[Ben]

Anyone else noticed this?

On Vodafone I get a lot of cold calls from third parties telling me that my contract term has now expired and asking me if I'd like a free upgrade.

I like to correct them, telling them I'm on a SIM only monthly contract, before belittling their information source and asking them to remove my number from their systems.

The man who just rang said they get the numbers for customers eligible for upgrade from Vodafone. Is there any truth in this?

Anyway, it's really starting to (ahem) me off now. If I wanted an upgrade I'd (ahem) ask for one!

Edit: Btw, my latest call came from '02392604460'.

[fireballxl5]

i've had them all this week, 3 in total from a 01792 number :mad:

[Ben]

FWIW, I've never had these calls on Orange.

[Yssybyl]

I keep getting these too... along with calls claiming they can get me on a better tariff... all very irritating. I've now stopped answering all calls that are not in my phonebook.

we need to find someone at vodafone and get the truth out of this!

[whatleydude]

Get your number on The Telephone Preference Service list...

http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/

[3g-g]

FWIW, I've never had these calls on Orange.

Hmm, well I have! And I don't mind taking them, only for the pleasure of asking them how they'll reduce my monthly phone bill any lower than zero pounds and zero pence. I have asked will they just send me a cheque for the money that'll they'll save me above this, which is usually met with the phone being put down. 1 - 0 to me! :)

[Hands0n]

Yes, I can personally vouch for TPS - it works very well indeed. You can add all of your Mobile and Landline numbers and never get cold-called again, unless its from a scammer.

I normally berate anyone calling me cold - I first ask if they are aware of the TPS (the CS op normally isn't, but it breaks their thread which suits me). I also quite like to tell them that I only deal with the network operators and not any 3rd party or franchise operation. That normally kills the conversation stone dead and I don't get called again.

The true exception seems to be MBNA's Indian Call Centre - a few weeks back I had seven, count them, calls in a single evening asking me to transfer my credit card balances to them. I'm afraid that I was rather impolite to caller number seven. :D

[miffed]

Yes , I have had these from 3, Orange & Voda - the funny thing is , the ones I get on Orange always seem to be in the first few days / weeks of a new contract !
3 was the worse for them though TBH

The funny thing is , when I am in a playful mood I'll listen to see what they are offering , and most of the time I''d have a harder time finding a WORSE deal !!!

But ... I know LOADS of people that take up these offers , and they invariabley end up very confused when they find out they now have TWO contracts , and the cold caller wasn't selling them a true "upgrade" after all

This is another of those situations where we take our knowledge of these matters for granted , but personally I'd never buy anything off someone that appoached me rather that me approaching them !

[Ben]

Ok, I've added the number in question to the TPS - hopefully that'll help.

[bsrjl1]

Got one last week who was trying to get me to upgrade my Orange phone (haven't been on Orange for years) and get 600 minutes per month. I asked him if I could use those minutes to call him, as he's my new best friend. Guy didn't know what to say ;-) I strung him along for a while as I had nothing better to do, said "no" to every single thing he said & eventually he gave up. TPS registered, doesn't seem to matter if they're calling from abroad.

[solo12002]

" Yes, I can personally vouch for TPS - it works very well indeed. You can add all of your Mobile and Landline numbers and never get cold-called again,"

I agree. But the set up of this service is wrong:

1. We should not to have to reg rather we should have to op out

2. I m fing beaten as to why we have to re reg every year, once in or on then we should remain in or on.

[Hands0n]

I've never had to re-register. We've been on TPS for very many years now - since its inception, that long I can't remember anymore!!

[solo12002]

Well you are right, I used to have to re reg every year. Thanks for pointing this out.

If you have registered a residential number or a number belonging to a sole trader or (except in Scotland) partnership, you do not need to renew. However, if you have registered a number on to the Corporate TPS belonging to a Limited company, Plc or other large organisation, you are required to renew annually. In this case TPS will send you an e-mail each year to notify you of this. Failure to renew will result in your number(s) being removed from the CTPS data file. Please be aware that if you change your telephone package, obtained broadband or change telephone line service provider for example, we may receive notice from your current/old line service provider that your line has been made inactive. In this case your number would be removed from the file as the service is only intended for live numbers.

[gorilla]

I've been on TPS for a couple of years now and can't remember the last time I was cold called.
What I used to do was chat normally then just hang up. If they called back same thing, never happened more than once though!

[vfDeac27]

I can also vouch for TPS, although I've recently started to get these calls again on another new SIM - I'll have to register this one too when I get the chance (they're coming from a similar number that Ben mentions, 02920350033 - and also 01792350033)

If in doubt (not that I'd ever buy anything from a cold call) it's best to stick these numbers into Google - more often than not they lead you back to a website or discussion board similar to Talk3G where other people have had similar problems, if anything it increases awareness. The above numbers aren't showing in Google at the moment though hopefully they might now they've appeared on this thread :)

What worries me is some of the horror stories out there on the internet where people have given bank / credit card details over the phone on an unknown incoming call to their number.

[Ben]

Yes, we should probably emphasise that: It is an incredibly bad idea to take up any offer from a cold call. Whether they claim to be your network, or somebody else, it's wise to at least take down the callers details and get back to them - there'll likely be as-good-if-not-better offers available on the net, down the high street or even directly from the network.

[miffed]

Yes, we should probably emphasise that: It is an incredibly bad idea to take up any offer from a cold call. Whether they claim to be your network, or somebody else, it's wise to at least take down the callers details and get back to them - there'll likely be as-good-if-not-better offers available on the net, down the high street or even directly from the network.

I agree totally , this message really does need to get out there , and I'd like to see the Networks / OFCOM warning people this (if legally posssible)

Honestly , the amount of times people have asked me for advice ,( friends , friends of friends .. ) ...and their tales of woe always begin "I got this phone call offering me ......."
CS simply Doesn't exist , you are left trying to fight the Network for something that usually isn't directly there fault - which is not a pleasant predicament for anyone to be in
.....And all this wouldn't be quite as bad if the deals offered were good by any stretch of the imagination - but they are always pretty poor compared to what you can find on t'nternet