We all receive nuisance calls from time to time but sometimes it can be beyond a joke. What residents can do about nuisance calls has been a hot topic brought up on many occasions during the BSACC meetings. The police officers or PCSO's in attendance, and usually receiving the request, try to be diplomatic in saying, there isn't much they can do unless it's an offensive or abusive call and even then it can be difficult.
The majority of nuisance calls tend to be sales and marketing calls and sometimes the mysterious silence before the line suddenly goes dead.
So what can you do?
Well there is a service called the Telephone Preference Service more commonly know by its abbreviation TPS. This is a free registration service and allows your phone number to be listed as not to receive sales and marketing calls. Telesales agent are required to check the TPS list before cold calling to ensure they are not annoying people who have registered with the service.
To register online, use this link
How do you know you are registered or just to confirm you are still registered, use this link:
Check registration
What will happen once I register?
Sadly it is not a night and day type scenario where suddenly you will have no further calls immediately upon registration. It's usually a gradual change over a month or so. Personally I'm registered and I get maybe one call every 3 to 4 months. It usually results in me asking, "who's calling and why" and "why haven't they checked the TPS list as I have registered my number with that service".
The common responce from a rogue caller is, "what telephone number is that, as it hasn't been registered with our exclusions?"
My reply is, "I only need to register once and if you call me again I will report you!"
For some very good advice by Ofcom please see the video embedded below.
I never give my name or phone number as:
Registration with the TPS is free through the Internet. You can also phone your Telephone provider and they should register you but some providers charge if you make any call to their customer services. Best option is go to the library or ask a neighbour who has Internet access. It takes less than a minute to register. If you are reading this, then use the links provided as it really only takes moments to do.
The majority of nuisance calls tend to be sales and marketing calls and sometimes the mysterious silence before the line suddenly goes dead.
- Not something from a horror movie but usually an automated calling device, which is supposed to seamlessly connect you to their staff when the call is eventually picked up by you. Something goes wrong and the automated dialler drops the call after a predefined timeout period. Silent calls are something that abusers can get a "seriously large" fine for doing, as it was a well known technique for intimidation and bullying. But abusers can only get a fine if they are reported to the authorities.
So what can you do?
Well there is a service called the Telephone Preference Service more commonly know by its abbreviation TPS. This is a free registration service and allows your phone number to be listed as not to receive sales and marketing calls. Telesales agent are required to check the TPS list before cold calling to ensure they are not annoying people who have registered with the service.
To register online, use this link
How do you know you are registered or just to confirm you are still registered, use this link:
Check registration
What will happen once I register?
Sadly it is not a night and day type scenario where suddenly you will have no further calls immediately upon registration. It's usually a gradual change over a month or so. Personally I'm registered and I get maybe one call every 3 to 4 months. It usually results in me asking, "who's calling and why" and "why haven't they checked the TPS list as I have registered my number with that service".
The common responce from a rogue caller is, "what telephone number is that, as it hasn't been registered with our exclusions?"
My reply is, "I only need to register once and if you call me again I will report you!"
For some very good advice by Ofcom please see the video embedded below.
I never give my name or phone number as:
- They called me, so they should well know what number they called if they had dialled it themselves! The reason they don't know is because it's automatically dialled by a computer.
- If I provide my phone number they will have a confirmed record that the phone number is active and with the addition of a recorded name. They might try to sell this premium information on to other rogue companies or fraudsters resulting in a multiplication of unwanted calls rather than a cessation.
Registration with the TPS is free through the Internet. You can also phone your Telephone provider and they should register you but some providers charge if you make any call to their customer services. Best option is go to the library or ask a neighbour who has Internet access. It takes less than a minute to register. If you are reading this, then use the links provided as it really only takes moments to do.
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