[mad_professor]

Originally Posted by Ray266

I know what you mean when the phone rings & rings & rings it does get on your nerves, but at least you know not to answer it I won't answer 0845 or withheld or god forbid international ones just to hear someone who can't speak english asking if you had a had a fall in the last 3 months!

Yes, it does get pretty annoying.

That said, just before I installed by blocking system I did have a bit of fun with one of them.

After introducing himself and confirming that I was indeed me, he started his spiel. Being not a native English speaker he opened with an unusually phrased question:

"What is the name of your television?"

so I replied "I call it David. Actually it's really good, I talk to it a lot and it's a really good listener. It never answers back. I often talk to it just before bed time when I'm feeling a bit lonely ...".

I kept talking and wouldn't let him get a word in. I could hear him trying to butt in but I kept on with my relentless tirade of pointless waffle about how I talk to David the television when I'm lonely, how comforting he is etc.

Eventually he yelled "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" and rang off.

I think I won that one

Cheers,
Kingsley.

[mad_professor]

Originally Posted by chrisjr

All of which looks like it can be done just as easily, if not easier, by TrueCall

http://www.truecall.co.uk/

As I mentioned in another post, Truecall does many of the things that my system does and will be a lot easier to install.

Seeing as I said my thing does things that Truecall doesn't, I thought I'd list them here. Some of these features are in place now and some are next on my list to do when I feel like playing with it.

• night shield - truecall applies this between 11pm and 7am. For me, 7am is far too early to be woken up, especially at weekends. Mine defaults to night shield mode at different hours depending on the day of week, or whether it's a bank holiday
• snooze mode - if one of us is not feeling well and needs to go for a nap during the day, I can set a snooze time during which calls are intercepted
• ring back - anyone not in our allowed list is allowed to call us if we've dialled out to that number in the past month. When they call, the caller display on the phone shows the date and time when we last called that number so that we know who might be calling us.
• automatic recording of blocked calls, just in case - in the event a call is sent to unconditional record, the caller hears "this is blah blah, we don't recognise you, please leave a message" and they then get a beep. However, a separate process records the incoming audio stream from the moment of pickup just in case it's an automated message from our bank telling us that our credit cards have been cloned or whatever. Admittedly, I would need to check these messages but I can do it when it suits me.
• caller name display - all entries in my contact list have a display name field that gets sent to the phone, so that caller's name (as well as their number) shows up on the phone's display when the phone is ringing. Our phone itself has this ability with its built in address book but this only has space for 20 entries. I can have thousands in my database if I want to (though I've got 219 in there at the moment).
• break snooze per caller - I have the ability to enable or disable on an individual caller basis who gets to press a button to make the phone ring anyway during night shield or snooze time (this is work in progress).
• code access - I've allowed for many different codes to be handed out. I can give one code to each caller and if they start abusing it I can simply remove their code without having to give out a new code to everyone else.
• VoIP provider integration - I can link mine to an Internet based VoIP provider to cheaper calls to certain destinations. My system can decide the best route depending on the number dialled (next on my to-do list)
• this one is not yet done - selected contacts get the option to press a button to reach us via the call they're on on our mobiles (the system would make a call on via the Internet VoIP provider which would obviously cost me money but it would be useful for elderly parents).
• not yet done - expecting an important call to the landline but you have to pop out urgently; no problem - set that caller to automatically forward to my mobile via VoIP if they call in the next few hours.

I've had ideas for other features which I may implement at some point when I fancy a bit of fun with it.

Cheers,
Kingsley.

[Ray266]

Originally Posted by mad_professor

Yes, it does get pretty annoying.

That said, just before I installed by blocking system I did have a bit of fun with one of them.

After introducing himself and confirming that I was indeed me, he started his spiel. Being not a native English speaker he opened with an unusually phrased question:

"What is the name of your television?"

so I replied "I call it David. Actually it's really good, I talk to it a lot and it's a really good listener. It never answers back. I often talk to it just before bed time when I'm feeling a bit lonely ...".

I kept talking and wouldn't let him get a word in. I could hear him trying to butt in but I kept on with my relentless tirade of pointless waffle about how I talk to David the television when I'm lonely, how comforting he is etc.

Eventually he yelled "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" and rang off.

I think I won that one

Cheers,
Kingsley.

I like it

[beerhunter2]

There is very little doubt in my mind that the cheapest option gets rid of nearly all of these calls. That us to say, be ex-directory and registered with TPS. Having done both, I do get the occasional call but the last one was so long ago, I can't remember when it was.

Having said that, if one is really plagued with these people or you feel that you may be on a "mugs list", I'd invest in a Truecall. Incredibly easy to use and, in my opinion at a hundred quid, good value for money.

[Toby Latimer]

I got a CPR Call Blocker, looks to be the same as the 'true call' , I got it from the manufacturers for just over £30 when you phone them direct. Worth its weight in gold http://www.cprcallblocker.com/

[beerhunter2]

Originally Posted by Toby Latimer

I got a CPR Call Blocker, looks to be the same as the 'true call' , I got it from the manufacturers for just over £30 when you phone them direct.

It's fifty nine quid on that Web site that you posted.

