

I cant wait for a Nationwide survey call. I'll give them a !!!!ing earful.

Mukesh

Goldcrest wrote: »

:T:T Nice one Mukesh!

Any update on them?

I'm sorry it has took so long to respond as I kinda forgot I made this post, and just happened across it again today.

I'm glad you liked my post and I hope you found my approach useful.

To answer your question. Nationwide Surveys is not based at that address in Wolverhampton. I checked, it's an empty office suite, or at least it was when I went to check.

Also you might like to know that my approach worked and I have never received another call from these people. :j:j:j In fact, the total number of nuisance calls I receive has drastically dropped since adopting this approach. I did however receive a scam phone call today for the first time in the last 3 months.

Try it for yourself, it does work.