Nuisance phone calls

[Peter Truman]

i' assume it's the same over there we get up to 5 calls a day, Compare the Market for Gas & Electricity, Grants for Solar Panels, Grants to convert from Gas to Elect Hot Water, free exhaust fan replacement, free LED lights to replace incandescent's, Oh and free door and window draught excluders, etc etc

I'd had enough and earlier told the canvaser I didn't want any of the above freebee's he advised he could remove us from the auto dial list for $500, I told him there was a pool in our back garden and he was welcome to come & drown himself in it!!

I've had 2 supposed messages from Norton today advising they had auto renewed my service for 3 years at $400, it's a scam so didn't open them, BUT Norton themselves keep trying to auto renew annually @ around $160 even tho they don't have any valid Credit Card info & I've disabled the auto renew, I usually purchase a renewal off a 3rd party ebay supplier for under $50?? anyway my renewal isn't due till later this year.

We've supposedly opted out via a Govt run app of these nebulous canvassing calls! Like all Govt systems that doesn't work!

[dougbgt6]

My mother had the same problem so I bought her a BT Guardian Phone system. As I expected to give her "desk top support" I also got one. You enter your phone book and it lets those through, anything else it asks for a name, it rings the hand set and says "Do you want to speak to "name"" You can say yes or no or block further calls. Scammers generally dial off without responding, genuine callers give a name and you can add them to your list. Some genuine callers, doctors, hospitals have withheld numbers, but are well aware of the system and announce themselves and hold.

Mum has moved on now and I donated her system to another persecuted pensioner, a Mr Lewis of Luton.

Doug

Edited August 23, 2023 by dougbgt6

[Chris A]

2 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said:

I donated her system to another pensioner, a Mr Lewis of Luton.

I hope you you installed it for him and explained very slowly and clearly how it works 😁

[dougbgt6]

I wouldn't dare! 

Doug

[Chris A]

There is a system where you can block numbers here as well, doesn't work very well. The gouvernment recently changed the laws so these types of callers had to call from 'proper numbers' not ones they change every 5 minutes.

I keep out landline unplugged unless I want to use it, all the contacts I need have the mobile number - hardly ever get cold calls on it.

[Chris A]

1 minute ago, dougbgt6 said:

I wouldn't dare! 

Doug

Wimp!

[Pete Lewis]

37 minutes ago, Chris A said:

I donated her system to another pensioner, a Mr Lewis of Luton.

yes they have performed very well  and whilst is was moby dick i had the guardian turned off  and oddly i get no scam calls now 

guess the bummers have taken me off their call listing  but thanks to Good Olde Doug it solved the scam call problem   seemingly for good 

and yes im writing this s l o w l y    

Pete

[Chris A]

10 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

yes im writing this s l o w l y    

Can you write a bit bigger I'm slightly deaf

[Paulfc]

If you are a Windows user and keep the OS up to date it’s pretty robust from a security perspective. Of course, there are absolutely no guarantees against rogue operators but sensible precautions will generally keep you safe. I, too, got caught with a security software provider and it took me quite sometime to extricate myself from their “contract” and ended up giving them almost twelve months notice and then ignoring the bombardment of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) messages telling me all sorts of catastrophes that were about to befall me if I didn’t renew. 
 

OS security won’t, of course, keep you safe from Mail scams but common sense will go a long way to keeping safe.

[Gully]

1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

yes they have performed very well  and whilst is was moby dick i had the guardian turned off  and oddly i get no scam calls now 

guess the bummers have taken me off their call listing  but thanks to Good Olde Doug it solved the scam call problem   seemingly for good 

and yes im writing this s l o w l y    

Pete

I tried to get our locals to call you and ask for dashpot oil advice to aid your recovery, but clearly nobody got through! 🤣

Gully

[Pete Lewis]

2 hours ago, Chris A said:

Can you write a bit bigger I'm slightly deaf

yes can do  bigger a n d   s l ow e r  at  the same time  Ha !!

[Chris A]

 Just realised I had headphones on so couldn't hear what you were typing🎧

[PeteH]

We got a B-T "call guardian" set, didn`t expect too much of it. But it was only marginally more expensive than one without. It works exceptionally well, In fact sometimes too well!!. Took our Doctors Surgery a long(ish) while to get the "message". ie speak to the phone it will let you through. Same with some of the Hospital personel. One drawback still is the fact that Overseas Family callers cannot be put on the "permitted" listing, but still have to speak to the Phone to get through. However as we mostly speak to them via VOIP it`s not exactly a great issue.

Pete

[Unkel Kunkel]

I used to be both equally amused and annoyed when someone rang so  apparently concerned fo my welfare that they rang up offering to assist me with a claim about a motor  accident that had not actually happened.

This is doesn’t  happen now, because of a combination of factors:

-My No.  is ex-directory 

-I put a cross in the box re not being on some aspects re the electoral role 

- i signed up to ‘Telephone  preferences’.

-Additionally, in this part of the woods, ‘ Cold calling’ is illegal -  by any form of communication.

So, on these very rare occasions,  I can stop them  mid flow,  by saying, “ Before you go any further I should point that under Manx law, you are committing a criminal offence by …. and your firm is liable to ……”

Click …

“ Brrh”

 

[Pete Lewis]

for some time i used to answer unkown numbers with 

hello  Leavgrave police station how can we help you ,     click  Brrrh   

but now  call guardian can be a pain to some but its simple and works flawlessly 

pete