spam calls

[Tarquin Farquhar]

Got a spam marketing call at 5 this morning. Was not pleased.

It's a company "Crystal Debt Advice" who all sound Indian; they say thez are based in Leicester, but will not give out an address, and there is no such company known to Co House.

Problem is, they have a UK phone number and they use ID, so I can't reject it for No Caller ID, nor for being international. But they are not in the UK, so TPS doesn't stop them.

Any ideas what we can do about calls like this? Personally I'd like to link the UK's £90m/year aid to India to their co-operating with our Telephone Preference Service, but I don't suppose I could pay our MPs as much as Indian businessmen, so that's probably out.

[NickFitz]

It's a company "Crystal Debt Advice" who all sound Indian; they say thez are based in Leicester, but will not give out an address, and there is no such company known to Co House.

Those things often go hand-in-hand

You are not alone...

[Clippy]

Slight tangent, but I recently had to call Sky TV tech support (again) as my Sky+ box was playing up.

Anyway, in the past, I have dealt with their Scottish call centre but on this occasion, the chap was Indian.

However, he hardly had an Indian accent, the line was very clear with no background noise which made me question, for a moment, whether he was actually based in India.

Made me think if some companies are now going to extra lengths to disguise their overseas call centres as opposed to telling their call centre agents to give their names as 'Peter' or 'Jane' and hoping callers won't notice!

[minestrone]

Slight tangent, but I recently had to call Sky TV tech support (again) as my Sky+ box was playing up.

Anyway, in the past, I have dealt with their Scottish call centre but on this occasion, the chap was Indian.

However, he hardly had an Indian accent, the line was very clear with no background noise which made me question, for a moment, whether he was actually based in India.

Made me think if some companies are now going to extra lengths to disguise their overseas call centres as opposed to telling their call centre agents to give their names as 'Peter' or 'Jane' and hoping callers won't notice!

SKY are using loads of Indian staff now up here.

[threaded]

Got a spam marketing call at 5 this morning. Was not pleased.

It's a company "Crystal Debt Advice" who all sound Indian; they say thez are based in Leicester, but will not give out an address, and there is no such company known to Co House.

Problem is, they have a UK phone number and they use ID, so I can't reject it for No Caller ID, nor for being international. But they are not in the UK, so TPS doesn't stop them.

Any ideas what we can do about calls like this? Personally I'd like to link the UK's £90m/year aid to India to their co-operating with our Telephone Preference Service, but I don't suppose I could pay our MPs as much as Indian businessmen, so that's probably out.

Hmm, someone else has posted a similar thread (although not on the face of it)

They're identity thieves of a particularly nasty kind, as what they're doing is on the face of it legal, thanks to several years of total and utter muppets writing the law. Remember if you voted for the New Lie you've only yourselves to blame for this. Baaa.

The scam goes that someone in one of your previous addresses possibly had a debt. They use the various databases, government, banks, telcos etc. to get as much detail as possible about all the other people who lived at that address.

They then try and clean up the collected data, one method is by calling the people. Incidentally they have a link to a 'real' debt collection agency so they can get ex-directory numbers, mobile numbers, etc. etc. other addresses etc. etc.

If you say 'yes' to any question they ask, and I mean any, they can then claim you acknowledged the debt, and you will have the devils time getting them off your back.

As soon as any paperwork arrives, take it to a tame Rottweiler type lawyer. Oh, and when you have shaken them off, don't bother trying to get a new bank account etc. for a good while as they'll fsck up your credit rating in revenge.

Tarquin, i do hope you're not working in the city, as that career will also by screwed by them, for reason of the financial checks that are now prevalent.

Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news at Xmas.

[threaded]

Linkage to a similar thread...

[suityou01]

Dizzy now.

They say I have to apply to them in writing for them to send out the documentary evidence. Is this true? Sounds like utter bobbins.

If I say I have no knowledge of the debt, prove it, they have to before it gets to court shirley?

[threaded]

Dizzy now.

They say I have to apply to them in writing for them to send out the documentary evidence. Is this true? Sounds like utter bobbins.

If I say I have no knowledge of the debt, prove it, they have to before it gets to court shirley?

Seriously, go to a lawyer. As soon as they have some paper from you they will claim this as additional evidence that you acknowledge the debt.