aannoying call centers!

[#1]

I have just transfered from Carphone Warehouse and BT land Line. Our household has always suffered from phone calls from call centers asking if we need new windows, new morgage, or anything else that is useless to us. My question is do all these go away now we have transfere to you? If not, is there a way to 'block' these pests out?
Thanks!

[#2]

If you have the same phone number then you are no less likely to get marketing calls. If you haven't already done so, registering with the Telephone Prefence Service should reduce the number of callers but there are a number of overseas companies using overseas bases to get around the regulations.
http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/
If your nuisance calls were from Carphone Warehouse and BT then you should stop getting calls from them. Plusnet will not contact you by phone for marketing purposes if you select the right preferences in the Member Centre.
[edit] I can see where you can opt out of receiving marketing emails in the Member Centre but not telephone marketing. I've been with Plusnet for six months and never had them contact me. [/edit]

[#3]

Just to reiterate what alanf has said.  If you register with the TPS then it's now a legal requirement for companies to stop cold calling you.
There are a couple of exceptions, however.  Alanf mentioned the first, and that's companies calling from abroad.  The second is if you've ever dealt with a company in the past or have given them your number voluntarily - a prime example is Kwik-Fit when you give them your phone number at one of their depots, they then follow up a couple of days later with a marketing call (it also seems to knock the sales person sideways at the depot when you refuse to give them your phone number!!). 
In the cases where you've dealt with a company, you need to write to them and tell them to remove you from their lists. 
The TPS is highly effective otherwise, but it takes about a month for all of the unsolicited calls to stop.

[#4]

Thanks, i have registered with them. If by chance they continue to call is there a way to change my telephone number?

[#5]

In the past that was a way to lose your broadband service so be careful.
cp:blue Full quote of preceding post removed as per link:rules mod:end

[#6]

Another Forum I participate in has an active discussion on this very issue. The consensus seems to be that if it's a number change only (for nuisance reasons) you should be OK and there are people on there who have done it, but prepare and plan for the worst just in case!
As for calling from abroad, I'n registered with TPS and it's really annoying. They're clearly calling for UK companies so are certainly breaking the spirit if not the letter of the "law" but try and find out exactly who the company is (e.g. UK registration details) and they just hang up.
And funnily enough as I typed this the phone rang with a UK number I didn't recognise. Doing market research but a company name I'd never heard of so I challenged them with my "TPS crucifix". They then told me who they were calling on behalf of - a business I do deal with - but they obviously didn't want to give that information out unless they had to.

[#7]

BT used to charge for a change of number unless it was due to nuisance calls.  I remember seeing something about this on the portal and I think that you would probably be charged to change the number.  Also, as has been previously mentioned it might cause a fair bit of hassle with the connection.
Might be easier to opt in to caller display/answerphone and/or number withheld rejection.  Only problem with the latter is that hospitals/GP surgeries and the like nearly always use this.

[#8]

There is the chargeable Anonymous Call Rejection feature which allows one to block calls from people who have withheld their numbers. People who use BT as their phone service provider also have the Choose to Refuse feature available at a price.
People who use BT as their phone service provider have the options Choose to Refuse and  Anonymous Call Rejection which, as far as I am aware, Plusnet does not offer.
In any case why should we have to lay out money every month not to be disturbed.
I think I remember many years ago that there were gadgets to fit between the wall socket and the phone that stopped the phone ringing if the caller was on a banned list (or not on an approved list) that you had set up. At the right price I think that there would be a lot of demand for these devices.
Update: I have found an ad for a box costing around £80. All it does is play a message to the caller telling them to go away if they are sales persons and invites others to press button 5 before it will connect them. Human salespersons may press 5 anyway and if large enough numbers of the boxes are sold I am sure that the pesky robots will be trained to do so.  I suppose a desperate person might give the device a try if there was no better option available.
My elderly mother had 10 calls in a week from one number and each time she answered the phone was silent. She was already registered with TPS. Silent calls are supposed to be banned now. Autodiallers are not allowed to make too many calls where there are insufficient operators to deal with people who answer and in any case they are meant to play a message saying that you were called by Company x. I found on another website that the number belonged to a UK insurance company and complained to OFCOM. The calls from that number stopped but others continue.
http://ofcom.org.uk/complain/landline/nuisance/

[#9]

I'm actually an anti-social person - all people ever hit is an answerphone as phone is never plugged in unless we are expecting a call.

