Cold and scam calls

[#1]

Hi
I am being plagued by scam and cold callers on my land line.  Most of these seem to come from India so are not picked up by the telephone preference service. I am considering buying a cold calling block that plugs into my line.Does anybody have any recommendations or advice about them?
Thanks

[#2]

I got a couple of BT8500 nuisance call blocking phones about 3 month ago, haven't needed to answer a nuisance call since.
Details here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/BT8500-Advanced-Blocker-Cordless-Handset/dp/B00LZTI0B6
Only think I don't like about it is the "BT" logo. 

[#3]

These type of calls usually show up as 'International' so presumably that is a category that can be blocked?

[#4]

I would also recommend the BT8500.
Any number in your 'Allow' list will go straight through to you as normal. Any number in your 'Block' list will just be blocked. All other callers (e.g. "International") are asked to leave their name and, only if they do so, does the phone ring. I have yet to have a cold caller leave their name so the phone remains silent whenever such calls are received.

[#5]

Thanks for that sounds a good system.

[#6]

I've also got one of these for my parents - works a treat.

[#7]

Thanks for the feedback. I do not particularly want to replace my phones. The unit I saw was about £ 25 and was plugged in between socket and handset. What attracted me (apart from cheapness) was it had a one touch button to add a current call to the blocked list.Does anyone know if the callblock phones do that ?

[#8]

With the BT8500, if the caller leaves their name and you answer the phone you have a choice of pressing '1' to accept the call from this number once, pressing '2' to always accept calls from this number, pressing '3' to block all calls from this number or pressing '4' to send the call to the answer machine. You can block up to 1000 numbers and / or area codes on this phone. This might not be quite as simple as the standalone unit you have seen but it does work.
With the standalone units you generally have the option to block different types of numbers e.g. Withheld, International etc. However, many people need to take some calls from these types of numbers but still want to block all the cold calls which have the same caller ID. The BT8500 gives a simple way of doing this whereas the standalone units offer no system for this.
I guess it all depends on how flexible you want the system to be in blocking / screening your calls and how much you are prepared to pay for it.

[#9]

Don't forget that you'll need to pay for Caller ID on your line for these system to work of course

[#10]

Thanks again for your feedback and yes I had remembered that I will also need to get Caller ID. I have just been trying to do a cost benefit analysis of the available kit. It is always a good idea to ask for real people's experiences I think.

[#11]

Another option is to utilise "call screening".
Using something like the Gigaset C620 you can set it to answer calls immediately with the answering machine and with monitoring activated you can carry on with what you were doing only picking up the phone if you recognise the caller.
CLID is not required for this method.
Basic C620 systems can be got from fleabay for around £20.
Mind you a retired friend of mine takes great delight in answering all the PPI and accident injury calls stringing them along for some time until the penny drops with them.
One of his favourites is to say the the person they are trying to contact died a few days ago and if they have money for them then please can you give me details of how his solicitor can claim.

[#12]

I've just been reading about the various bits of fun some have with these people and the best one I thought was telling them that the homeowner was on another number and would it be OK for them to call them there.
They then give them the number of London Zoo and tell them to ask for a Mrs G Raff.

[#13]

Hi, those options do sound like a lot of fun. Something I may try myself 
There is also the option to use the Telephone Preference Service if you haven't done this already. Although you can still get the rouge company calling you I have found it cuts the cold calling down. This is also a free option, could be worth a try.
Jo

[#14]

Jo,
TPS only works with honest companies and has no applicability for calls originating outside of the UK.  It is a toothless tiger - all roar and no bite.
Kevin