Has anyone else been getting loads of those calls where when you pick up the phone there's some recorded message about a holiday or whatever? Any idea how much they cost to answer?

I get them a lot. If I remember correctly, if you call them back it costs about £2 a min and lasts for at least 5 mins... something like that!!
I've also noticed that recently the style of the message has changed to sound more like someone is actually speaking to you and it's not a previously recorded message!

Briano

Originally posted by mjlacey21
Has anyone else been getting loads of those calls where when you pick up the phone there's some recorded message about a holiday or whatever? Any idea how much they cost to answer?

yes I get them occaisionally. I just hangup straight away.

I've also registered recently with the tps service, so according to theory in around 30 days they will stop.

There are a lot of urban myths going round about premium rates phone calls including one that says that when you reply to a message informing you that you've won an all expenses paid holiday, you are asked to press 9 for further details. This then connects you to a £20 per minute premium rate line for a minimum of five minutes...even if you disconnect immediately. It is claimed that if you stay connected, the entire message costs £260!! Another one claims to connect you to a £50 per minute call. This is total rubbish. £20 and £50 per minute rates do not exist, the highest premium rate tarriff available is £1.50 per minute.

You'll find that people who tell these stories usually have heard about them second or third hand, and as yet no-one has been able to produce a phone bill to support these stories.


Sleep easy!

so do you only get charged if you actually follow the instuctions, or do they charge you just for receiving the call?

Originally posted by mjlacey21
so do you only get charged if you actually follow the instuctions, or do they charge you just for receiving the call?

there is no way you can be charged for receiving a call unless it's an operator connected collect call which you have to agree too in person.

There is also no way that pressing any key or combination of keys can connect you to other lines which charge you.

The only way you will be charged is if you dial the number given out, and then the charge cannot be higher than £1.50.

ahh! It makes more sense now! Thankyou for explaining it in idiot-proof terms for me!

I registered with the TPS last year and almost immediately I stopped getting confounded telesales calls.

Unfortunately I still get the 'Holiday' recorded message (around once every couple of days).

We use TPS at work which is an international sysyem - I tell my staff if they call anyone who is TPS registered i'll string them up as we can get heavily fined if the recipient complains. Really, you shouldn't even recorded voice messages. If you can find out where they are coming from Morte you should complain.

Originally posted by Lee1979
We use TPS at work which is an international sysyem - I tell my staff if they call anyone who is TPS registered i'll string them up as we can get heavily fined if the recipient complains. Really, you shouldn't even recorded voice messages. If you can find out where they are coming from Morte you should complain.

TPS is a uk company created by the uk government. Has it been extended to include Europe?

The pre recorded ones at least claim to be US in origin, and they certainly have us accents.

Another option is having calls with no CID blocked, but that might be a bad idea if you ever have legitimate calls from any business (such as phoning home or the boss phoning when you work from home).

how can you get on this list then?

Originally posted by Scottandandy
how can you get on this list then?

i think the website is something like www.tpsonline.co.uk

Already done ours Scotty!!

TPS itself is UK but, and i'm sorry for not being more technical, the thing it uses to check the number is international. I'm afraid thats all i know!

Originally posted by Lee1979
Already done ours Scotty!!

TPS itself is UK but, and i'm sorry for not being more technical, the thing it uses to check the number is international. I'm afraid thats all i know!

Is it- you could have fooled me!! we get loads at ours don't we?

Have registered my parents house anyway!

I put my number on the TPS about 6 months ago, We still have tons of calls ( lots of accents that I can't understand).

It is quite funny when people ring because they get very upset when I tell them I am on the TPS. I have now learnt to get the name of the company and their name before I tell them, as a few slammed the phone down when I inform them!

Only problem is them blasted recorded messages, and the phone calls that have no-one on the end of the line !

Originally posted by mjlacey21
Has anyone else been getting loads of those calls where when you pick up the phone there's some recorded message about a holiday or whatever? Any idea how much they cost to answer?

Have a peek at this one :thumbsup:

www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25485

Originally posted by Cyclone
TPS is a uk company created by the uk government. Has it been extended to include Europe?

