Virgin Media: Phone installed for 30 minutes before first scam call

davidlizard

Virgin installed my cable services, including my phone last week. After the installer left, I was flicking through the various TV channels and the phone rang.

Who was it?

Some Indian sounding chap telling me that I was missold PPI and he will help me claim.

Seeing I did not keep my telephone number, the person calling me knew my surname, and I elected to not have my number publicised, I would be more than keen to know how these scammers got my telephone number and name so quickly - and also what other information they got?

Since then we have received half a dozen similar calls, and I am resorting again to needing to use my answerphone to screen calls.

dacouch

So you were a virgin virgin

MothballsWallet

You've probably got a recycled phone number.
Or Virgin Media have sold the details on to some marketing companies.
I get these PPI and ambulance chasers texting my mobile, even though it's TPS registered.

Nilrem

I think it's more likely option 1, or just unlucky.
I suspect a lot of the PPI, "you can claim for your accident" and "windows" calls are randomly generated based on number blocks (IIRC the telephone companies have blocks of numbers and if you know the code you can work out which company it was originally issued to/when it was likely issued).

I know we get PPI and accident claim calls, but have never had a car accident in which anyone was injured (or at all for over 10 years), and have never taken out a loan.

chib

I've never had anything like this with Virgin Media.

Lady_K

My daughter had the same thing but it was not even 30 mins it was 5. She had signed up with virgin as ex directory prior to installation. Then 5 minutes after phone was connected it rang with a bloke stating her name and something to do with ppi or debt or something, the installer had not even left the house before this call came.

She still gets lots of these types of calls even though she has since joined tps she still gets them.

To have her name 5 mins after installation it has to be virgin passing on information, you just can't trust anyone these days

pimento

Makes me glad I don't live in a cabled area.

davidlizard

Lady_K wrote: »

My daughter had the same thing but it was not even 30 mins it was 5. She had signed up with virgin as ex directory prior to installation. Then 5 minutes after phone was connected it rang with a bloke stating her name and something to do with ppi or debt or something, the installer had not even left the house before this call came.

She still gets lots of these types of calls even though she has since joined tps she still gets them.

To have her name 5 mins after installation it has to be virgin passing on information, you just can't trust anyone these days

Exactly my problem - it spooked me that they knew my name, so it could not have been a random dialer thing.

So at that point in time, the only people that knew my name/phone number were (a) me, (b) Virgin, (c) the Installer and (d) this Indian PPI chap. This chap knew my phone number before my wife did!

I have emailed Virgin asking for an explanation ...

Still, at least my Virgin phone works, unlike my BT one which stopped working over 2 months ago and despite complaining daily was not repaired!

SuperHan

My Virgin phone line also gets random calls, but never any for me! I guess it's a recycled number, but we get calls for 3 different surnames, so it seems to be a number that's been passed from pillar to post.

snowyz81

my mum is the same, she gets at least 2-3 calls a day from automated callers, its only happened since she moved to Virgin. I'm also with Virgin but luckily i don't connect my house phone.

roddydogs

So, people who are not with Virgin, Never get theses calls?
Use them for a laugh.....just keep saying "Yes" to every question.