cold callers to oaps

kaleys

hello
my gran is 62 and has alzheimer's and is disabled
i do live with her but i still carnt stop her answering the phone to cold callers and as soon as they menshon ther from a disabilaty company she talkes away to then telling them about her self and i dont know what info they are getting on her and somtimes it not just disabilaty companys i have tirde to find a way to block cold callers to the phone but i am lotst big time can some one please help me ??

Antispam

You can get a device called truecall that screens cold callers. You can add numbers from family/friends so it bypasses the device Its very effective but it does costs around £80

cattie

She can register with the TPS. I've been registered with them for years & never get any cold calls now. It's a free service
http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html

david39

Most of these calls come from overseas call centres and TPS has no jurisdiction over them nor do the callers respect TPS.

The True call device works well but I was watching QVC last weekend ( well, I was recovering from the night before....) and they were demonstrating a Panasonic phone that will block up to 50 numbers.

If you set a number to be blocked, all that happens when the phone gets called is that the caller hears an engaged tone and the phone owner does not know they've been called.

Of course, you have to set the numbers in first, so you get one call from the company and then, after noting the number they are calling from, you put it into memory and it stops further calls.
The phone has Caller Display on it, so you can see the number or you can dial 1471 and get it.

Most of the calls you get come from just a few different numbers, so well within the capabilities of blocking by this phone. Mostly the return call number is fictitious but, even so, the phone should still block the call when programmed.

QVC were selling the phone for about £49 including P&P but Laskys sell it for £39.99 with free delivery (and you can get Quidco cashback).

http://www.laskys.com/sat_nav_and_phones/communication/home_phones/panasonic_kx_tg6561em.html


Edit : I should add that the difference between the Panasonic phone and the Truecall device is that you will always get a first call from the company - with Truecall, because it blocks unrecognised numbers, you don't get the first call even. That's a better system, but twice the price.

david39

savemoney:

Yes, the Panasonic phone is not as good a system, as I said, because you have to receive the first call to know that it is one you want to bar. You then put the number into the memory and that will bar the number from thereon.

Truecall filters an unknown caller and gives you the option to reject them.

I get these calls and all of them show some form of number of my CLI display - I've never had one that doesn't - it's because some people use the option to not accept incoming calls with the number witheld - my sister does that.

The Truecall system is superior but, if on a budget, the Panasonic comes in at half the price.

Incidentally, what happens to those calls where the CLI label is "WITHELD".
I've seen that on unwanted calls but, several large companies with many telephone extensions, hospitals and my doctor also come up with that wording - so I could not bar that.

Savvy_Sue

OP, is it worth getting a hands-free phone with a vibrate or flashing light which you keep with you, and then switching off the ringer on the phone your gran answers?

cattie wrote: »

She can register with the TPS. I've been registered with them for years & never get any cold calls now. It's a free service
http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html

I think you're very fortunate ... we've had at least 5 calls at home today.

david39 wrote: »

Most of these calls come from overseas call centres and TPS has no jurisdiction over them nor do the callers respect TPS.

How true. I had a call at work yesterday and the caller claimed that they'd got my manager's details in a way that meant TPS didn't apply: I didn't believe him, but as my manager had no idea who they were or what they might want I wasn't sorry that by the time I'd finished speaking to her the caller had rung off ... And I suspect all the calls today were from similar overseas outfits, the callers are practically unintelligible!

david39 wrote: »

The phone has Caller Display on it, so you can see the number or you can dial 1471 and get it.

Have just had a look at that but it looks as if you can only retrieve the last number which called you, so it might take a while to block numbers if you get a lot of calls. Or is there a way of getting a list of all your incoming calls?

[Deleted User]

we`ve had TPS for perhaps 5 years now and cold calls have dropped perhaps 95%+and it didnt take too long after signing up for them to drop away,very effective imho

Jemma-T

Get the Panasonic https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3871687

Far more simple than Truecall as it's just a phone.

Set it to Night Mode for the full day and the only time the phone will ring is if it's someone on your favourites' list.

If someone else phones the phone just lights up and doesn't ring. If you block someone then you get nothing, they just get an engaged tone.

Caller ID required of course.

Never seen much benefit to Truecall really.

wiccanlou

This is directly from the Ofcom website and when I have mentioned TPS and reporting companies to ofcom they swiftly take my number off their system and put the phone down.

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/privacy/unsolicited-telesales-calls/

Owain_Moneysaver

david39 wrote: »

Incidentally, what happens to those calls where the CLI label is "WITHELD".
I've seen that on unwanted calls but, several large companies with many telephone extensions, hospitals and my doctor also come up with that wording - so I could not bar that.

Truecall has an advanced option, you can give callers a PIN to bypass the screening and ring your phone. I think it's shown in savemoneys screen shot as 2611. It's set up from the internet control panel, which might also be easier as kaley can do it remotely, and her mum won't have to get used to a new phone.

sleepless_saver

Truecall is very effective at stopping cold callers, but could be tricky for someone with dementia to cope with if genuine callers who are not on the whitelist need to get through. Banks, hospitals, shops, local council etc can have a range of numbers that they use, or withhold their numbers. But if you live with her, that's less of a problem. You can check on the truecall website what numbers have tried to reach you and if it's a bona fide caller you can get back to them.

It's cut my nuisance calls from 3-4 per day to zero and I wouldn't be without it.

Agree with others that TPS is far from 100% effective, but it's easy and free so sign her up for it anyway. It will help a bit.