silent calls problem

What do you mean by "silent calls?"

On 06/01/2006 15:05, Wolf Kirchmeir said,

These are where automatic call centre dialers phone you up, but when you answer it there is no-one there because there are insufficient staff at the call centre to actually take the call that their own dialer initiated!

Meanwhile, this campaign seems to have passed me by until now :-(

They changed the law in the US to stop that.

But what's happening now is voicemail spam that holds your line for the duration even if you put the phone down. I'm pretty sure this is illegal because a user has to be able to dial 911 (or 999 in the UK) in an emergency.

"Christopher A. Lee" wrote

What's this got to do with model railways?

John.

Might prevent me ringing through my next order John ;o)

In message , John Turner writes

A hell of a lot if you find that your pride and joy - the large layout up in the loft upon which you have lavished so much care and attention for years is on fire :0)

No doubt the originator might even claim a somewhat tenuous connection - model locos, and firemen.

Cheers..

OK, I've had those too. IMO it's just sloppy software.

"Roy" wrote

LOL - tell that to my mother when she gets on the phone! ;-)

John.

In message , Paul Boyd writes

I don't suffer from this at all, because after I got really annoyed with one particular unwanted anonymous (i.e. their phone number was withheld) sales call, I got my telephone supplier to stop all anonymous calls coming through. IIRC, all these automatic call centres withhold their numbers.

If you want to talk to me on the phone, you had better not withhold your telephone number, because if you do you won't get through.

Is this a Silent mail Fred?

Yes!

Fred X

Simply registering your phone number with the telephone preference service generally stops this sort of thing. - Worked for me :-)

Malcolm

"Malcolm" wrote

Works for me in the main but doesn't seem to stop the railway & model magazines ringing to try & sell advertising space!

John.

No, you have to go one step further. From the Telephone Preference Service web site:

"If you have been troubled by calls where the phone rings but on answering there is no one there, you may wish to register your number on the Silent Callgard Service on 0870 4443969.

These calls are generated by automatic dialling equipment which dial more numbers than there are operators available to take the calls. "

However, this will not stop the foreign-based gambling rust-bucket merchants. Also from the TPS web site:

"If you are receiving unsolicited sales and marketing voice recorded messages down your telephone line, and you have not given prior consent to receive such messages, you can ask the marketer to stop sending these.

They are legally obliged to act upon your request.

However if you are still receiving such calls (or it is not possible to ask the company to stop sending these types of messages) you can complain directly to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). They are the government body responsible for enforcing the regulations."

Unfortunately the ICO is unlikely to have much impact on international criminal organisations! If you aren't getting these calls, it just means that the robots haven't reached the combination of digits in your number. Although some people suspect that they are actually using the telephone preference list as the source of numbers to dial!

Cheers, Steve

I've recently seen it suggested that Hospitals use the multi-dialling technique when contacting patients at home - the writer pointed out that your hip replacement might be delayed if the hospital call to offer you a bed at short notice was blocked.

Ken.

No it doesn't. I've been registered with TPS for absolutely ages. Aggressive marketing companies ignore TPS.

I registered for the TPS about four years ago. For me, cold sales calls have dropped from about 3 a week to maybe 1 a year. Obviously different people are having different experiences with it.

I'm with the OP - it's worked for me. I'd advise anyone in the UK to signup:

Then if they fall within the remit of the TPS and simply are ignoring your choice, take down the company details and report it to the TPS and see what they do

Malc