Oh what fun I've had today! I sunscribe to the Telephone Preference Service here in the UK, which is supposed to mean that Telesales calls are barred. I've had 12 calls from the same firm, different person each time, each insisting that they hadn't called me before, number witheld every time. Firm called Mobel Interiors based in Preston. Don't suppose anybody knows any little tricks to find out witheld numbers do they? :-)

Vinnie

Vinnie I feel your pain. My wife and I NEVER answer a call is the number is withheld. We've got voice mail, if they want to talk to use badly enough they can leave a message. Most don't. I figure if they block their number, and they don't leave a message, we don't need to talk to them. Lately I've been getting calls on my cell phone that at least have the return number. Supposedly. When try calling that number to inform them I'm on our state's "do not call" list, the number is disconnected. They're using a phony number! Such people are pond scum and there should be a speical level in Hell for them.

Vinnie,

I also belong to the Telephone Preference Service and I still get calls too - from all over the world! I have always managed to trace company names through Google, Yellow Pages and any other telephone directory systems that are available.

Your number is at present doing the rounds as its been sold on! Even the local council sell on your details to listed companies all over the UK.

There is also another feature called 'random dial up' that many people are complaining about from 'silent calls' from bank computers calling numbers.

I am not sure how far you would get via the complaints procedure route though.

As I work for a telephone company there is no way you can trace a with held number - at least not legally as far as I know.

Regards, John

At least your phone works....... :-)
Day 11 and I'm still waiting for Cingular to send replacement phone.......
Ask me if I would ever recommend Cingular.....

Ive had bell telephone call my house all the time after we stoped dealing with them. When we moved the phone bill went from being my fathers to my mothers, and suddenly they offered my father plenty of gifts such as cell phones, so my parents got anoyed and pissed off with the fact they offered all these things to new customers but nothing to hte long term ones, so they stoped dealing with them, afterwards they continuously called even after being told never to call again.... Last time they were on the other line i picked up and , never did they call back again :-) ive had my days worth on that one

Frank

Dave, would you recommend Cingular?

Right! Well through a subterfuge and phoning various bodies including the Police, I've discovered the phone number of the Managing Director. So I telephoned him. Funny thing is the calls have stopped! :-) It's a wonderful thing this internet! :-) :-) :-) :-)

Vinnie

Hmmm, I know it's probably not legal, but what if his phone no. would, entirely by accident off course, be 'left' on site... if some of our American Cousins would just call to let it ring say two times, before hanging up...

Or a legal, but highly annoying one, call his number from a fax machine....

Cheers
Henk

Mom would do one of two things.....
She would say...Oh sure, glad you called, and I'm very interested, but please hang on a second, and turn on the radio and put the phone there and go about her routine...... :-)
Or if it was an annoying little fellow, she blow a police whistle into the phone...... :-)

Yeah, I can fax him and call, what's his number? I'm not in the UK at the moment, so...

Dave
Henk beat me to the Cingular recommendation request. :-)

What I've been getting lately from a couple of Real Estate companies is a phone call that when you answer a recorded message asks me to hold and someone will be with me shortly.

The darn cheek - getting a computer to do the dirty work. Next time it happens I am going to hold until the real person answers and then be like Dave's mum........ put the phone down and walk away.

Brian

Just an FYI: Sending unsolicited faxes is illegal in the States because it cost the recipient money (materials ie paper).
We get them all the time at work for time shares, stock tips, etc. At the bottom is a disclaimer with a number to call to be removed from their fax list.

Shaun

I'm happy to report that I now have a working phone....
OH NO---- NOT my wonderful cell phone provider--- CINGULAR, I'm still waiting for that replacement phone to arrive, since 3-13..... !!! but have returned to the dinosaur days of a land-line, and having to actually put in the numbers...... :-)

It's been so long, I kept hanging up on myself, by pushing talk after dialing........ :-) :-) :-)

No Shaun, you don't actualy send a fax.. you dial somebodies phone number from a faxmachine, and it tries to sent a fax to the phone. When the phone picks up the receipient will here the data line, a series of irritating high pitched beeps and whistles..

:-)

Well, everyone will be happy to know that my replacement phone arrived this afternoon.......
I'm still not a happy, satisfied Cingular customer, and still would never recommend them for the excellent non-service I received.

Amazing.... now none of their tech people can figure out why even this new phone still will not send emails or photos even though according to them all the setting are correct, I'm still paying for that privlage....

Did I mention I just love my Cingular service...... OH well, off to dinner, and tomorrow another few hours on the phone for their techies to continue to try to figure it out.

I would write down the number of this managing director on a couple of doors of public restrooms of gasstations with the message dial ..................... for hot and steamy s..

They did it with my cell phone number and it worked like a charm.... It gets kinda annoying when the bloody thing goes off every night a couple of times and the day after that and so on.

So my cell phone ended up in the pond... I guess that is exactly what the managing director would do after a week or so

Dave-
Re: Cingular service

"Can you hear me now?"

:-) :-) :-)

I always ask these boneheads for there home number so I can call them at supper time to chat.