[Closed] National 'Do Not Call' database

telephone preference list

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

Ineffective given the number of calls I am getting these days.

it's quite limited in what it stops, only really un-solicited sales calls

i've started putting them on hold, and the holding music my phone provides is bloody awful. Sounds like a hyperactive 2 year old banging a spoon on a glockenspiel.
Hasn't reduced the numbers but it cheers me up thinking about some poor sod sitting in a call centre listening to that god awful racket

First thing I did when we moved in was get the phone connected and make sure we were on the MPS and TPS lists.

Don't think I've had any unsolicited calls in two years (apart from those robotic automated dialler ones) so it is worth doing.

TPS does not stop overseas ones. i usually say - "that sounds interesting - hold on a moment" and just leave the phone off the hook. Hang up after a few minutes. I have even had them phoning back saying 2 we got cut off" - cue the whole rigamarole again :-0

TPS stops most of it tho - I get one or two a month.

note that if you are already a customer of the company that is calling you, then they don't have to use TPS. And they also find ways round it with affinity deals.

As an example, I might do a deal with your cable TV company so that 'they' call you and offer 'my' services, and because you never registered with your cable TV company not to market to you, they are within their rights.

TPS cuts out most calls. with any others I just say no ta, i don't really see why folks get so upset by these calls and spend mountains of time thinking up ways to piss off people that, let face it, are doing a shit job for minimum wage

there for the grace

I don't know of any telmarketing company that has ever been fined (and that's all it is) under TPS regs

TPS is toothless and works less and less these days.

The trouble with saying 'no thanks' is that they always have a speech prepared which they pause while you say that...

... and then plough on regardless.

And if British Gas don't leave me alone, I'll be even more rude to the next Bangladeshi who rings me to talk about their new prices.

TPS is pointless TBH, I've had countless companies call and try to sell me stuff but if you ask who they are they go silent. I tried getting my phone company to tell me their number but they won't and the TPS won't even begin an investigation unless they know exactly who they're dealing with. Utterly pointless.

TPS cuts out most calls. with any others I just say no ta, i don't really see why folks get so upset by these calls

Because I have not invited them to call me, I'm relaxing of an evening and/or asleep after work and don't want waking up for some idiot to call me and offer me things;

"Hello,..." bla bla 20 second speech telling me they could claim back my bank charges...
"I don't have any bank charges"
"I'm sure you do sir"
"No, I don't, but thanks anyway and don't call me again"

A week later the same conversation, only this time insisting that I've forgotten something and they can help me. Won't tell me the company name though.

I, for one, have not been sufficiently emotionally moved by Slumdog Millionaire to be happy interrupting my evenings to be TOLD I have bank charges to fix.
"

just say hang on and put handset down on top of the telly. The longer they wait, the less time they have to hassle other people.

It does seem odd that some people seem to get a lot of unsolicited calls & others don't
I'm registered with TPS & have had the same home number for years
We never get any cold calls

It does seem odd that some people seem to get a lot of unsolicited calls & others don't

Just depends on who has found your info I suppose. I never give out my landline number except to people I HAVE to (gas, elec etc) and I still get got but I'm not ex-directory so it's perfectly possible for cold callers to just trawl the list of existing numbers.

just say hang on and put handset down on top of the telly. The longer they wait, the less time they have to hassle other people.

They give you about 2 seconds and then hang up themselves. Might as well just hang up.

Thanks for the info guys. My concern is not for me - I'm more than blunt enough to shake them off and don't seem to get that many anyway.

My realy worry is my parents. They are getting to that stage where they are a cold callers wet dream. Last night my mum told me how she'd got a call from some telephone company or something and for some reason, lord knows why or how, they managed to get her bank details off of her! We've talked about this so many times and she knows the dangers, and yet some how these w***ers seem to still be able to get her to sign up for something.
The crazy thing is that she has not the faintest idea now who it was that was calling or why she ended up giving her bank details.

One way to prevent the vast majority of calls is to use the [url= http://www2.bt.com/btPortal/application?origin=mb_prod_detail.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.portlet.event&pageid=mb_pns_catalogue&portletid=mb_pns_catalogue&wfevent=link.Product&com.bea.event.type=linkclick&oLDesc=link+to+product&oSiteArea=mb.corp&oPJsp=mb_prod_detail.jsp&oPt=mb_pns_catalogue&oLName=mbpnsproduct&oOJsp=mb_prod_detail.jsp&oPg=mb_pns_catalogue&siteArea=mb.corp&PorS=products&productDetail=products/anonymous_call_rejection.xml ]Anonymous Call Rejection[/url] service provided by your phone supplier.

Drawbacks with this is that it costs (£4 a month with BT) it will block all calls with no caller ID, which may prevent calls from an office getting through.

Alternatively get a phone that has caller id and don't answer those that don't show a number

Alternatively get a phone that has caller id and don't answer those that don't show a number

Essentially the same as ACR though, you don't know who you're rejecting.

Alternatively get a phone that has caller id and don't answer those that don't show a number

Essentially the same as ACR though, you don't know who you're rejecting.

Well yes, but you pay up front for a phone, and not monthly, you will also still get calls but can choose to answer. if it is a real problem I'd go for the ACR option