BBC Watchdog: Constant calls that leave you cold...

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
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It seems it's not just Watchdog viewers who are fed up with cold-calling, silent calls and junk mail, now the authorities are too.

For some people there's never a good moment for cold callers to turn up at your door. They can be uninvited, unwanted and desperate to sell to you. Take the big energy companies - many of them want you to switch over to their power supply right there on your doorstep...




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It seems it's not just Watchdog viewers who are fed up with cold-calling, silent calls and junk mail, now the authorities are too.

For some people there's never a good moment for cold callers to turn up at your door. They can be uninvited, unwanted and desperate to sell to you. Take the big energy companies - many of them want you to switch over to their power supply right there on your doorstep.

Watchdog met up with Gemma Tombs, who had received a cold caller earlier this year. Gemma told us:

"There was a knock at my door, there was a gentleman standing there who told me that he was from Scottish Power, and he put one of his feet in the doorway so I couldn't close the door. I asked if he would kindly leave. He wouldn't leave, he got quite rude in his attitude towards me. Again I asked him to please leave. I found him very intimidating".

Scottish Power have since apologised and taken disciplinary action against the sales agent. But they're not the only ones who've courted trouble on the doorstep. Ofgem, the energy regulator, found it was common practice for doorstep agents working for the big energy companies to move customers on to higher tariffs once they'd been signed up. So in January, Ofgem introduced new rules to prevent mis-selling. Now it's looking at potentially fining four companies - npower, EDF Energy, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy, who may have been in breach of the rules.

And there's more being done. This month, for the first time ever, you can stop energy sales people knocking at your door. All you need to do is put up a sign in a prominent position that says, clearly, that you do not wish to receive uninvited doorstep sales callers. You can download one from the internet. And new rules that the energy companies have agreed to mean that if you have a 'no cold callers' sign, they can't come in. But if they knock anyway, you should report their name and employee number to the company and if that doesn't go anywhere, go to the Energy Ombudsman.

Companies don't just use the doorbell to sell, they reach for the phone too. To avoid unsolicited calls, sign up for free to the Telephone Preference Service. It takes a month to set up, but then it is a legal requirement for UK companies not to pester you with marketing or sales calls. Sadly, there's nothing more they can do to stop the calls that drive us even more crazy, namely the silent ones. We met Sue Savage who told us about her experience:

"I started getting the calls at the end of May. I was getting approximately three to four a day. When I did answer the call, I answered with hello and there was nobody there. It was just silence. I went away at the beginning of June for ten days and when I came back there were 30-40 calls recorded on my telephone from the same number".

Silent calls happen because many companies use a system that automatically generates telephone numbers. When someone answers, an agent should take the call. But sometimes the agent's too busy and the result is silence.

After being plagued by nuisance calls for a week, Sue traced the number on the internet and saw it belonged to British Gas. As Sue explained:

"Towards the end of June the phone rang yet again. I answered it and lo and behold there was a voice that said, is that Mrs Savage and I said... look, I do not want anything from British Gas, I've not asked to be telephoned. So can you please stop ringing me".

BT, who has its own nuisance call advice line, is another culprit. Watchdog caught up with Jo Stanton who told us:

"It's been constant phone calls, and at least one phone call every day. I find these calls a real annoyance, a complete pest, it's definitely an intrusion into our family life".

Since Jo contacted Watchdog BT have apologised and removed her details from their calling list.

Silent calls are annoying, but for some people they can also be extremely distressing. Which is one reason the regulator Ofcom has just been given new powers to fine companies who abuse people by silent calling up to £2 million pounds. The penalty is big, but so is the upset these calls cause. If you are getting them, note the number, call them back and tell them to stop. Under Ofcom rules, they need to provide you with a low cost phone number to do this. While Ofcom can't look into individual complaints, do let them know what's happened because if the company is doing the same to others, this could trigger an investigation. And the prospect of a hefty fine should make them think again before pestering you at home, when they have nothing to say.

If you want to stop getting uninvited calls...

You can join the telephone preference service register, www.tpsonline.org.uk or call 0800 398 893. This should stop the majority of calls.

For competition calls - which are the product of random number generator - you can complain to PhonePayPlus: www.phonepayplus.org.uk.

And if you want to avoid junk mail...

There are two different sorts of junk mail.

If it's got your name and address on it you can join the mail preference service register - at www.mpsonline.org.uk. Or there's a number 0845 703 4599.

If it's leaflets, flyers or unaddressed post - you can contact the royal mail at optout@royalmail.com or send a letter to:

Freepost RRBT-ZBXB-TTTS,
Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Out,
Kingsmead House,
Oxpens Road,
Oxford, OX1 1RX

Please note: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Scottish Power response to Watchdog:

"Ms Toombs contacted ScottishPower in January 2010 and a thorough investigation was conducted at the time. As a result of this, disciplinary action was taken against the sales agent concerned on the 25th of January in line with our strict guidelines which led to the agent leaving the company on 28th January. We were in regular contact with Ms Toombs at the time and sincerely apologise for this unacceptable behaviour. ScottishPower fully adheres to the EnergySure Code of Practice and will not tolerate this type of behaviour, as highlighted by our swift action in this case."

British Gas response to Watchdog:

"We sincerely apologise for the number of calls Ms Savage received; we fully understand this was frustrating for her - and is not the experience we intend for British Gas customers.

At British Gas, we are committed to eradicating silent calls. All our call centres are set up to be fully compliant with Ofcom regulations in this area. In recent years, we have invested heavily in the best systems, and have developed solutions that will help us to eliminate silent calls completely.

We will be investigating as a matter of urgency why Ms Savage received such calls. We have also taken steps to ensure she receives no further calls from us."

BT response to Watchdog:

"Firstly, we apologise to Ms Stanton for any distress she has suffered as a result of calls made to her home. We have now removed her details from the lists of people to whom we make calls of the nature she has raised with Watchdog.

"If customers ask us to stop calling either during an outbound call or by contacting us, our policy is to honour that request.

"In general, BT operates in a way that meets and frequently exceeds The Persistent Misuse policy published by Ofcom - the code which governs matters such as the limits placed upon the frequency and nature of outbound sales calls.

Calling customers can be an effective way to tell them about new BT offers. Many customers are happy to learn of our offers in this way and we are sorry this was not the experience in this case."






Constant calls that leave you cold...