I am getting more and more fed up with cold calls. I'm ex-directory and also with the telephone preference service. I have caller id but many cold callers now use numbers that appear as 'International' so cannot be traced.
However today I am cross because I got a cold call from Cancer Research UK. We didn't get too far into the call but it was clearly intended to seek fundraising from me. The caller said that I had willingly given my number when I sponsored someone. Wrong! I did not willingly give my number - more likely I failed to tick or untick a box because it was either obscure, too small to notice or in such contorted language I did not immediately grasp whether it meant a negative or positive. I have checked with Justgiving and they do NOT collect telephone numbers - their only involvement is to process donations for Cancer Research UK via the Race for Life website. So I can only assume my number was via the Race for Life website as I have donation to several friends doing Race for Life. No more however as I will not be donating to a charity that cold calls me. And doing a quick Google shows me that I am by no means the first to be upset by this method of fundraising by Cancer Research UK.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/09/23/elderly-poor-and-ill-hit-by-charity-cold-calls-bullying-115875-21693866/