The pre recorded ones at least claim to be US in origin, and they certainly have us accents.



The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is actually part of a direct marketing organisation. They share the same London address too.
If you can get enough details and report these to TPS they will contact the caller and pass on your complaint, advise that there is a £5,000 fine for continued misuse of calls and best of all (for TPS) offer to sell the caller a database for £5,000 so they can avoid the problem.
There is also a Fax Preference Service (FPS).
There is no charge to register with the service - it can ony apply to private phone lines but will include sole trader / small businesses.
Interestingly direct marketing types doing market research are excluded from the phone block and they all get through. It certainly stops those window firms calling every tea time, but can't stop these recorded messages.

How many whining yank voices do you get saying you've won a holiday?

Telephone Preference Scheme has been effective for many years now - however because it is not actively promoted, many people continue to endure telemarketing calls. Even many people registered to TPS believe that it will be a solution to their problems, so much so that once they start receiving these calls again, it is assumed that nothing more can be done about it. However, through noting the dates and times of the calls - NCB or Nuisance Calls Bureau at BT can investigate, with TPS prosecuting if need be!

As for the Caller Display info - when BT first introduced the idea of blocking withheld numbers making calls to your line (this option with BT does carry a charge BTW) the concern was with emergency services and switchboards not being able to get in touch with you. However this is NOT a problem, as viable companies that have no reason to withhold their number have a unique identification number which therefore allows them to bypass this problem. This did require switchboard modification so some legit companies may still be affected.

Problem really lies with lack of consumer knowledge, if you call BT they will support you with loads of different options (including a one-time free number change if receiving persistant nuisance calls) as well as many other services! 150 is their number, give them a call.

Back in the Uk I was charged for a call I couldn't trace or remember.

I called BT and they said they would block all 090 numbers so there was no chance of any expensive calls being charged in my absence.

This service is free.

I do hope this helps someone particularly if you have a live computer or phone unattended in the house.

Happy Days

Ive JUST had one of those messages on my mobile!Some bloke called Mr Elliot says ive won a major prize and must ring the hotline to get further details........yeah right!

Originally posted by mjlacey21
Has anyone else been getting loads of those calls where when you pick up the phone there's some recorded message about a holiday or whatever? Any idea how much they cost to answer?

Nope, can't say I ever get any of these.

Originally posted by Evei
I put my number on the TPS about 6 months ago, We still have tons of calls ( lots of accents that I can't understand).

It is quite funny when people ring because they get very upset when I tell them I am on the TPS. I have now learnt to get the name of the company and their name before I tell them, as a few slammed the phone down when I inform them!

Only problem is them blasted recorded messages, and the phone calls that have no-one on the end of the line !

I registered with TPS years ago, I still get the odd call from some companies but regular calls from the recorded messages. Only trouble is how do you report them to TPS? The recorded message doesn't tell you where or who they are.

I normally just let it play to itself and DON'T hang up. Then walk away from the phone. I'm hoping it blocks that individual line from dialling out again and costs THEM a fair bit being on the line to my house all day..

dont no wether its just in my srea but for the last few weeks everytime the phone rings we keep getting recordered messages. they vary but are mostly adverts for differant shops ete, any way of stopping this cheers brooksy.

Happened to a mate in S10. American female accent. I'd never heard of it before.

Having received an automated phone call (from santa :suspect: !) saying I had won a holiday and asking me to press 9 to give my details I contacted BT regarding the problem on their nuisance caller line. BT were very good and did confirm that they had had lots of complaints of a similar nature and were gathering details of people who had received the call to make a legal case against them. As for cost, they didn't say - just stated that it was a premuim rate.

On the subject of stopping these calls the advice I was given from BT was to re-register with the TPS as it's worthwhile renewing it ever 12 months or so. In addition to this I was informed that there is another service called the "silent call guard" which is again free to sign up for (apart from the 0870 call cost!). Numbers are below so for those still getting calls it might be worth trying that one too and renewing your TPS membership. Hope it helps anyway!

Telephone preference service - 0800 398 893
Silent call guard - 0870 444 3969

Try this thread.

