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Nuisance calls near zero

On a similar vein I don't understand why the PPI claim schemes can't be shut down by simply tracking the companies that carry out the claims on the back of cold calling.

Reply to
AnthonyL
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All that sort of things cost time and money. Far more important to use resources on the latest 'drug control' initiative or investigations into long since dead celebrities.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

The number of junk calls logged by my trueCall unit has reduced dramatically over time. I suspect that these cold callers *do* maintain

- and probably share - list of numbers known to have call blockers, and therefore not worth calling.

Reply to
Roger Mills

Brian Gaff formulated on Friday :

I didn't know there were different versions. Our kit asks them their name and to press hash. Still no nuisance calls - 14 days since the last one tried to call.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Just got mine installed and working. The final straw was a couple of 'auto' calls very early in the morning. Bit fiddly to set up, and was rather p***ed off to have to pay BT almost 20 quid a year for caller ID. Plus the 20 quid a year for the TruCall online facility.

All I now need to find out is if it triggers quickly enough to stop the phone in the bedroom ringing.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

It is free with a 12 month contract (which is itself a worthwhile saving) :

The qualifying calls (2 per month) can be free (officially "within your calling plan").

As all my calls are generally made via 18185, I have a reminder to make a couple of BT weekend calls every 4 weeks, to a local line I know always has an answerphone.

Chris

Reply to
Chris J Dixon

That was unclear. I do have a 12 month contract with BT - indeed I pay the line rental one year in advance to get the discount on that. Perhaps I'd better phone them up.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

It can be obtained from BT for free if you sign up for their privacy package which includes them registering your number with TPS.

As usual with BT its carefully hidden in one of the web pages once you log into your account. It's a 12 months contract which can be renewed each year at zero cost. They will not inform you that you contract is about to end and if you you do not renew it they will start charging a monthly fee until you sign up again.

No need for this expenditure on the Truecall model I own. Just a few simple call blocking filters have stopped 99.9% of unwanted calls.

Reply to
alan_m

As I understand it, free for the first year then you have to pay if you want to use the online side after that.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Dave Plowman (News) laid this down on his screen :

I don't understand any of that...

As said, mine is built into our set of new BT phones. Our Caller ID is free and I am not aware of any need to update the TruCall system. It took minutes to set up, I just set it to filter all calls from unknown numbers, numbers not it its list. Those unknown callers then get the opportunity to get through by recording their name and pressing hash.

If they do that, my phones ring and I get the choice of speaking to them, ignoring them, or passing them to voicemail.

Calls with no caller ID, don't even get the chance to state their name and press hash - a recorded message just tells them we don't accept such calls.

The phone never rings, unless a known number rings, or the caller gets through the filter procedure. If I were to plug a normal phone into an extension socket, that would ring. I do have a none wireless phone on an extension there for emergencies and power cuts, but its ringer is turned off.

The majority of our nuisance calls fell into the spoofed caller ID type. Spoofed 020, 0020, spoofed local numbers, some none existent, some 'borrowed' genuine numbers. Then lots of calls with no Caller ID. Mostly now they use a recorded message. None have got through, but a few genuine callers have succeeded in getting past the 'state your name, then press hash'..

Peace at last ;o)

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Just the one base station? I have several. It obviously stops the one plugged into it from ringing.

BTW, just had a call from my doctor's surgery offering a flue jab. And their switchboard must have lines other than the one I'd entered for them, so triggered it

Worked a treat - the receptionist obviously being used to them. But I was beside the unit, so used the phone fed from it. Hope it works in the same way from other phones in the house.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Have you gone and bought the old "obsolete" free standing unit? That has a web interface that's free for the first year but chargeable thereafter.

I have to say, for the love of God why? The newer BT phones with integrated Trucall software are vastly better than the old unit.

I've got an old freestanding unit going free for the cost of postage.

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

Does that include Withheld? If so, I hope you never need to receive a call from a hospital or doctor's surgery because they invariably withhold their numbers.

With my trueCall unit, such calls can still get through as long as the caller says something when asked to identify themselves.

Reply to
Roger Mills

That's correct. You *can* do without the web interface. I find it useful because I can see who's been ringing me when I'm away from home.

Reply to
Roger Mills

I have several extension phones, but they *all* go through the trueCall. I've arranged my system so that the trueCall sits between the master socket and the extension wiring.

Reply to
Roger Mills

Does the integrated one have a web interface? When I'm away from home I dial into my trueCall to pick up any messages. It's set up so that it automatically does a Weblink after each remote access. I can then go to the web interface and see *all* incoming calls - not just those who have left messages. If it's someone I know, I will often want to call them back even if they haven't left a message.

Can you do all of that with the integrated version?

Reply to
Roger Mills

Don't really need any new phones. The ability to import my address book via a web interface saved ages of time and frustration.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Yes - I could do that with a bit of re-wiring. At the moment the master socket is where the line comes into the house - to give the broadband the best possible deal. Not where I want the Truecall unit. But wouldn't be that difficult to alter things round as I have a cellar which would make it straightforward enough to rewire and have the TrueCall before all of internal phone wiring. If that would work, of course.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I've done a quick Google on it and seen the reviews give a 'poor' for audio quality. Something I've noticed with many newer DECT phones. No idea why they should be worse than decent quality older ones.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Dave Plowman (News) brought next idea :

Just to make it clear - 1x base station plugged into the phone line, with three phones each with their own drop in charger base, plus one old none wireless phone with its ringer turned off - for emergency use during a power cut.

The latter sits in a kitchen drawer, plugged into a socket, which is hidden behind the unit.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

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