[Toby Latimer]

Originally Posted by beerhunter2

It's fifty nine quid on that Web site that you posted.

That's true , it is priced at £59.00 on the page but when I phoned up to enquire they let me have it at half price.

[madnes]

Originally Posted by mad_professor

As I mentioned in another post, Truecall does many of the things that my system does and will be a lot easier to install.

Seeing as I said my thing does things that Truecall doesn't, I thought I'd list them here. Some of these features are in place now and some are next on my list to do when I feel like playing with it.

• night shield - truecall applies this between 11pm and 7am. For me, 7am is far too early to be woken up, especially at weekends. Mine defaults to night shield mode at different hours depending on the day of week, or whether it's a bank holiday
• snooze mode - if one of us is not feeling well and needs to go for a nap during the day, I can set a snooze time during which calls are intercepted
• ring back - anyone not in our allowed list is allowed to call us if we've dialled out to that number in the past month. When they call, the caller display on the phone shows the date and time when we last called that number so that we know who might be calling us.
• automatic recording of blocked calls, just in case - in the event a call is sent to unconditional record, the caller hears "this is blah blah, we don't recognise you, please leave a message" and they then get a beep. However, a separate process records the incoming audio stream from the moment of pickup just in case it's an automated message from our bank telling us that our credit cards have been cloned or whatever. Admittedly, I would need to check these messages but I can do it when it suits me.
• caller name display - all entries in my contact list have a display name field that gets sent to the phone, so that caller's name (as well as their number) shows up on the phone's display when the phone is ringing. Our phone itself has this ability with its built in address book but this only has space for 20 entries. I can have thousands in my database if I want to (though I've got 219 in there at the moment).
• break snooze per caller - I have the ability to enable or disable on an individual caller basis who gets to press a button to make the phone ring anyway during night shield or snooze time (this is work in progress).
• code access - I've allowed for many different codes to be handed out. I can give one code to each caller and if they start abusing it I can simply remove their code without having to give out a new code to everyone else.
• VoIP provider integration - I can link mine to an Internet based VoIP provider to cheaper calls to certain destinations. My system can decide the best route depending on the number dialled (next on my to-do list)
• this one is not yet done - selected contacts get the option to press a button to reach us via the call they're on on our mobiles (the system would make a call on via the Internet VoIP provider which would obviously cost me money but it would be useful for elderly parents).
• not yet done - expecting an important call to the landline but you have to pop out urgently; no problem - set that caller to automatically forward to my mobile via VoIP if they call in the next few hours.

I've had ideas for other features which I may implement at some point when I fancy a bit of fun with it.

Cheers,
Kingsley.

I am impressed.

[ribtickle]

I've rang BT twice about international scam calls, and a whole 18 months apart they still claim these people are randomly using the phone book, or alternatively sequentially going through the alphabet (the implication being that after a while you'll be left alone as it'll become someone else's turn). And of course BT hasn't done anything to prevent these calls in the meantime, indeed all they seem to want to do is sell you existing services to try to combat them.

My elderly father gets a high number of these calls. Some of them ring up and ask for him by his first name, when he's only ever been in a 'phone book by his initials. I believe the scammers are using the electoral register via the UK Info Disk/192.com company, and because it (the electoral roll) will also tell them a person's age they are targeting him because he's in his 90s, and more likely to be conned. He gets up to 7 such calls a day - 19 out of 20 calls to his phone have become nuisance calls.

It may be an idea to ensure you are opted-out from the edited electoral register, the one these scammers and others will be able to purchase. Your details would then only be available on the full register, which 192.com cannot use and must only be viewed under supervision (and not reproduced).

BT nuisance calls department claim "everyone gets them", but if everyone was getting as many scam calls from India as my father then there'd need to be a call centre there with 200,000 workers all ringing Britain's millions of landlines many times per day. As long ago as 2010 the source of one scam, the city location in India of Microsoft calls was known, yet nothing has been done about it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...a-call-centres

Coindidentally, when I phone BT to complain about Indian scammers, who should I be put through to when redirected to take out Caller Display, but of all things an Indian call centre. Ooh the irony.

Is there a coincidence in how the majority of these scammers ring up from India, and China (BT and other companies using Indian call centres with our migrated data, and 192.com originally using Chinese cheap labour to type up the entire UK electoral roll)? I think not. The data was never going to be secure in these territories, far away from UK law, and this, a few years on, is the direct result.

[sophisticat45]

Originally Posted by ribtickle

My elderly father gets a high number of these calls. Some of them ring up and ask for him by his first name, when he's only ever been in a 'phone book by his initials. I believe the scammers are using the electoral register via the UK Info Disk/192.com company, and because it (the electoral roll) will also tell them a person's age they are targeting him because he's in his 90s, and more likely to be conned. He gets up to 7 such calls a day - 19 out of 20 calls to his phone have become nuisance calls.

Is there a coincidence in how the majority of these scammers ring up from India, and China (BT and other companies using Indian call centres with our migrated data, and 192.com originally using Chinese cheap labour to type up the entire UK electoral roll)? I think not. The data was never going to be secure in these territories, far away from UK law, and this, a few years on, is the direct result.

