Watch out for scam calls about your pension

Educating the general public at an extremely early age would help protect ’em against cold calling, and hit the industry right where it hurts most. Does anyone reallistically expect me to hold any intelligent conversation whatever, least of all my medical, or financial situation, with a complete unknown stranger on the ‘phone/text/email, please? The Emergency Services charge a minimum fee of £600 for every hoax call, whenever they can trace the call. We should recieve the same compo, + expences, for every cold call/text/email we can trace. I find that whenever I ask their ID, or ask where they have sourced my name/no., they instantly hang-up. This is extremely blatant proof that they are breaking the law, as also that they are fully aware of it being illegal. The law is obviously an ass. It would be so simple to enforce the law, by means of prevention. If every ‘phone call/text/email needed chip’n pin, it would not only prevent most cold calling, but also most online grooming/trolling/fraud, etc. Every keyboard issued to the civil service is already equipped with a “built-in” card swipe, resulting in a digital signature on every email, etc. The new style digital Tachograph “built-in” to most new Group 2 mechanised vehicles instantly provides the necessary driver ID to the Traffic Commissioners, vehicle owners, as also the home office (Swansea). This should be extended, on a compulsory basis, to all vehicles, even all 2 wheelers, to assist with crime/accident prevention/detection, as also accident investigation.

Sorry for that, but I was simply attempting to point out that it is an extremely similar case, where the law/state (Swansea), have all the ID they need, but despite this, are not only toothless, but equally spineless. The TV licence is also similar. The home office (Bristol), have the full ID f every “potential” such “tax” dodger, but send private bailliffs to sort it. They have no search warrant, and obviously no coppers warrant card, and therefore have no legal means of gaining entry, therefore no means of proof. It has been pointed out above, that these scammers/’phone hoaxers, are all known to their network/ISP and are therefore traceable by thier “airtime” purchase/cctv.

My 87 year old mother was receiving distressing cold calls several times a day. She does not have a mobile or computer, so someone somewhere has been passing or selling her phone number to companies who indiscriminately target her as a sales opportunity. The utility, insurance and ISP companies are some of the worst. This practice of selling this information should be made illegal immediately.
I finally asked BT that her number be changed free of charge, which they did. Since then all the nuisance calls have ceased. The only calls she now receives are those from family and friends to whom we have personally told of her new number.
I believe that everyone should have the right to ask for a new telephone and mobile number free of charge. It is then up to the individual to tell all their personal contacts of the change in details.
As long as people continue to give out their contact details to online companies when making enquiries or purchases without opting out of future correspondence then they only have themselves to blame.

I recently bought a BT8500 phone – brilliant. No unwanted calls as all are barred. Well worth the £40 it cost. Peace at last

In order to cut down on nuisance calls I purchased a ‘CPR Call Blocker’. This is very good at stopping calls once I have a number to block. It will also stop ‘Unavailable’ numbers effectively. There is the capability to block ‘Withheld’ numbers and that is for me a problem. It seems these days that doctors, hospitals, district nurses, and other people I need to maintain contact with are withholding their numbers when making calls. I cannot block withheld nuisance calls because if I block one withheld number I block them all. So any nuisance callers that withhold their number are still getting through. If I didn’t need to ensure that the doctors and nurses messages get through I would block withheld calls and my phone would be a lot quieter.

I now screen my calls through the answer machine if I see a ‘withheld’ message on the caller display. Very often this leads to the caller hanging up. I have no caller details so I cannot report them. Other times I get recorded messages that do not reveal what organisation is calling. I am directed in the message to press a named key on my telephone – a thing I am not prepared to do as I suspect that could in the end cost me money. Again, without details I cannot report them. The only calls that are withheld that I answer are those where someone I can identify speaks during the screening process.

Its not perfect to use the call block plus screening but this process has halved my nuisance caller problem. I am now considering a BT8500 phone. If it works as well as the claims made it may just solve all my nuisance call problem.

Many of the spam callers use the 0843 number sequence. For some reason the owners of these numbers are protected by OFCOM, they prevent you getting their physical address, billing address or phone details of the owners.

If the victims of these SPAM calls could phone the owners up to complain, or be given the real address of the owners they could get action taken against them, Small Claims Court action for time wasted etc.

We have been receiving 3 nuisance calls daily about 3 days weekly recently- mainly about ppl. As soon as I hear the message I replace the receiver immediately.

I let most calls go to ansaphone – I put most important people on a different ringtone so I can “weed out” other calls. Funny how often these don’t leave a message or, if they do, they’re telling me yet again about a Govt. scheme re solar panels! TPS does’t help much – I answered one by error a while back, for help with installing Double Glazing, and was told TPS doesn’t apply to Govt. schemes cold calling (is this true?)