Industrial Hearing Clinic

AngryLouie

Harvesting personal data? After numerous similar calls, I decided to "humour" these guys (CLI. 01564 634364) to try and get to the bottom of whatever they are up to and, perhaps foolishly, let slip my DOB., at which point they became very interested and I swiftly ended up speaking to someone else calling himself "Peter Jones" who made me an appointment, for which I subsequently got a confirmation letter, to attend one of their "hearing clinics" locally; before the end of the call he also stressed that they need my NINO!
The letter has the logo of "Zebra CLAIMS" and "LOCUM Unit NIHL Clinics" - Anchorage House, 252 The Quays, Erie Basin Salford Quays M50 3SD Tel:0161 814 0016. (NIHL = Noise Induced Hearing Loss).
Apart from confirming the appointment, it also says
"Please bring with you 2 forms of ID this could be:
a) Passport
b) Driving License
c) Utility Bill
and then "Please also remember to bring your National Insurance Number"
I was called again by "Peter Jones" (0161 786 0912) the day before the appointment to make sure I was still coming and also on the day, just an hour beforehand, when NINO. was again mentioned and he said I should ask for him on arrival.
I dutifully turned up at a local chain hotel but armed only with the appointment letter, to find a piece of paper taped to the front door reading "HEARING CLINIC THIS WAY" and was then ushered into a "reception room" by some bloke who wouldn't have looked out of place "working" outside the door our local nighttime trouble spot!
I asked for "Peter Jones" but the permanently sickly smiled "lady receptionist" said she was aware of him but he was not available and then proceeded to "register" my attendance for "our Audiologist", on some sort of form and once she had got past writing my N&A details from the letter, predictably moved onto asking for the more sensitive stuff, at which point I refused point blank, at least until it was satisfactorily explained to me how this data would be used.
There was a steady stream of people there, I would say mostly much older than me (58), freely brandishing their Passports & Driving Licenses etc., so they clearly wouldn't want a "scene" and I was hastily "ushered" into the corridor and introduced to "a Manager", a female dripping cheap jewellery, who explained that I couldn't "see the Audiologist without satisfactory registration". (I did see a woman through another room door window with what seemed like a white coat on.) I proceeded to protest that it was totally unreasonable to constantly harangue people by 'phone and expect them to divulge personal information and particularly mentioned NINO. She retorted that they were only "helping people get the compensation they deserve" and needed NINO. to look it up on something like "The National Workers Register to make sure they worked where they say they did", before they hand the data over to solicitors at Zebra Claims.
I expressed my doubts over their legitimacy and that any such register exists and that even if it did, that they would have authorised access to it without proper data protection restraints; I insisted that my data be expunged from their system and this was supposedly satisfied by the receptionist retrieving the original half-completed form from her waste bin and writing "REMOVE FROM SYSTEM" on the top. I was then ushered out; as I left, I wanted to scream out "don't do it" to the poor unsuspecting oldsters sitting waiting to be seen, who seemed to be mentally drooling over the amount of money, supposedly soon to be “won for them"!
"Peter Jones" (from 0161 786 0912 again) yet again called my home at about 18:30 that evening "to ask how I got on". When I expressed surprise that I had not met him, he said that he had to urgently attend a "complaint in Birmingham" (about 15 miles from the hotel) but that he was now "back in the office" (Manchester?). When I related my story and conclusions, he described my attitude as "bizarre" and said he had never heard anyone express such thoughts before "after 18 years in this industry"! I told him that what they were doing, especially persistently calling demanding personal data, at least amounted to harassment and was probably criminal; he retorted that there were other unscrupulous people doing similar things and causing problems but that his company would never be responsible for such behaviour. I told him that if they are legitimate they should get their act together, explain better to people what they are really about and generally behave in a more professional manner and put the ‘phone down.
I know this will be a bit controversial but everyone I have came across in this saga all have similar broad “regional” accents (I am from the north, so keep your hair on if you have one too!) and an air of what I would describe as "slightly thick cockiness" . My overall impression is that there may be SOME legitimacy here but the feeling I get is that these people are verging on petty criminals at best and I would not trust any of them people to take my rubbish to the bin without doing something untoward. I strongly suspect that the real exercise is harvesting personal data for criminal purposes like identity theft! I will let other people investigate further and draw their own conclusions.

AngryLouie

This time from 01332 895906; if these guys really are genuine then they are not clever enough to realise how much business they are losing by seeming to be scammers!

Dizzy_Ditzy

If anyone is suffering from hearing loss or tinnitus please ask your GP to arrange for you to have a proper hearing test. Anyone who performs hearing tests in hotels isn't a registered audiologist.

Audiology is performed in soundproof booths so there is no chance of distraction from outside.

You can ask for a copy of your audiogram and take it further if necessary

Dr._Vespapero

Similar thread on,
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=67748213&highlight=#post67748213

barb1a

Hi
I have just been called by 01172 949987, the caller said ' Hello is that Mrs *****', I said 'Yes', to which she replied 'Oh, ok' and put the phone down!!

So was it her with the hearing problem ?! . . . . . . . . or is this indeed just a data gathering exercise.

I did ring the number back (rightly or wrongly) to find out who the caller was and received a recorded message saying that I'd been called by the 'National Advice Clinic' (who?) and to phone back on 01157 629990. So that obviously took me to the internet to find out who they were . . . which led me to you. I'm so glad I read these posts!!

snottyotty

Just go a call from them, young girl with a Liverpool accent,(I happen to be from Liverpool too!) this time 01733611608 a local Peterborough number.

MMMM con company I feel! apparently I'm on an international database (OOH! I do feel important!) I will of course be contacting them again, as soon as I have had my brain removed.

stew99

Just been phoned by them - this time from 0118 435 9998 - this gave yet another number 0115 762 9990 which was disconnected - fortunately I saw these posts and did not waste my time

Tricky72

Just been rung by this lot from 01733 611608 but suggesting they were ........ Legal Services and seeking to get me compensation for a road accident I am supposed to have possibly had in the last three years!

magpiecottage

That would be the lot who were just fined £850,000 then.

If you have received a sales call to a TPS registered number then make a complaint. If you do not like the response, you can take the matter to the Legal Ombudsman - free to you.


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Annon91

I used to work for this company and yes it is them who was fined....850k though is pocket change to how much the company made year on year! We called and we conquered !!!! All those people moaning on it was just 30 secs of your life, nothing to moan on about and write endless forums boring people with the same stories.....now they have moved on to something else, you will all keep getting called for a new thing least to say the endless PPI calls still getting made in the UK......My opinion to all of you.....LIVE WITH IT.......Press the red button and there is your Solution