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25692

Also these free services can help:
Telephone preference service - 0800 398 893
Silent call guard - 0870 444 3969

I had that a while ago on my house phone - I live in S12

It did it constantly for about a week, tried putting the phone down but this recorded message of an american women was still talking so I just unplugged the telephone everytime it happend after that.

Do people actually get sucked into these recorded messages?

there is no way pressing 9 on your phone will do anything other than cause a beep. BT and Ofcom have both denounced the press 9 myth many times, so I seriously doubt that BT are giving out advice saying that it will incur a charge.

Silent Call Guard might work, but unlike the TPS there is no requirement for companies to check against the list;

Silent-Call Guard - in contrast to claims by the organisations involved in this service, Ofcom is not actively promoting this service. There is no need for organisations to screen against this list.

Originally posted by Cyclone
there is no way pressing 9 on your phone will do anything other than cause a beep. BT and Ofcom have both denounced the press 9 myth many times, so I seriously doubt that BT are giving out advice saying that it will incur a charge.

If it will do nothing other than cause a beep then what's the purpose of the phone call in the first place? They don't give out a phone number for you to call and I'm guessing they are after your money so pressing 9 must do something....

Originally posted by sparklesista
Do people actually get sucked into these recorded messages?
Amazingly, yes. Some people even reply to spam, and get suckered on various online scams.

Sandra keeps phoning the place I work! Telling me I've won a holiday worth such and such a price. Gets a bit boring after 4 times

Originally posted by torin8
Try this thread.

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25692

Also these free services can help:
Telephone preference service - 0800 398 893
Silent call guard - 0870 444 3969

Thanks for the link. :thumbsup: Threads merged.

This is the correct link for telephone preference service and the mail preference service



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

Originally posted by fox20thc
This is the correct link for telephone preference service and the mail preference service



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


Seems to be a broken link? Doesn't work for me?

Sorry this is a biggie but just demonstrates that complaining works. I complained about 6 months ago, reply arrived today.

----------------------------------------

This e-mail has been sent to multiple recipients on behalf of Miranda Roberts Case
Officer

Competition Information Lines - Unsolicited Telephone Calls

We are writing with reference to your complaint about a premium rate competition
line to notify you of the outcome of our investigations. Please accept our apologies
for the delay in our reply.

As you will know, ICSTIS regulates the content and promotion of premium rate
services, (that is to say, services that begin with the digits 090). Our aim is to
minimise consumer harm by ensuring that the companies responsible for providing
these services abide by the ICSTIS Code of Practice.

ICSTIS initially received reports from members of the public who reported having
received an unsolicited automated telephone call to their landline. The promotional
message advised the recipient that they had won a free cruise round Spain and to
call a premium rate number in order to make a claim. On the basis of the complaints
received, emergency action was taken to bar access to the service, pending the
completion of our investigations.

However, as a result of the receipt of further complaints and following additional
investigation, we discovered that one company was responsible for the promotion of
five separate competition information lines, offering different awards, all of which
were advertised by way of unsolicited telephone calls into consumers homes.
Consumers dialling the various premium rate numbers referred to during the
promotional messages accessed recorded competition information lines which gave the
caller information about the item they had been awarded and details of how to claim.

The ICSTIS Committee has recently considered the facts of the case and found that
each of the five services provided by the company were in breach of the ICSTIS Code
for the following various reasons:

* The use of equipment to automatically dial numbers in order to make unsolicited
direct marketing calls, as appears to be the case with the delivery of these
promotional messages, is generally illegal.
* The promotional messages suggested that recipients had recently or previously
entered a competition, which was not the case.
* A promotional message contained a significant silent gap between the main body of
information given about the competition, including the premium rate claim line
number, and a statement detailing the cost of dialling the number - this appeared
to be a deliberate attempt to mislead consumers into believing that the message had
ended and to replace the receiver without first hearing a pricing statement.
* The full cost of a call to the premium rate service was not stated in the
promotional message, which is a requirement for competition services.
* The promotion of the services was inappropriate as the messages were not
targeted, meaning that any member of a household had the potential to receive and
respond to a promotional message. The messages were also received by individuals
whose telephone numbers are registered with the Telephone Preference Service and
those whose numbers are ex-directory.
* The company's contact details were not included in the promotional messages.
* There were references to awards being 'free' when the only means of claiming them
was by dialling a premium rate service, at a charge of £1.50 per minute (from a BT
landline).
* Information specifically required of competition services, for example, a closing
date, significant terms and conditions and/or costs which might be associated with
an award or prize, was not stated in the promotional messages.
* A service was found to be operating after the company was instructed to suspend
access to all of the services and numbers under investigation, pending the
completion of our investigations.