Couldn't agree more with this post. Firstly, there are scammers who most certainly are using the electoral roll despite being opted out. My elderly mother has been targeted and pestered with calls in the same way. One of them was attempting to sell her 'grants for home insulation' for which they said they were calling from 'the government' and therefore weren't regulated by TPS. They were trying to tell her that her local council would issue the grant - except they believed her local council was in the next county over to her, a misconception based on her postcode because they were using the electoral roll. I'm lucky in that my Mum is up on all these things and simply hangs up.

However she does get annoyed and frustrated at having to answer them. She did have an ansaphone for a bit but it went wrong, so I got her a BT response 75 recently. This one allows you to interrupt calls in the normal way, so she lets everything go to ansaphone and only answers it if it's someone she actually wants to speak to. In addition, it has a built-in 1471 option which dials out and records the last number - or lack of it. Now, she still gets the calls, but doesn't have to talk to anyone - 90% of callers hit the ansaphone and hang up, while anyone genuine leaves a message.

[beerhunter2]

Originally Posted by sophisticat45

Firstly, there are scammers who most certainly are using the electoral roll despite being opted out.

Now sure how that they do that. IIRC, one's telephone number does not appear on the electoral roil.

BTW I reckon that for "industrial grade" call screening a Truecall or similar will be a better bet than having to personally screen via an answering machine. (Which will work well for the odd unwanted call.)

[Tadpole]

Am now getting telesales calls from some company called The Green Home Improvement Company.
The incoming call is automatic, ie I get a recording saying "this is the Green Home Improvement company. To speak to an operator, press 1"
The caller ID comes up as "out of area", ie no number.
When I chose to be put through to speak to their operator and ask not to be called again, they hang up.
I have been with TPS for over 5 years.
Was wondering if anyone else has had similar.
I thought that use of automated diallers for cold calling was illegal in the UK.

[BKM]

Originally Posted by Tadpole

I thought that use of automated diallers for cold calling was illegal in the UK.

Many of them make these calls from OUTSIDE the UK these days!

[Tadpole]

Well, I've now had a block on incoming anonymous calls added to my line. See if that helps. Am with Post Office.

[BKM]

Originally Posted by Tadpole

Well, I've now had a block on incoming anonymous calls added to my line. See if that helps. Am with Post Office.

Still won't stop any marketing calls made from outside the UK (which get flagged as "International")!

[coachtrip_fan99]

Originally Posted by Toby Latimer

I got a CPR Call Blocker, looks to be the same as the 'true call' , I got it from the manufacturers for just over £30 when you phone them direct. Worth its weight in gold http://www.cprcallblocker.com/

Id just like to second this.

you can get them for £39.99 remanufactured from the same company on ebay.

It can be set up to block Witheld numbers, international numbers, voip type call centres, and most importantly "unavailable" numbers.

it is pre programmed with 200 of the most common call center numbers (im not sure how comprehensive or up-to-date this list is) ......... and you have space for 100 user programmable numbers....... either by keying them in using your telephones keypad, or by pressing the "block now" button when they call.

When someone calls who is blocked, it rings for maybe half a ring, and then just goes dead (as long as you install it correctly) .... so Im hoping they think the number is not in use, and give up!

they still show up on the missed call list on your phone, so I love looking through it and seeing all the people who have attempted to wake me up and failed!!!

At your end of the line, the phone does not ring at all!!! not even a pip! genuine callers get through as normal.

I do not work for this company!! I have just recently purchased one, and am getting peace and quiet at last!! no more being woken up mid-morning by bloody scam callers!!
(I like my lie-ins!)

you have to pay BT for anonymous caller rejection, is it about £4.50? after a while, this product would pay for its-self!!!!!

[Simon Rodgers]

Originally Posted by stateless

Through the process of trying to stop overseas sales calls, I've become aware that "number withheld" and "number unavailable" are quite different. Is there any way at all to block "number available" numbers? It seems that some overseas companies are circumventing 'number withheld' software and hardware by appearing as "number unavailable".

I think you need to be careful about that sort of thing, what is a relative/friend goes abroad, has a problem and tries to call you?

[coachtrip_fan99]

Originally Posted by Toby Latimer

I got a CPR Call Blocker, looks to be the same as the 'true call' , I got it from the manufacturers for just over £30 when you phone them direct. Worth its weight in gold http://www.cprcallblocker.com/

Originally Posted by Simon Rodgers

I think you need to be careful about that sort of thing, what is a relative/friend goes abroad, has a problem and tries to call you?

if it was somebody I wanted to hear from, id already know they were going on holiday, and temporarily re-enable international numbers ( which you can do by pressing 3 or 4 buttons on your handset )

[Heinz]

It's the blocking of all international calls that worries me too. Anyone using 1899, 18866 or 18185 will know that, for most of the day during the week, dialling out using one of those prefixes result in the recipient's Caller Display showing 'International' (because the calls are routed by the cheapest route - out of the country and back again - during those times).

[ItJustMyOpinion]

How do box's like TrueCall block international calls when Caller ID is not supported with international calls. If they don't know what number it is, how can they tell it is international, for the block all international option?