Cold Calls

Since most of France seems to use mobiles these days, I’m seriously considering connecting my Orange box to the fax portion of our HP multi-function printer so all they will get is the machine wailing at them :grinning:
If they are a genuine caller, they will know our mobile number and call that.
And before you ask, we think keeping the Orange number is useful because the contract gives ‘free’ calls to the rest of Europe and the UK.

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Wasn’t going to ask Graham :wink: Mobile option not poss’ here vv poor signal. My question was, can the companys not filter them, why do we have to’ sign up’ with anyone?
We are signed up with ‘bloctel’, B’ thinks it may be worse since we did Jane.

I am signed up to Bloctel but I have to say that the calls are getting worse! There are too many of those ‘automated’ ones now and also that awful nasal ‘good bye’ at the end of a long stretch of silence!
I usually let the answering machine ‘pick-up’ , but I have been expecting various important calls. Once they are done and dusted it’s back to answerphone for me !

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Thats the worrying aspect Ann, galloping to answer when something important is anticipated, to pick up and find this rubbish, I am pretty sure the phone companies must be making money via the lines these ‘Pests’ are using :unamused:

I nearly missed a very important call yesterday because it came up as private.
In UK it is being mooted that the bosses of these companies will be personally responsible and face huge fines if they continue in this abusive way.
This a good step forward, but many of these calls now come from countries over which they have no control.
Would that there were an effective solution.

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same in England but much much worse than here. America also has insane cold call rates.

Can the phone providers stop them? Probably not, they have been going for years, the scam ones set up a system of a few phone lines and divert all incoming calls to premium rate numbers. Its a never ending battle and while bloctel blocks registered companies from calling you it wont stop the unregistered.

My friend has it in the uk where when you call her you have an automated message asking for your name an you have a few seconds to answer it. call screening.

Cold calling will always be here same as spam mail is here to stay. spam filter same as bloctel.

But they use peculiar numbers I think Harry, that I suppose, are allocated by the providers, how does hotmail for instance, know what to put in junk mail? I am no expert btw :wink:

no idea its magic.

yes they d and no they don’t

Allot of cold calls come routed through paris so the number is from paris etc.

the one who have special numbers are the registered businesses who use phone calls for marketing. Our loft for instance was a cold call, telling us how to apply for free insulation, they helped me fill out the forms, came round did an inspection a few weeks later a letter telling us we had it for free and the same people who cold called me came and did the work.

Yes cold calls can be a pain but we have far fewer here than many other countries such as England and America.

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Pleased one benefited you Harry :+1: :slightly_smiling_face:

ive benefited from quite a few to be honest.

I talk to some of them. After all the legit ones are only doing a job they are paid to do.

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Well, being the saint I am… I try not to be too rude… :innocent:

as Harry says, some of them are folk just doing a job… BUT… even I have been known to lose it… just a little… :rage:

It is particularly harrowing if one is expecting/dreading a certain call… phew… but then there is the relief, when it is ONLY a blasted time-waster or whatever…

we use Bloctel…and it worked for a while…but now almost EVERY cold call we get (sometimes 4 or 5 a day) is from a different number

This might help

The most effective wa to stop cold calls is to go on Liste Rouge. This removes your number from the directory & it cannot then legally be used for such purposes. It’s a simple option to enlist for via your Espace Client. The only junk calls we get now are usually prerecorded from outside France via randon number diallers, & are rare.
Historically this move stopped your number being transmitted if you made a call, but this has now changed, so people you call still know it’s you & might answer your call.

I don’t have a fixed line (no need) and I don’t get any cold calls on my mobile. Solved! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

That assumes you have mobile reception in your house…sadly we don’t.

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Ours is very poor Jane, unreliable :unamused:

Ours is excellent - we have the choice of 4G from Bouygues, SFR or Orange - in the foothills of the Pyrenees - excellent coverage!! :iphone: :iphone: :iphone:

watch out Simon… or we’ll all come to live with you… :relaxed:

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That’s a great idea Stella, we can profit from Simon’s cooking as well, better than a takeaway, we will just sit in his garden with all the lovely views, be served cocktails and then a delicious home made curry. Gets my vote ! :hugs:

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