What do I do too stop these never ending calls, get several a day with the promise of great prizes ect........just ring 09...........whatever,
suggestions ? i cant block international calls due to work ?
Hiya Jon:
just phone 0845 07 007 07 if its a BT line its a automated serive on local rates it take up to about 28 days to block all the calls
sorry forgot to say thats just nuisance calls it blocks i.e direct marketing
If they are overseas surely the telephone preference service won't bother them.
We have caller display, if it shows international my kids just don't answer it (unless they know that someone who might call us is abroad at the
time). I always answer the phone, and then leave it off the hook for a while to make sure it costs the caller the maximum amount possible - rarely
actually listen to the message.
quote:
Originally posted by andyps
If they are overseas surely the telephone preference service won't bother them.
We have caller display, if it shows international my kids just don't answer it (unless they know that someone who might call us is abroad at the time). I always answer the phone, and then leave it off the hook for a while to make sure it costs the caller the maximum amount possible - rarely actually listen to the message.
Blocking withheld numbers dosen't work either as where the number is from a overseas exchange it dosen't recognise the number as withheld
just "we do not have the callers number" .
Most of these calls come via the internet and at the moment nobody has any effective way of stopping them as legislation wil always lag behind
technology, the powers that be intend to do something about it but it will take at least a couple of years by which time technology will have moved on
again.
I suspect very soon we will see smart phones appear than can filter calls before they ring.
There are only a few and i mean 1 or 2 out of serveral hundred that manage to charge without your pressing a button.
I use VOIP all the time. Have a local number and a national number. I use it for work as its cheaper then getting another line fitted and line rental.
Also means I know when its a call that cant be ignored!
Basically a computer will call you with the message as most of you have worked out. The legit ones say call back on premium number. The less legit
ones (usually texas based as there are loop holes in international trading there which get exploited) get you to press a number. This can be any
number they want as it picks up the tone or pulse, not just 7 as commanly believed).
Now there are a few operating from Ivory Coast and West Africa as a whole, which when you pick up forward the call to a premium number at your
expense. Most VOIP service providers are aware and have upgraded their software to only allow them to forward at their expense.
Even if you are able to bar international calls, the growth of this technology will spread in the UK. It is governed by the same rules as for call
centres, so will either be ignored as is often the case at the moment, or will be included in the 'opt-in' markets.
What no one has successfully done is created a law that stops them from ringing every possible number systematically. The current TPS and FPS laws
only apply to telemarketing lists of numbers.
With the VOIP market growing as it is, these will be more comman over the next few years. I have seen offer now of 1000 buisiness minutes to US for $5
+$15 month subscription so it is very cheap to them. In reality the longer you wait the more damage you could be doing to yourself with little impact
on them.
Best things to do...
* I read a magizine article which said that alot of VOIP operaters run programs to work out if it is a fax its connected to or a person. So install a
fax. This could be sold on though to send you spam through faxes, and your friends/collegues might suffer from teninous shortly.
* Because of the massive costs the mobile operaters charge for connection, VOIP still costs up to 30p in cases for a minute to mobiles. Dont have a
home phone...? Become a hermit? Or do what my best mate does, live by email - usually off over peoples wireless networks.
---afterthought----
Has anyone else noticed the rise of 'prank calls'. Works usuing simular automated technology. A computer calls you. You answer. As you
answer it cuts off.
What is happening is the computer reconizes that it is a human on the phone, (and some listens to sound quality to check for answerphones), counts the
number of seconds for you to answer and logs the spped and your number on a database. Better for telemarkets as they know what time you answer your
phone quickest.
[Edited on 4/4/05 by JamJah]