Nuisance phone calls disturb Kintore's Sunday


Did you get called by Future Home Magazine on Sunday? We did. And that is despite the fact that our phone number is listed with the Telephone Preference Service , which makes it illegal (with fines up to £5,000 supposedly) for people to make unsolicited phone calls to our number. It is estimated that scams, including those by telephone have so far duped UK consumers out of GBP 400 million.

The reason I suspect that lots of people in Kintore were phoned by the same people was that our second line (which has a consecutive number and is ex-directory) began ringing a few seconds after the main phone number. I assume the company responsible were illegally dialling all the numbers in succession. Illegally, because they must, by law, consult the TPS lists (or use an agency that cleans registered numbers off the list) on a regular basis.

This was the fourth time that the so-called Future Home Magazine had flouted the law. Each time I have tried to find out the details of the company so I could report them. Each time I have failed.

Yesterday's caller was Ricky. Ricky dodged questions about who Future Home Magazine were, where they were based and what their number was. When asked the name of the company calling, he simply repeated that it was Future Home Magazine and dodged questions again about their contact details. When I said he must know who his employers were, he put the phone down!

There are some genuine companies out there, trying to develop their businesses by direct marketing whether it be on the doorstep, or by telephone. But, unfortunately, the rogues give everyone a bad name.

I don't know what the lawbreakers (for that is what they are) at Future Home Magazine are selling - I've never let them get that far. But, most telephone scams involve getting you dial a premium rate number where you get locked into a premium rate call that can end up costing you a fortune.

It's big business and one company recently made SEVEN MILLION phone calls in the UK, during which they netted 15,500 people and had them dialing a premium rate number that stung them for a staggering £1.50 per minute!

And should you get Future Home Magazine on the phone, please ask them for their address and telephone number. After four time-wasting calls from them, I would rather like to see them prosecuted for their total disregard for the law of the land!

Posted: Mon - July 4, 2005 at 03:16 PM          

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