TPS - Has anyone had real success with it?

nzmegs

We are TPS registered as well, but still get calls. We decided to just make our phone transfer immediately to the answer phone when anyone calls. if they are a legitimate caller they will leave a message and we call them back as soon as we can or if they know us well enough they can call our mobile. If not they hang up and we never know anything about it. No phone ringing, no getting up out of our chair or spoiling our dinner. They are wasting their time, not ours. We just need to keep an eye on the answer machine.

I have no idea if this is working or not - but as we never hear the phone ring it makes no odds.

Abbafan1972

When we first moved into this house in 1995, there was a BT line, don't have a clue what the number was but when we had Birmingham Cable TV, we had their phone as well so got a new number.

Years later we switched the phone back to BT and got given a new number. We began receiving calls for Mr or Mrs Davies, don't know who they are. I asked the one caller where they got our number from, they said it was in the directory. So I scoured through all the Davies' in the phone book and there was our number listed under Davies at an address not far from us actually. Some of them must have been friends as well, I got questions like "have they moved house, what's their new number". Even sales people were still persistent when I told them I wasn't Mrs Davies and they'd got the wrong number.

Obviously we had got someone else's old number and I got straight on the phone to directory people to make sure the entry was removed in future prints.

These days though we don't really get many calls, I am registered with the TPS. The only calls I seem to get recently are a foreign call centre and the number shows up as "1234567890". It's an automatic dialler and you have to say hello a few times before you get a response. They can't even pronounce my name right :mad: I have asked them to cease calling but they take no notice.

I do get the odd call from someone asking for Val, but I think the silly bint keeps on mis-dialling! :mad:

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

A couple of comments: TPS themselves claim that calling a TPS registered number is unlawful.

I've just written to the Information Commissioner telling them to sort TPS out. We'll see.

Some loft insulation firm were ringing be daily for a fortnight with a recorded message. Eventually, I pressed the button and simply said, "Transfer me to a supervisor immediately" - hey, bingo, one phone slammed down and no more calls.

Solar Energy Savings made the mistake of ringing me shortly after that.

Are you interested in solar energy? - Yes
Are you between 45 and 78? - ???Er, yes
Ah, you qualify for a feed in tarriff. Can I arrange for a person to call you to give you more details? Yes

---

Ah, hello sir, I've been told you are interested in solar energy. Yes.
Do you know about how the scheme works? Yes
Have you got a southerly facing roof? Yes
Oh good. Can I arrange an appointment, how about tomorrow at 11:30? - Fine (thinks, hope I'm out).
We need to arrange another call to give you a password. Fine.

----

Hello Sir, this is to confirm your appointment. Your password for the person who will give you a full survey and give you a price there and then is SP06. - Grunt.
Can I confirm that you have no dormer windows or velux windows on the roof? No, I don't.
[Thinks, the last firm had the sense to ask if there were any other obstructions - "yes, Solar panels" I replied. His diagnosis was I was an idiot because I couldn't possibly be registered with TPS or they wouldn't have called]
OK, the appointment is for 11:30. Bye.

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Time passes

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11:30 arrive home to see car on drive. I have next door neighbour's key as I am dog sitting. Go into their house. Come out again.

Can I help you?
I'm here to see Mr X.
Oh, they are out, and I'm sure they are out all day.
Oh, I'll have to phone my office.
[I wander off]
A couple of minutes later, he is still there. As I leave the neighbour's house (thinking I want to go home!) I go past and chat a bit more.
What were you after?
Solar panel survey.
That's odd, he's got solar panels, had them for months.
?????? ?????? Phone calls.

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Go to petrol station and fill up. Well it was empty anyhow.
15 minutes later, the b***** is just leaving. I need coffee!

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[Winds down window as pass]
Do you know what the silly fool has done? He's only arranged an appointment because he didn't like being phoned. I drove 50 miles to get here. He needs to grow up!

[Me, laughs and silently agrees with him]

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Speaks to wife who unfortunately arrived back. Her bit went:

I don't know anything about any appointment... ah! it'll be because he hates sales phone calls from companies that don't honour TPS. Bye.

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So, feeling slightly guilty, but hopefully Solar Energy Savings will:
a) sort their sales script out to avoid misleading sales techniques,
b) They seem to be offering a credit service, are they FSA registered?
c) They might realise that annoying people has a cost.

Still filed a complaint with the TPS too and if I do not get a response that is satisfactory, it will go to the Commission.

Krojan

Nope, and personally I recommend people NOT use the TPS etc... why? because it add's your number/details to yet another database which can be bought and sold.

I'd tried the TPS in the past to hopefully remove the odd phone call, since registering, I'd started to recieve MORE now than I had before! As did my parents' to whom I (regrettably) recommended it.

Since then, I've moved house, and the only people who get my number is family/friends and the telephone company who supplies me (ofc I went ex-dir), I always dial out as anonymous and never give my number out, that way, I know who is giving my number out (The telephone company), and thus I can give them a good rollocking for doing it.

LesD

I don't think the issue is TPS. It only stops calls from those 'considerate' companies that decide to use the TPS register to reduce their wasted time on unappreciated calls.

To that extent, it WILL be reducing the number of calls received.

The real problem is the totally useless and ineffective quangos like the Information Commissioner's Office and the Office of Fair Trading who supposedly chase up the 'spammers' who ignore the TPS system and continue to thrive through call centres in the Phillippines, India and so on.

These parasites will always be there and the question is why are our taxes being wasted on the quangos.

Even though they operate through a raft of different purchased phone numbers, it would seem a simple job for someone in the telecoms system to trace the ultimate beneficiary of these people.

Why doesn't the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (who are responsible for UK telecommunications matters) do anything about it? Answer - because it's not one of their priorities!

I feel a letter to my MP coming on. Oh, hang on, it won't be one of her priorities either. Too concerned with single-sex marriages, human rights for criminals, celebrity phone-hacking and so on.

pulliptears

I've also been registered from the start of the scheme, I get maybe a call a month if that. When I do get a call I tell them I'm TPS registered and put down the phone.

I've never given out my number to anyone like insurance quotes etc so maybe that's why.

hartcjhart

originally posted by 'vulcan1964'

I just ask the to ring me back between 9 and 5 on 01625 545745 ( thats the information commissioners number ).

See how they like that, annoys the call center and the ico.