Help. this is the gist of what I want to send to my insurance company’s CEO, make them aware of the hassle I get but how do I actually stop it in the real world (assuming they will do bugger all or can’t make any difference):

Nearly 2 years ago I was driving my van (which is insured with you at XXXXXX) near Inverness when it was hit from behind at a roundabout by a Ford car driven by an old lady. She admitted liability and was with XXXXX Insurance which I believe is under the same umbrella company as yours. All was settled and the relatively minor damage to my van was repaired (very well). I thought that was it.

Since then, almost daily, at all hours of the day and evening, I am bombarded with phone calls to my mobile from spurious sounding people claiming to help me get injury compensation that I’m allegedly due. I was not injured and don’t wish to claim anything and I think it’s wrong to encourage people to make false claims.
The callers say they are from legal firms acting for you, they use Unknown / No Caller ID numbers or all kinds of other numbers including mobiles with pre-recorded messages before someone picks up and starts waffling on. I have my number registered on the telephone preference service (TPS) but that doesn’t put them off. I bar numbers when I can but can’t with the no caller id ones. It doesn’t matter how many times I say I am not interested or to ‘politely go away’, they persist.
To say it is irritating is an understatement. I’ve had 10 of these calls this week alone. I can’t ignore everything because I do need to speak to other people through my work some of whom use unknown/no caller id (e.g. Police and Doctors).
I can only assume someone internally at your companies XXXXX/YYYYY must have passed on officially or unofficially my personal details to these third parties. If this is the case, aside from the personal hassle I am getting, I am really concerned about such contemptuous practices and the way premiums must get inevitably hiked if people do, as I’m sure some do, make iffy claims. I think it should be reported to the Financial services authorities.
For now, I’d like to know if you can shed any light on what has led to this and what can be done to stop these nutters, who are causing me so much stress, from ringing. I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if it was happening to you. I look forward to your reply.

I guess I’ll just have to get a new number.

I get these as well, mainly texts these days “you are due £xxxx in compensation for your accident”. But I didn’t have an accident’ my car went on fire, so who are they going to get compensation from.

Give them a new number, they’ll enter it in the data base and when the companies calling you start using the updated data base the calls will stop. It worked with my bank, they assured me I couldn’t possibly be getting the calls I was from them so I gave them a new number (entered via Internet), the personal number of the person telling me I couldn’t possibly be getting the calls.

With more and more companies I just tell them I’m not on the phone so they’ll have to communicate by post.

😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆

I was going to suggest to the OP that he gives me his number, because I’m definitely not a nutter, oh no I’m really not.

When they ask for Mr eskay, I say I will get him and then stick the phone in the kitchen and shut the door.

If Imam feeling grumpy I tell them to bog off.

Which mag did a list of companies that don’t sell on your details. You could move to one of them, but that doesn’t help the current problem. c_g on here has been fighting this business. I expect she’ll be along.

and

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26291075

so that’s one company that can’t deny it

I’ve not had any accidents and I still get these calls. I also didn’t have PPI on any loans, but I get them too.

Yes, you’re absolutely right slowoldgit. Thread in question:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-challenged-an-ombudsman-decision

Buy one of these http://www.fox40whistles.co.uk/Fox-40/Sport/Fox-40-Classic-FOX-CLASS
and keep it by the phone. If a caller won’t take no for an answer, just blow it.
It will make your own ears ring, I promise you, and should be very distracting to anyone on the other end.
I used to use one on the bike, for idiot peds who ignored me calling or ringing a bell, absolutely deafening.

Just lately work mobile will ring, I still what I’m doing answer it and its a recorded **** message from some **** hole of a ppi claims company. Boils my piss but like the op I have to answer.

There might be something you can do here (if the page isn’t members-only)

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/i-keep-getting-unwanted-calls-and-text-messages-what-can-i-do-

I was looking for their list of insurance cos who’ve stated they don’t sell on information to ambulance chasers. It needs more search skills than I have. One of them is Nationwide.

It’s dishonest employees who can be doing it as per the Aviva report.

A roadie friend of mine had an off and went to hospital as a precaution. No names, phone numbers or car registrations exchanged. Gave mobile number to A & E then guess what?

I would send the initial letter to the general counsel of the company saying the company is selling your information, it’s employees are selling your information, or people are fraudulently claiming to represent the company – and whichever it is is likely to lead to reputational risk and legal costs, and so s/he ought to turn their mind to it as a matter of urgency.

Right now you’re asking the top guy to help you out the goodness of their heart.

There was someone who set up his own premium rate number and gave that out to companies, he made a decent amount from them.

This is the chap that mikewsmith is referring to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23869462

Or you could ask the callers if they sell dusters – that will confuse them

Could be anyone related to the incident, body shop, claims management company, courtesy vehicle etc

I still get calls relating to an accident where my car was hit from behind about 5 years ago.
On the last call, I explained I was sat in my lounge at the time, so there were no injuries.
He then asked if I knew anyone who had been injured in an accident, and if I did, could get a referral fee !!!
I asked him to let me have his company address , so that I could arrange one !
Still get calls from same number, so they obviously don’t log your responses

I think I may be able to help.

I’m going to set up a compensation claim company to claim for the inconvenience caused by companies who constantly call re insurance, PPI, loans interest etc..

