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Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

#11

Post by Silhouette »

DanBC wrote: post #4

This article does not mention the Telephone Preference Service. It's a useful step to take. The article doesn't mention the fact that most mobile providers in the UK have free numbers that you can forward spam texts to. There's also a problem with a gap in the law that allows "genuine market researcher" to contact you to -- this loophole is used by some companies as lead generation.

There's also a problem with a gap in the law that allows "genuine market researcher" to contact you to -- this loophole is used by some companies as lead generation.

It's funny how political parties always seem to wind up exempt in election season, too.

Re: Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

#12

Post by SmellyGeekBoy »

lylebarrere wrote: post #3

The Do Not Call database in the US has never been effective because the type of company making these spammy calls doesn't care if they are breaking the law. There is no enforcement effort to track them down.

It's exactly the same situation with the Telephone Preference Service in the UK in my experience. The only way I've managed to get these calls to stop is to get withheld numbers (ie callers with no or blocked Call ID) blocked at the phone company level - which usually incurs a monthly fee, of course...

Re: Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

#13

Post by ColinWright »

mike-cardwell wrote: post #8
ColinWright wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I belong to the TPS, and I still get a dozen cold calls a day. When I ask where they got my details from they simply say it came up on their system. When I ask for their details they hang up. When I call 1471 it's an unlisted number. Currently there is no viable way to prevent these calls, or to get off their lists.

Block withheld numbers?

Most of my family have withheld numbers to avoid giving them away to the people they legitimately telephone, so no, that won't work either.

Re: Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

#15

Post by rayiner »

lylebarrere wrote: post #3

The Do Not Call database in the US has never been effective because the type of company making these spammy calls doesn't care if they are breaking the law. There is no enforcement effort to track them down.

Do you remember what things were like before the Do Not Call database? We would get one or more marketing calls a day on our home phone (landline). These days, maybe once a month.

Re: Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

#16

Post by jblok »

My method is as follows:

- I don't have a landline phone

- If someone calls my mobile and they aren't in my address book, I just don't answer.

- If that number is withheld I especially don't answer

- If they leave a message I will listen to it and respond if necessary

- If the number is not whitheld but not in my phone book, I google it, and if it is a legitimate business, it will usually show a match on the company website. If I need to I'll call them back e.g. today I had the estate agent ring, but I didn't have their number saved so I didn't answer. I rang them back once I had googled their number

Re: Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

#17

Post by SmellyGeekBoy »

mike-cardwell wrote: post #8
ColinWright wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I belong to the TPS, and I still get a dozen cold calls a day. When I ask where they got my details from they simply say it came up on their system. When I ask for their details they hang up. When I call 1471 it's an unlisted number. Currently there is no viable way to prevent these calls, or to get off their lists.

Block withheld numbers?

That's what I did. Went from 1-2 nuisance calls per day (I mainly work from home) to none at all. It's just a shame BT charge money for this service.

Re: Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

#18

Post by easytiger »

jblok wrote: post #16

My method is as follows: - I don't have a landline phone - If someone calls my mobile and they aren't in my address book, I just don't answer. - If that number is withheld I especially don't answer - If they leave a message I will listen to it and respond if necessary - If the number is not whitheld but not in my phone book, I google it, and if it is a legitimate business, it will usually show a match on the company…

Lot of people get a lot of calls from abroad which come up as private number etc. Depends on your incoming call profile.

Re: Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

#19

Post by Ensorceled »

DanBC wrote: post #4

This article does not mention the Telephone Preference Service. It's a useful step to take. The article doesn't mention the fact that most mobile providers in the UK have free numbers that you can forward spam texts to. There's also a problem with a gap in the law that allows "genuine market researcher" to contact you to -- this loophole is used by some companies as lead generation.

The article actually mentions the TPS in the case study:

"But it was after he [Martin Shelley] registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) – a list of people who have indicated they do not wish to receive sales and marketing calls – that the number of unwanted calls increased."

Apparently it's not working as expected ...

Re: Clampdown on cold call companies unveiled by government

#20

Post by kodis »

It seems as though at least for smart phones this could be easily solved through technological means similar to those used for screening email, something along the lines of a spam classification system.

I envision my phone having a white list of known good numbers, which would be allowed to cause my phone to ring like it does now; a black list of known bad numbers, which would be immediately dropped; and a catch-all handler for all other numbers, which would send the call to voice mail for easy manual classification into either of the other categories.

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