Beware phone number scammers;!...

Why would you visit their website? You have been given no suggestion at all that it might be relevant to your issue.

In message , at 20:17:04 on Sun, 23 Mar

Huh? The Google search says quite clearly, before you click:

"PhonepayPlus, previously called ICSTIS, regulates premium rate phone numbers and services in the UK. It is an agency of Ofcom."

In message , at

See the answer I gave to Tim a few moments ago.

First hit I get has the summary of the service as:

"If you experience problems with premium rate numbers or services, such as being ... should complain to the company who runs the service or your phone network."

So before I've even clicked through to the unhelpful sounding site, the summary has pretty much told me I should be going somewhere else? Well done.

In message , at

I get

That's not bad advice in the first instance. Ah here it is:

"If you experience problems with a premium rate number, text or subscription service, such as being overcharged, you should complain to the company who runs the service or your phone network. If they fail to resolve your complaint quickly or you're unable to find out who runs the service you can complain to PhonepayPlus. We regulate premium rate services in the UK and can offer you free advice or investigate the problem on your behalf."

Sounds pretty self-explanatory to me.

No, it should be telling you what to do first; only if that fails will a regulator need to be involved.

I keep getting calls which when I answer I get a recording saying 'We've been trying to contact the owner of this property... blah, blah, eligible for subsidised boiler, double glazing, solar panels... blah, blah, press 2 to speak to an advisor for free'.

Doing a 1471 gives a 'we don't have the number', so I've been tempted to press 2 and get their details in order to complain about them, but is there a danger that pressing 2 will dial out to a premium rate number for another recorded message?

You can try registering with the TPS Telephone Preference Service it stops a lot of it but not all. A bit of basic Angry Saxon takes care of the rest;!...

I *am* registered with the TPS but these calls would get round that because they are not sales calls but 'advice calls' and as I said you have to press 2 to speak to an 'advisor' but they don't say where they are calling from.

No.

Not sure about the premium rate problem you ask about but, if you do press 2, will that not mean that you have contacted them and so they are, from that point on, allowed to call you 'legally'?

But if I press 2 and ask them to stop calling me then I can complain if they continue to do so.

I *am* registered with the TPS but these calls would get round that because they are not sales calls but 'advice calls' and as I said you have to press

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If the intention is to sell you something at the end of the advice then (as far as the legislation is concerned) it's a sales call, however hard they try to pretend otherwise.

I accept that the distinction is moot with regards to calls originating from overseas call centres

tim