Telemarketing calls increasing.

PaulJM

I've been getting an increasing amount of telemarketing calls over the last few months - getting to be 3-4 a day now.

I've been registered on the Telephone Preference Scheme (TPS) for years, and it used to work - it cut the calls down to a very small amount. On three occasions, I've managed to drag the name of the callers business out of them, reported it to TPS, with the nmbr they give me (they tend to withhold their nmbrs) and the TPS have said they cannot trace them.

I've also noticed that now most of the callers are recorded messages, asking you to press a button and you can leave your name and address if you're interested, and don't include their company names - how can you report that kind of thing.

Is anyone else finding this? I can't now actually see the point of the TPS...most of these callers seem to be ignoring them now!

Herongull

Get a TruCall - it really works. Gets rid of virtually all the junk calls but let's all the real ones through

PaulJM

Herongull wrote: »

Get a TruCall - it really works. Gets rid of virtually all the junk calls but let's all the real ones through

Yeah I've heard they're good.
But then again, the only people that call the land line are our parents - so is £80 on a device worth it? Maybe it's just worth us getting rid of the line.

JJ_Egan

Get rid of the line is a choice if you don't want an Broadband service via the line .

Azari

PaulJM wrote: »

Yeah I've heard they're good.
But then again, the only people that call the land line are our parents - so is £80 on a device worth it? Maybe it's just worth us getting rid of the line.

You could arrange with your parents specific windows to call (e.g. always at ten past the hour or always between 8-9pm) and just ignore it at other times.

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Get rid of the line is a choice if you don't want an Broadband service via the line .

Also, if you want BB but don't use the phone, you can just unplug it. BB does not need a phone connected to the line in order to work.


Of course all of this would be unnecessary if our stupid, useless politicians would take some action to force the telco's to deal with the problem. (Not that they could deal with it with 100% effectiveness but they could certainly enable customers to cut down these calls dramatically.)

PaulJM

Azari wrote: »

You could arrange with your parents specific windows to call (e.g. always at ten past the hour or always between 8-9pm) and just ignore it at other times.



Also, if you want BB but don't use the phone, you can just unplug it. BB does not need a phone connected to the line in order to work.


Of course all of this would be unnecessary if our stupid, useless politicians would take some action to force the telco's to deal with the problem. (Not that they could deal with it with 100% effectiveness but they could certainly enable customers to cut down these calls dramatically.)

I guess that's my point. Why has TPS become so completely useless?
I even get 'known' companies calling me, and when I tell them I'm on TPS, they usually say "Sorry about that, but this isn't a sales call, it's passing along info"

SO any teeth they did have have been completely knocked out.

shaun_from_Africa

PaulJM wrote: »

I guess that's my point. Why has TPS become so completely useless?
..
SO any teeth they did have have been completely knocked out.

To be honest, the TPS is simply a company set up to give the impression that something is being done about unwanted marketing calls.
This website:
http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/threads/prosecution-rates-for-breach-of-tps-ctps.255263/
shows the latest figures I could find (it's from April 2012) and it states:

Since PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003) came into effect the ICO has reached formal undertakings with 8 organisations, and served 9 enforcement notices against organisations for breaches of PECR, all in connection with live telephone calls.

So in 9 years, 8 companies have agreed to modify their procedures and 9 companies have had action taken against them. So on average only 1 company a year is prosecuted. This must really have the telemarketers quaking in their boots.

coffeehound

I was about to register my new mobile number with the TPS today, but then read that:

a) it does not prevent "market research" calls, and
b) it does not prevent SMS text messages.

This makes me wonder whether the TPS is therefore worse than useless – if the TPS registered contact list is available to the spammers, they might actually mine it as a source of numbers to conduct "market research" and to send marketing SMS texts to.

jhe

i have recently bought http://www.cprcallblocker.com/ it seems to be doing its job
i also had a massive increase in calls in recent months, TPS cannot block overseas calls, plus these nuisance callers try to pass themselves off as surveys! then there are the silent calls! computer problem calls!
i actually feel in control of my landline now

PaulJM

This makes me wonder whether the TPS is therefore worse than useless – if the TPS registered contact list is available to the spammers, they might actually mine it as a source of numbers to conduct "market research" and to send marketing SMS texts to.

From my experience, it was ok, now it is worse than useless.

I even complained to them about a business who I'd got careful details of, and they flat refused to beleive it wasn't just telemarketing.

To be honest, the TPS is simply a company set up to give the impression that something is being done about unwanted marketing calls.
This website:
http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/th...s-ctps.255263/
shows the latest figures I could find (it's from April 2012) and it states:


Quote:
Since PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003) came into effect the ICO has reached formal undertakings with 8 organisations, and served 9 enforcement notices against organisations for breaches of PECR, all in connection with live telephone calls.
So in 9 years, 8 companies have agreed to modify their procedures and 9 companies have had action taken against them. So on average only 1 company a year is prosecuted. This must really have the telemarketers quaking in their boots.

That's damning evidence.

Most of the time though, it's just flipping annoying. SOme of it is downright scamming though - like the "Microsoft support" that tries to get you to go through your files. If my gran was alive in the days of computers, I'd have hated for her to get these calls. There must be something that can/should be done.

LilElvis

I know exactly where these annoying companies are getting our landline number from - the phone book. Callers always ask me "is that Mrs X", which immediately alerts me to it being a nuisance/scammer/time waster as I have not taken my husband's name. My husband is a die-hard technophobe so they are not picking the phone number up from any web transactions - any purchases in his name are made by me and with my mobile number as the contact. The landline number is listed in his name though. Or it was. I persuaded him to let me change it to ex-directory. Hope at least some of the calls will tail off in a few months. I certainly won't miss the several calls I get each week from 'Windows' about the problems I am apparently having with my computer.