[#10]

PlusNet do 'Anonymous Call Rejection' for £1.50 a month or less if you have it as part of a features bundle. Not sure exactly what 'Choose to Refuse' is but you can have 'Caller Display' to see who's calling and to decide whether or not you answer the call, provided you have a compatible telephone.
Hope this helps.
We've been with the TPS for many years but still get some annoying calls. We usually ask them where they've got our number from and then grill them about it for a long time (as they rarely give a straight answer!) till either they or we get fed up with the call and ring off.

[#11]

Not on the phone, but had a solar heating door knocker today, talked for a bit until his mate came up and said to him, look up there he has already got it 

P.S. I wouldnt recommend the firm who did mine

[#12]

Quote from: Mad

PlusNet do 'Anonymous Call Rejection' for £1.50 a month or less if you have it as part of a features bundle. Not sure exactly what 'Choose to Refuse' is ...

Thanks for that. I don't remember having seen PlusNet's 'Anonymous Call Rejection' before. The memory isn't what it was so I should have checked.
BT's Choose To Refuse allows its customers to block incoming calls from up to 10 numbers. The list of blocked numbers can be updated as required. They can even block the current caller if the caller witholds their number. It won't always work for overseas callers and it won't be much use if one is  being called from umpteen different numbers at a time. It costs BT customers £11.25 (ex. VAT) per quarter

[#13]

Like most people on here, I’ve been troubled with unwanted sales calls – and have taken the necessary step of registering with the TPS.  You can also register for that through BT (via their privacy scheme) but be aware - if you do it via them, BT can still make sales calls to you.
My best “aid” against this is “Caller ID” – as such calls are usually from outside the UK, and this is indicated – so I ignore the call, they hear my dulcet tones inviting them to leave a message – but they never do!
Last week I had four such calls in one day – when the fourth call came through, I had had enough -  and took the call.  I bellowed “Who are you and what are you trying to sell me?”  The caller, who had a definite Indian accent asked for me by name – I said that that it is me.  “Hello, my name is Sam,” came the reply (“Pull the other one,” I thought!), “I want to give you a free mobile phone.”
That was where I took over – “Listen to me Sam – or whatever your name is. I do not have a mobile phone; I do not want a mobile phone.  However, if I do decide I want a mobile phone I will go to a shop – pick the mobile I want and the package I want – and then I know I’m not being conned.  Never ring this number again.”
A rather subdued voice said “Oh, thank you” – and the line went dead!

[#14]

After four calls in one day I'd be rather annoyed too. Fortunately I receive very few as I am ex-directory and give my number out very rarely.  However, I do feel a bit sorry for the operators - they're only trying to earn a crust I suppose! 

[#15]

Quote from: poppy

After four calls in one day I'd be rather annoyed too. However, I do feel a bit sorry for the operators - they're only trying to earn a crust I suppose!

Just a clarification from my end: whilst there were four calls - I only answered the last one.  The reason being that the Caller ID screen showed that the call was from outside the UK - thus "International".  I don't answer - I just wait to see if they speak "after the message" - if they don't, then they're trying to sell me something!  I think the four calls may have been from the same caller - the fourth call came about 5 minutes after the third call.  As I'd had enough by then, that's when I answered it and "Sam" got short shrift from me!
Regarding these callers, I agree with your comments.  My last supervisor had worked at a local call-centre and had to leave as she was close to having a nervous breakdown - callers can be very offensive - and you can't answer back.  You also have to be virtually answering calls non-stop - think that even taking a loo break is frowned upon! 
John