General Chat

I just say
1 its a council house to double glazers or mortgage lenders.
2 Foreign ones I say sorry, not interested if a voice speaks. If obviously a machine, just put the phone down. Dont get calls from this country as we are registered with the service.
I think there is a shceme where you can stop junk mail, but it also stops public service messages from getting through, like letters from councils with just the householder on the address.

MMm.......you could be right there!! viscious circle is'nt it!!

jude

Mm! Trouble with banning junk mail is that the Post Office get paid for delivering it. Without it there could well be more reductions in service or office closures, or increases in the price of a stamp. It is only junk mail if your name isn't on it. If it is addressed to you then ask the co to take you off their list.

As far as unwanted calls are concerned, the hello hello can't hear is a good trick, especially if you then put the phone down on the side and leave it there for half an hour. It means their line is locked until you get around to putting it back on the cradle.

Morning....l have just registered with TPS, lets hope it works. Thanks for the link:o)

Auntysherlock.....like the dentist bit, ours is very Welsh though:o)

Lakeslass....your mums got a great sense of humour:o)

Rubbish via the postman is a constant pain, good idea to put it back in p/box, perhaps in time the post office will get the message if we all did it:o)))

Thankas everyone:o)

jude

When you get calls from the random computer the thing to do is the press the hash (#) key really fast as this confuses the computer that has rang you. If you leavethe phone on the side they will ring you back again another time so doing that doesnt actually work.

The post man seems to deliver a lot of junk mail so i post it back in the post box
If its an actuall person calling you,,just leave the phone on the side and letthem talk to themselves/

You should always ask the company to remove your details from their call lists. They are required to respect your wishes.


Registering with TPS should remove most International calls because they're usually calling on behalf of a UK based company. They have to comply with UK regulations and screen their call lists against TPS before making an unsolicited sales and marketing calls to a UK telephone number.

Rose

Well in this case us in Australia are very very lucky. We have Do Not Call. Here is how it works and oh boy does it work, and it is good for three years.

"Which numbers can I list on the Do Not Call Register?
You can list your Australian fixed line and mobile numbers on the Do Not Call Register, provided the numbers are used primarily for private or domestic purposes.

How does the register work?
Under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006, telemarketers can check their calling lists against the Do Not Call Register. If a telemarketer calls a number on the Do Not Call Register, they may be in breach of the Act, and may face penalties.

Will it stop all telemarketing calls?
Registering your telephone number on the Do Not Call Register will not stop all telemarketing calls to your number.
Some organisations operating in the public interest are exempt from prohibition on making telemarketing calls. You can also still receive calls from market researchers. "

The only very occasional calls we get are from charities which are exempt and from people doing surveys. Before registering our number with the register we received overseas phone sales calls every day.

Word of warning about answering those calls. Do not answer "yes" to any of their questions. Once you say "yes" you are deemed to have agreed. Or so the gossip goes. As soon as you answer the phone and hear the silent pause before they start to talk, hang up.

But ummmm just be careful you don't hang up on your OHs dentist who just happens to have an Indian accent.

Re the line going dead.

One suggestion is to hit your # button quickly about 6 or 7 times which confuses their system enough to drop your phone number out of it. No idea if it actually works, but worth a try.

Apart from the "cold sales" calls, we've had some from international numbers but if you answer there's no one at the other end and the phone line goes dead. Then we have to plug the phone back in. Calling back only gets a busy signal. Any else had this sort of thing?

We seem to be quite lucky as don't get many of these calls. My son just puts the phone down on them.
However my 90yr old Mum does various things, depending on her mood!
Maybe she'll just politely say no thank you and put the phone down.
Maybe she'll use her hearing aid as an excuse
or maybe she'll let them go all through their 'story' and then say either her age,.. good one for life insurance or investments or say she's in a first floor flat (block of 3 floors) so doesn't need loft insulation, or driveways/patios etc.
Usually the caller is rendered speechless and just mumbles thanks and goes.
If its double glazing she just tells whoever that she's in a rented house. We've done that with cold callers at the door too.

We've registered her with telephone preference service but its good to see a post which advises this is only for a limited time, so I'll re-register her shortly.

Be thankful you don't live on this side of the ocean. ;)

We get constant scam calls from the US -- and people in the US get constant scam calls from Canada. In fact, Canada is getting a bit of a reputation for harbouring these people.

I get car-insurance calls from the eastern US, and credit-card calls from Florida. These are not nice people -- they're not people stuck doing crap jobs to eat, they're people who are part of the scam or at least make a career of working in them, and swear at you when you demand to be removed from their lists. There is absolutely no way you can get them to stop via the Canada or US do-not-call lists, which apply only to calls within each country -- although one I've been harassed by is being prosecuted in Illinois!

What I'm wondering -- if it's a UK company that has outsourced its calling, like calls from India about SKY, would it not be the UK company still breaking the rules, if you're on the "telephone preference list"? Might be worth checking and complaining if so.

Info about your service:

http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/

Anyone who hasn't signed up, I certainly would. You can register right there.

Hello Karen....l'm not sure will have to look into that, l know that we did'nt get
any nuisance calls for ages..............guess what??

l just got another one, but no one at the other end....grrrr

jude

We had them blocked some time ago, but its only for a certain length of time l think, so we'll do it again.
The first call Vic took, he handed it to me and l ended up putting the phone down....they rang back in seconds and l could hear him saying "we lost contact" !!!! so l told him again and put the phone down again, he then rang again!!!!!!!
The 4th call was a different man, he gave his name, said it was to do with loft insulation.....yeh right, l put the phone down!!!

Mummo......good for you:o)

l have a notice on my door (needs replacing actually) "NO CHARITY BAGS"....thank you!!

l put it up about 2 months ish ago and have one bag, that was from the Fire service charity!!
l have run outside in the past to give them back, but they have disapeared, l think they hide...lol

jude

They used to drive me insane in England. My brother gets 2 or 3 per night.
Until quite recently we didn´t get them in Menorca, but over the past couple of years, they have started here too.
If I want something, I know how to find it. I don´t need it explaining to me.
Marion

I must be lucky ( touch wood) lol. l donot get them calls but hate junk mail
through the door so have a sign saying "no junk mail" but the other week a menu came through tthe door and me being me went outside and this is how the conversation went.........

Me ...can't you read
Him...yes
Me.....well this says no junk mail
Him...its not junk mail, its a menu
Me......well its junk food and so its junk mail.
Him....no reply
Me.......now please take this junk mail and do not put it through my door again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now l know how uptight l get because of this so Jude can understand how you feel.x

Or alternatively...... you could just hang up!

I am so very fed up with these calls, about ANYTHING they think I may buy if they push hard enough.
My son has told me to ask for a superior, and then tell them never to call again.
BUT..... I forget..........;-0(
Deanna X

So annoying aren't they!

If I pick the phone up and realise it's a cold call I just say *hello, hello, hello* as though I can't hear them and then cut them off LOL

Mary

In the last 15 - 20 mins l have received 4 international calls!!!
The first 3 from India were about SKY box, l kept telling them we did'nt need one, we had one and it was ok, but they persisted. Then the 4th call was from India also asking about loft insulation, l politely and firmly told them l did not want any as l did with the first 3 calls, or though with them l was louder!!!!!

jude

PS...some of you may be aware that family in america are very ill (2 different parts of US) so l was thinking the worst when l realised it was international!!