Joking aside about a year ago a colleague of mine damaged the side of her car against one of the large concrete supports in a multistory. No one else was involved but it needed an insurance repair. Within 48 hours she was receiving compensation calls. She told them nobody else was involved and it was her fault but they don’t stop and a year later she still gets one or two a week.

I plugged an old fax machine into the home line during the day time and over a couple of months the PPI calls have stopped. Looks like they update their database when a fax keeps screeching at you!

I get these calls and I’ve never had any sort of accident! One bloke was really surprised by this, having opened with “I’m phoning about the accident you’ve had”. He couldn’t believe I didn’t have anything to claim for.

I keep getting calls and texts starting with “this is an urgent call/message……” Which gives me a moment of panic, followed by “….in relation to your PPI claim”
I’ve never made a PPI claim so I swear at them and put the phone down.

Orange have a spam line: forward any texts to 7726. Follow with confirmation of the naughty number. It’s abuse of the system and O say they jump on the numbers. It’s a small way of getting back at them.

I guess other mobile companies have something similar.

‘Private number’ showed up on my mobile every single time.

You can report unsolicited stuff here…

http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/marketing

I use an app on my phone called phone warrior, you can set it to reject unknown callers, private numbers, numbers from your blacklist and numbers from a community based blacklist (which you help populate). Also does SMS. It’s not 100% but works well enough that I’ve kept it!

I never answer the phone if I don’t know the caller and just delete voicemails from unknown numbers….

Of com also allows you to complain about specific numbers which keep calling.

I quite enjoy them – although once every couple of weeks, not daily. Just ask them lots of questions about it and see them flounder. Almost as fun as when Vodafone call me about something but never manage to answer my security questions.

Just ask them what they are wearing and start breathing deeply.
Huge amounts of fun to be had if you try.

I had loads of PPI calls – if it’s a person- ask them loads of random questions about anything. They get the picture. Always worth asking where they are based and what the weather is like there etc..

My mother keeps getting calls telling her that her computer has a problem and they can fix it. She’s 85 has never had a computer and when she tells them this they tell she definitely has a problem with her computer. She tells them in no uncertain terms where the computer fault is, but they still keep calling her!

My Mum was staying with us for a few months a couple of years ago. She answered the phone to the “your windows computer has a fault” type call, she replied that the windows have been replace with double glazing. I would have loved to have seen the callers response.

We get loads of calls. Keep registering on TPS, takes a while for it the calls to ease up, then a couple of quiet months, then it starts again. PPI, personal injury, computers. Latest one this week is the Green Initiative Grants for insulation, cavity wall, etc. Calls from the automated systems that will use a pre-recorded message are frustrating, but the calls from their automatic dialler system that when answered transfer you to one of their operators. Either “please hold whilst we transfer you” or it just hangs up.

I admit I do swear at them a lot. Friday I had 5 calls in 10 minutes, all from green grants. When I picked up the phone to a genuine call I nearly bit the woman’s head off. I had to apologise and explain, she took it very well. I try to be careful where I put my phone numbers, especially on the internet, but TBH I don’t think it makes any difference. You have to put a genuine number to certain things, orders etc, just in case.

I answer the phone, put it on hands free and go about my business whatever that may be at the time….watching TV, driving, talking to my other half, walking the dogs, taking a dump….but ignoring the increasingly desperate attempts to engage me in conversation from the other end, it quite often reduces me to laughter which just seems to annoy them even more….which is great, funnily enough the two companies in question that used to call all the time now dont call at all.
I managed to reverse the situation and become a waste of their time rather than them wasting my time…they really dont like that. 😆

Call blocker pro on the android works well.

Orange have a spam line: forward any texts to 7726. Follow with confirmation of the naughty number. It’s abuse of the system and O say they jump on the numbers. It’s a small way of getting back at them.

Things have improved with Orange then, I used to regularly get cold calls trying to get me to upgrade my phone, which carried on for the best part of two years after I went over to O2 and ported my number, used to really piss me off especially as they were often in work hours, and I didn’t know if it was work or not. Gits.
I sometimes get texts about my accident claim; I’ve never had an accident that required any kind of claim, so I’ve no idea what these ***holes are on about! Scum.

after a bit of editing to the original letter and sending I actually got a reply from the CEO (well their PA), though only to say they’d investigate and see what has gone on, and then get back to me asap…..and I have only had 1 such call this week, and they put the phone down on me when I started speaking Welsh.

This thread reminded me that I got one of those calls at lunch time from Halifax Bank of Scotland… have just added the number to the reject list and while doing that I was pleased to see that Android also gives you the option of rejecting calls from “Unknown” so I’ve ticked that as well. Cool.

Just say that you have to check something on your paperwork about the accident and then just put the phone on the table and leave them hanging – much more satisfying.

Update – got the official letter back from CEO’s office basically saying they don’t pass on personal details, they follow all sorts of codes of conducts, could I pass on any phone numbers for them to investigate, if I’m still not happy I can go to the Ombudsman etc etc

Oddly a couple of days after I sent my complaint in the calls stopped. Coincidence?

my car went on fire, so who are they going to get compensation from

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOErZuzZpS8&feature=kp[/video]