I got a bit irate at a persistent "we're not calling to sell you anything, but..." cold caller on the phone today so I told them to f' off and not call back.

I then got a call a hour or so later claiming to be from BT saying they're reviewing the tapes of the call and are going to cut me off. To be honest I was a bit suspicious of the BT caller as they wouldn't really prove themselves to me. No security checks etc, and I even questioned her about this and she just fobbed me off.

Anyway, I've asked for a copy of the tapes because there was a lot of swearing and abuse returned to me after I swore at the cold caller. The BT woman said they will send me this out on a CD for a charge of 11.99 on top of my bill.

I know I shouldn't have lost my cool and swore, but can/will BT cut me off?

If your not sure.
If you've not had a phone call since, I'd 1471 and write the number down. Then dial it to confirm it was BT because they leave an 0800 number usually.

Do NOT dial any number you discover by 1471 or from any CLI you may have seen on the phone. If it is a scam they will of course confirm you are talking to BT.

Go to the BT website and find a contact number there and call that and report this call. I would doubt very much that it came from BT. You could even report the call to Ofcom.

If every one who ever swore on the phone was automatically cut off then there would be about half a dozen subscribers left with BT.....

Sorry. My post was not clear.

I meant to say dial it if it is an 0800 number.

I would never ever dial any number I was not 100% sure of.

It is very simple to fake the CLI if you have the right equipment. I could very easily programme my works phone to display any number I like if I was to call you. Even your own home phone number which would be a bit freaky!

So the number revealed by CLI or 1471 may not be genuine. And being 0800 is no guarantee it really is BT either.

Much better to grab a genuine number from the BT website or the phonebook and use that. At least then there is some hope you are really talking to BT.

Fair point. So I take it that if you programme your system to show on the CLI, thats what you would get by dialing 1471?

I don't as a rule but I have dialed an 0800 that I've missed and so far no problems as it has been BT.

But if the OP is concerned, it would be better to contact BT as you've said.

If I get someone now that wants to sell me something and is persistent. I either put the phone down so they are talking to no one or tell them I'm going to hang up.

Both are far less stressful for me.

Same here. I used to get annoyed with phone pests in the days when it was double glazing and kitchens, but it only got me worked up, and according to the advice in the phone book, provoking a reaction is what gratifies these people.

As for telling them - no need. I'm sure they'll work it out eventually.

(Usual advice about Telephone Protection Scheme applies - not 100% effective but it does stop a lot of them)

CLI and 1471 reveal exactly the same number. Or nothing at all if the caller withholds their CLI..

Only the telecoms companies know the true number. Or if you have a digital circuit of the appropriate type connected to a switchboard and the right software you can inspect the data burst that is sent with every call and find the true number from that.

But as far as I am aware the data sent up a bog standard domestic phone line does not include this data so no chance of you seeing the real caller number at home.

Very interesting.

Many thanks for the info.

In direct answer to your question, yup BT can cut you off for swearing, it's abuse of the public telephone system.

Whether the caller was BT that's a different matter. Honestly I wouldn't be sure if BT recorded tapes of calls at all, private companies do and precisely for this reason. I know a number of people who have been cut off because they've swore on the phone. AFAIK it's the same legislation that can get you cut off for tampering with the public phone system e.g. changing the BT faceplace, moving the telephone wire.

Hi Paul,

To be honest BT will not cut off your line as we all loose our temper from time to time, so don't worry about the call you will maintain telephone service.

Obviously if the calls are becoming a nuisance then please visit the following web link http://************/ykatblx as it will give some good advice on how to stop or prevent malicious calls

If you wish I can investigate the matter for you if you email me btcare@bt.com with your details. Could you also include DigitalSpy – Paul Randerson – Jon in the subject line with a link back to this thread in the body of the email.

Regards,
Jon.

Firstly, yes they can decide they no longer want you as a customer if you have been abusive to staff. They will also ask you to write a letter, if you wish to rejoin, saying you will not be abusive to staff again. This is normally a last resort though and won't be done the first time it happens.

The interesting bit to me is them offering to send a copy of the call out on CD and the price quoted.

To my knowledge, and I may be wrong, BT will send out a transcript of the copy not a recording. The price for a DSAR is £10, not £11.99.

It doesn't seem to all add up to me.

you're right BT won't send out a recording of the call but will send transcripts. The £10 is for all that BT hold on you, if it is just a transcript of an actual call or notes from a particular fault then it should be sent by letter or email for free. but that does depend on who you talk to as most BT staff will tell you that you will need to send £10 in.

Sounds a bit unusual cause as far as I know no phone provider will ring up customers about swearing on the phone. If that was the case then nobody would have landline phones any more.

Legislation states you have to be told the call is being recorded.

Also sounds like a load of crap.

One thing....

Where in the OP does it say the call was from BT? All it says is it was a cold caller. No mention of who it actually was. The only mention of BT is later when someone called claiming to be from BT and claiming to have a tape of the conversation.

So we do not know if the cold calls came from BT or not.
We don't know if the later call was actually from BT or not
We do not know if a recording does in fact exist

And if the cold calls were NOT from BT what were they doing with a recording of the call if the later call really was from BT?

Going on the OP then my inclination is that BT have not been involved at all in this. The cold calls never came from them. The later call was someone trying it on and trying to intimidate paulranderson. I have my doubts that a recording actually exists as well. As I say if such a recording did exist why would BT have it if they were not involved?

We know that if the first call didn't come from BT then the second didn't either.

I agree with your conclusion.