....or isn't there one ?
Had a phone call last night about 7pm. An Asian voice asking me if I'd had any accidents in the last 5 years. I said no. ' We have your address down as somebody living there having a rear end shunt about 3 yrs ago ' ' Not here ' says I.
I asked him who had hit us..'A Vauxhall car ' he replied.
I asked him which of the 4 cars registered a my address had been hit. he didn't know.
After a bit more digging and not getting anywhere he said he must be mistaken and reng off.
What's the angle here ? He must be after money.
Is it a new slant on hitting someone up the chuff........them hitting you instead ?
Is it just ' ambulance chasers ' trying to get a client......if so, it seems a bit hit and miss (no pun etc )
Ted
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I'd lay a pound to a penny that "The caller withheld their number"..:-)
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I have had similar calls recently, (international, number withheld), after realising it was a scam early in the first call, and hanging up, I had four more, after hanging up each call as soon as I heard a voice with an Asian accent they have stopped.
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Missed the Edit:-
The callers were both male and female, and there was background noise like a busy office or call centre. My phone is ED and registered with th TPS, not that it applies to foreign callers, someone has sold my name and number on.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 21 Aug 10 at 14:29
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You get similar ones about your "computer system" being faulty.
There are, of course, the e-mail equivalents.
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I had a disturbing one the other day, allegedly a home insulation survey, that then asked if anyone over 70 lived in the property. Caller display said it was international. Fishing for the vulnerable?
Followed by a home security survey that were giving away four home security systems. Number withheld.
A knock on the door this morning with some guff about recyclable home improvements. Breeding like rabbits!
I've got TPS, a 'no hawkers' sign and I thought we were in a no cold callers zone.
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I didn't check the number, me tea was in the trough waiting.
I get the Faulty computer ones and the insulation.
If I feel like winding them up I tell them I'm a computer specialist or have an Insulation company. used to get them offering to reduce ypour tax liability......life insurance ?
I told them I was a broker in the City.
I'm with TPS, have been for years. Sometimes I tell them they're not supposed to be calling my number.......they usually ring off.
Ted
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UK firms are easy, if I get a cold call (rare) I confirm the company name and the name of the caller and then tell them that the number is TPS registered an they are breaking the law by cold calling it (they are usually small companies). This usually prompts an apology and a rapid hang up.
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...Where's the scam...
Is the OP being invited to make a false claim?
The OP gets some money and the caller gets their cut.
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>> UK firms are easy, if I get a cold call (rare) I confirm the company
>> name and the name of the caller and then tell them that the number is
>> TPS registered an they are breaking the law by cold calling it (they are usually
>> small companies). This usually prompts an apology and a rapid hang up.
>>
Yes, I've had the same result a few times. Once I had a call from one of those scammers who claim your Sky box is out of warranty and could go up in flames any minute etc., and then try to sell you a warranty far more expensive than Sky's call out charge. I was particularly bored that evening so I gave them the TPS speech, they claimed that it didn't apply to them, so i did an online complaint to TPS and lo and behold a letter of apology from the company eventually turned up. Hardly a major blow against cold callers but at least it cost them some time and a stamp!
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They keep trying to call me from that company too. The other day the tried to start to chat about how I found Sky+, what did I find were the best features. When I asked them what the call was about (I'd look up the number) they asked if I was busy and then they hung up. I bet they call again. And if they do I will report them to TPS too.
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The funny thing is my 1997 Pace Digibox is probably the most reliable bit of consumer electronics I've owned, reboot maybe once a year, vacuum the dust out of it every couple of years. Now in semi-retirement after I replaced it with a newer box with a brand new Sky remote bought for 7.50 GBP in a charity shop.
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>> ' We have your
>> address down as somebody living there having a rear end shunt about 3 yrs ago
I would give short shrift to anyone ringing me and using phrases such as "rear end shunt". It hardly sounds professional.
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Possibly my own interpetation there, Les.
Ted
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Anyone who cold calls me gets " I'm registered with TPS, you are breaking the law" followed by phone replaced..
Works..
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Anyone who calls me on an obvious telesales mission and who asks for me by name gets told......
" just hold on a minute, he's in the garden, I'll just go and fetch him for you......Don't hang up, he's a bit slow on his feet, I'll get him.......won't be a tick....."
I then generally go and put the kettle on, occasionally picking up the phone to say....." he's just coming......shouldn't be long now....."
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I am johnny foreigner. What is TPS, please? Telephone Protection Service or what?
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Ian, close. Substitute "Preference" and you have it.
They don't really have a lot of teeth if you read their website, but it definitely cuts down on junk calls and often a quick "ooh sorry, the computer is down, must have dialled you by mistake".
www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/what/
JH
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jonny,
It's a service for domestic telephone users to opt out of cold calls:
www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/
But it doesn't apply to you foreign, er, jonnies.
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Thanks, gents.
Our locals call, and I ask them. nicely, who gave them my name and number. THEN I track the MoFos down, and ask to be removed from the lists.
One guy in particular was particularly annoying. Amazing how much cheap stuff he had for sale a week later, and how many pizzas he'd ordered...
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I always ask to speak to their supervisor, then the manager, and see how high up the chain I can get.
Im retired and bored so why not.
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Plus one. AND it is on THEIR time/bill!
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what is a home phone?
surely everyone uses mobiles these days?
i have tps at work,saves loads of grief
anyone needs me on a night can contact me via my or the wifes mobile,we check the number then decide if we wish to pick up
far more civilised we feel
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I have a PAYG mobile - I never use it unless it is an emergency and I really only carry it in the car, in the glove-box & turned off!
Mobile charges are a rip-off.
OT a bit :- there are websites which absolutely insist that you enter a mobile number (Madbid comes to mind). Without it you cannot register.
What gives these arrogant bludgers the right to assume that everyone has a mobile 'phone?
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Can't be 100% sure but feels like an insurance scam.
If he hits lucky and gets an address and VRN out of someone then he could quite easily have enough to make a claim on his own comp insurance for injuries suffered by third party passengers in his own vehicle. He would have a place and details of a collision for which he would be able to supply details and be held blameworthy and his 'passengers' could then sue him for whiplash, etc. for which they have, no doubt, acquired some form of medical paperwork. Of course by this time they would have recovered from their injuries so a current medical examination would be pointless.
It's the three years which rings alarm bells for me as three years is the time limit for initiating a personal injury claim........
Undoubtedly some insurance companies would pay out a couple of thousand rather than spend more than that checking and double checking accident details and medical reports going back that far. If they get just an odd bite here and there they could make a reasonable sum in a year....... And you and I will be wondering why our premiums have gone up again next year, I seem to recall reading recently that premiums are going up at record rates purely because of the level of personal injury claims suffered in RTAs and that fraudlent claims are also increasing at record rates.
Might be wrong but if it has a pointy tail, a sharp nose, whiskers, is brown and hairy and walks like a rat then chances are...........
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Where's the scam...... - Stuartli