The Committee decided that sanctions should be imposed against the company in light
of the breaches found and it has therefore issued a fine totalling £300,000 across
the five different services. Access to each of the services has been barred for
twelve months and the company has also been barred from providing any premium rate
competition service for twelve months.

If you wish to claim a refund of the expense incurred as a result of a call made to
the company's services, you will need to contact them directly, setting out your
complaint and providing them with a copy of the telephone bill which details the
disputed amount. For your information, their details are as follows:

Consumer First Marketing Ltd

70-72 North Street

Bedminster

Bristol
Contact: Ms Caroline Young

BS3 1HJ Tel: 0870 442 8978

Please note that at this time, this company is under no obligation, in the form of
an ICSTIS sanction, to issue a refund. If your request is denied, we can only advise
you seek independent legal advice (e.g. Citizens Advice Bureau).

If you wish to register your wish not to receive direct marketing calls, we
recommend that you register your telephone number with the Telephone Preference
Service, at the following address:

Telephone Preference Service
DMA House
70 Margaret Street
London Web: www.tpsonline.org.uk <http://www.tpsonline.org.uk>
W1W 8SS TPS Registration line: 0845 070 0707

Thank you for having taken the time to contact us and I hope that our reply has been
helpful.

Yours sincerely



ICSTIS Secretariat

This e-mail has been sent on behalf of Miranda Roberts Case Officer

:wow: thanks for sharing this with the Forum V Meldrew!

More waffle relating to various comments in this thread...

The purpose of Silent Call Guard was for the telemarketers to try to get people registered with that instead of TPS as SCG doesn't stop all marketing calls, needs annual renewal and has no enforcement powers.

If you are on TPS then that (by way of the Information Commissioner) can lead to prosecution and their powers include silent calls (but how do you report it? you need the callers name, number, company).

The entire TPS, legislation and complaints system has in any case been rendered ineffective by the falling cost of international phone calls.

You will increasingly find that the nuisance calls come from the US where recent legislation against unsolicited marketing phone calls has led to a load of marketers with too few numbers to call. Now they can afford to call you with international rates as low as 2 cents a minute, they aren't breaking US law and they are beyond the reach of the UK courts.

The whole situation is very confusing - TPS doesn't seem to try very hard. Usually don't respond to complaints and if they do it's to wash their hands of them e.g. a marketing call promoting a Premium rate scam (i.e. saying "call 090... to claim your prize") TPS say "not our problem try ICSTIS" but ICSTIS is primarily interested in people who have been tricked into using a premium rate service.

Of course most of the calls are "number withheld" and even given accurate time and date the phone companies won't hand over the caller's number, although the information is in their systems. In order to complain you need the callers number...

I am registered with TPS but I still get about 1 (UK originated) marketing call a month so I cooperate with them, play along until I have the callers name, company and phone number, log the time and date and submit a complaint. If you don't have the time then just the mention of TPS usually results in the caller putting the phone down but by then you've already been inconvenienced. I believe both the person making the call and the company for whom they work can be fined £5000 for calling a TPS registered number.

For what it's worth:

TPS is at http://mpsonline.org.uk/tps/

Silent Call Guard is at http://www.silentcallguard.co.uk/

And here are some entertaining recorded conversations with various telephone scammers http://www.commedia.tv/

Been getting soo many of them lately that I've stopped answering the phone. I dial 1471 afterwards and then phone back if a number is given.

Ive just had yet another one of those daft recordings on my moby!Its beginning to really *iss me off now!

Not yet had any on mobile. If I start getting any I'll be p'd off beyond belief!