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Original poster

Expensive call! Warning for all

20 replies

Jenie · 05/12/2003 19:25

My dp has just given me an email that he received at work warning him of a telephone scam the email was off the police). TO keep this short first you get a call telling you that you've won an all expenses paid trip to an exotic destination. Please press 9 now to hear futher details.

Then if you press 9 you will be connected to a premium rate line that bills in the region of £20 per minute. Even if you disconnect after you've pressed 9 the other end will stay connected for a minimum of 5 minutes. This will cost you around £100 and lasts for 11 minutes. The final part of the call asks you to key in your postcode. Then respondes with a message saying "sorry you are not one of the lucky winners". Thereafter disconnecting you adding another £260 to your bill.

These calls are originating from outside the UK and BT and other telephone companies are relatively powerless to act. The safe solution is to hang up befor the message asks you to press 9.

OP posts:
WSM · 05/12/2003 19:40

JESUS ! I always hang up on this sort of thing anyway. We are member of TPS (Telephone Preference Service) which basically means that it is illegal for ANY company to cold call our land line. They are breaking the law by doing so. The details for joining the TPS scheme is in your BT phone book, you can prob find the details online too.

WSM · 05/12/2003 19:42

For any interested MNers \linkswww.tps-online.org.uk/tpsr/html/\here{} is the site for the TPS. It is completely free to join and use the service.

SoupDragon · 05/12/2003 19:43

It's a hoax but I can't get the link to work properly

WSM · 05/12/2003 19:43

Oh bugger, lets try that again....

For any interested MNers here is the site for the TPS. It is completely free to join and use the service.

WSM · 05/12/2003 19:44

Wrong thread soupie ?

SoupDragon · 05/12/2003 19:46

No, this phone thing is a hoax.

The link

JanHR · 05/12/2003 19:47

We are registered with tps but the other week I got a phone call from a company offering replancement double glazing units. I said we were not interested angd that we were registered with the TPS so should not even be getting their call. THe caller apologised and hung up very quickly.

WSM · 05/12/2003 19:55

That's because they can be prosecuted for contacting you !

princesspeahead · 05/12/2003 20:00

I was called today by some recorded message saying "Hi! This is Karen from Exotic Holidays! We would like to offer you an opportunity to celebrate with Disney...." Dunno what else she was going to say because I just hung up. Wonder if this was one of those calls?

WSM · 05/12/2003 20:05

Sounds v likely PPH

SenoraPostrophe · 05/12/2003 20:14

Soupdragon - I'm glad you posted that link. I was driving myself mad trying to work out how they could manage it given the pretty strict premium rate rules, and the reverse charges thingy.

PPH and WSM - see Soupdragon's link belwo to make yourselves feel better. Mind you, I would be most ped off to recieve any kind of automated phone call. It's just rude* (they should at least have the decency to waste some of their employees' time as well as mine)

Demented · 05/12/2003 22:24

We are registered with TPS and I have had a very similar call to PPH, very annoying as you cannot hang up. We still occasionally get 'cold callers' but it is much better with TPS and I would recommend it to anyone.

sashaboo · 05/12/2003 22:33

In a similar vein, when I worked for the Royal Mail I was told that if you wrote 'Return to sender' on junk mail the sender was billed for it by RM. A much more effective way of getting off those lists than chucking the stuff in the recycling.

We are on the postal equivalent of the TPS but I think our mortgage advisor didn't tick the box when sorting out our application so we're getting loads of junk now .

Original poster
Jenie · 06/12/2003 09:45

Soupdragon - interesting to read about it being a hoax, still the aylesbury crime prevention seem to think that it's serious enough to email people, kind of reassuring, I can now answere my phone to all those withheld numbers now.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 06/12/2003 10:26

I used to put all the junk mail into the freepost envelope that comes with it and post it all back to the company

Jenie, are you sure it was the CPUnit that sent it? It could easiy have been anyone who'd set up an appropriate email address etc.

Original poster
Jenie · 06/12/2003 10:31

There goes my faith in man kind Not too sure just tried to look on the website that was given on the email and doesn't seem to offer much in the way of information the website is [email protected] if you're interested in taking a look.

Tbh couldn't look for too long as dd wants to make more xmas cards

OP posts:
janh · 06/12/2003 10:32

You can also send companies each other's junkmail in the freepost envelopes - even more annoying for them!

willow2 · 06/12/2003 17:08

Soupdragon - go one further... send them back a brick by freepost.

GeorginaA · 06/12/2003 18:12

Somebody tell the Beeb that it's a hoax...

Warning over £100 phone scam

WideWebWitch · 06/12/2003 20:46

PPH, I had one of those calls too a while ago and I was enraged since I couldn't even be extremely rude to a real person! It's outrageous and a horrible new way to hassle people to buy things. Or scam us, or whatever they were trying to do. I also get junk text messages which irritate the hell out of me. I've tried texting back with "F* Off" but it won't ever accept an incoming text, grrrrr.

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