Nuisance Phone call Scam?

[julesapple]

For the past three weeks we have had an unprecedented number of nuisance/silent phone calls. On four or five days the calls were every fifteen minutes, or so, from just after 6am until just before midnight. Calls after 10pm worry the heck out of me...

We have caller display so we were able to ignore many of the numbers we just didn't recognise (a lot just say 'number' or are from codes starting 00 which is overseas and we don't know anyone overseas) and I even went as far as to pay for caller barring and barred the maximum ten numbers of the most frequent callers. We are ex-directory and registered with TPS.

Then we got a phonecall from a Bedfordshire number. It was, so it appeared, from a company that is listed as legitimate on the internet although the number appearing on my phone wasn't the number they gave me to phone them back. I looked into the blocking service they offered and told the BH. He looked at it, and said we ought to try it. It was £190.00 for three years, and free after the three years. They also tell you they are part of the TPS, which they are clearly not when you look at their website. After three weeks of constant nuisance call bombardment, this is the answer to your prayers.

What they do is send you a number blocker that you attach to your phone line, for which you pay £190 in total. These are available on the internet for about £15. They phoned again the next day and took some details and said it would all be set up and their accounts department would phone the next day to collect payment details and set up a DDI. We would have the usual 14 day cooling off period, etc etc.

That evening I did some research and found out about these little boxes and that you could buy them very cheaply online. When the company called the next day I said, sorry, no, we can buy the box much cheaper and said I no longer needed their services. They were a bit sniffy, saying the boxes bought online weren't as good as theirs (they looked identical to me!) but thanked me for my time anyway. I didn't buy a box online either, although I was still contemplating it.

However, all of a sudden, the nuisance/silent phone calls have stopped. We've had three phone calls in four days and they are all from family.

Now, is it me, am I being too suspicious? Call me a cynic......

[Mikey]

Sounds very suspect Jules, whenever someone calls unsolicited I always say I'm with the TPS and most just put the phone down.

[rustylady]

I'm cynical too Jules. My bet is it was the company offering the phone blocker service making the nuisance calls.

Have you notified the police or Trading Standards. This is just the sort of thing that could terrify some people into paying their extortionate price for phone blocking.

[julesapple]

I've registered complaints with Trading Standards and the Advertising Standards Agency this morning.

Sadly, because I cancelled the DDI instructions with the bank, they have been total prats and cancelled our other DDIs too. This is a HUGE headache now, with Sky being very suspicious and saying we need to register another bank with them instead which, thankfully, we can do, but the knock on effect of the bank's idiocy will be far reaching........all down to this company.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Always be suspicious 9 times out of 10 you will be correct in your thoughts.

Potty

[Kirk]

I have caller display on the phone and as a seperate box, I also have the ability to completely ignore a ringing phone - amazing how many people cannot.

Work on the basis that if I do not recognise the number it doesn't get answered, not an unknown condition that if I do recognise the number it doesn't get answered either.

Getting to the state that I do not use the "BT" phone much except for accessing the internet, so almost any call on the land line is treated as suspect now.

[Glutton4...]

... I also have the ability to completely ignore a ringing phone - amazing how many people cannot...

Oh yes - amazes me too! I was a slave to the telephone for many years, due to being paid to answer it. Never again. There's a machine - if you want to leave a message, please do.

Oh, and Jules, you're a cynic!

[starloc]

Ive given up on phones due to nuscience callers ....I only have one at work that people can phone on in working hours now

I have mobiles for use in a few countries but they are off all the time unless I turn on to use them and nobody has the number

I put my home phone off the hook in December ( with a hammer ) due to all night long nuscience calls that were going on for a couple of months
I bought a new phone to replace the one i beat to death at 3am with a hammer and left it off the hook so I can use it if needed
At present its somewhere under the sofa..... , it comes out every now and then when the dogs get it out to play with

[veggiechicken]

I have caller display too and I ignore anything I don't recognise or that is International. Unfortunately I have a few friends who are ex-directory so I never answer their calls either. I just don't do mobile phones - for use in emergencies only.
Anyone who rings me offering call barring must know a lot more about my telephone calls than I do! Cynic - you bet

[julesapple]

Most of the nuisance calls have been between 5 and 8pm on weekdays. At present, we are sitting in silence (where the telephone is concerned, at least) which, I think, proves my point.

The Bh has, this afternoon, complained to Offcom.

[Verinda]

I recently got a call from some Indian guy who told me they'd had a lot of reports about my dads computer, that hackers had got into it and if I did online banking then the hackers would know all my numbers and went on to tell me all the trouble this would cause me. This happened just two days after my dad had died (I was in his house) so I was in a state and also a bit worried as dad never bothered with security on his computer. This chap said he was going to solve all my problems, he just needed a few details...thankfully I finally got suspicious and hung up, but he phoned back, luckily my brother answered and told him where to go.

I found out that they persuade you to download something which they say will protect your computer but in fact it blocks it so you can't use it until you pay them lots of money. I am very cynical now!

Julsie I'm glad you aren't getting nuisance calls anymore, what a relief for you.

[julesapple]

I've had many, many, calls and those from foreign parts I ignore because, despite what they'll tell you they are either trying to flog you something or to flog any info you give them to other parties. I think most people are fairly wise to those calls now.

What got me about these people was that their well-timed call was designed to be the perfect answer to my problems; how convenient, how fortuitous!

I think the calls were from genuine overseas call centres. My theory is that this company was in contact with the overseas call centres and when we agreed to their scheme, they then told these call centres to stop ringing us. Gullible, thankful, people would then be thinking 'Crikey! They ARE good!' before they even got their call-blocker boxes through the post.

This afternoon, I found this particular company listed here:

TPS

[Reina]

Sounds like a scam indeed. Good thing you did not push through with the deal.

[Reina]

By the way, do you still have the caller's phone number? I strongly suggest you report it to Report Phone Number to CallerCenter.com and post the phone number there for people to see. It's a lot of advantage when we can block the scammer's phone number ahead.