cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Just had a call from plusnet

Balb0wa
Dabbler
Posts: 18
Registered: ‎26-04-2017

Just had a call from plusnet

Think it was just a general call seeing if im happy.

 

0114 number, i told him my telephone number, address etc, then he wanted to know certain letters of my password.

 

At this point im like ,hold on, i should be asking you who you are !! you rang me, for all i know you could fishing.

 

I know it was genuine as they have sent me a message in the member centre , saying i failed the data protection

 

We called you today to discuss your account, but the person we spoke to either refused or failed the DPA (Data Protection Act) check. We have left your account unchanged.

 

I just felt he wanted to know too much information, what a weird way of doing things in this cyber world we live in, not happy.

23 REPLIES 23
Gandalf
Community Gaffer
Community Gaffer
Posts: 26,563
Thanks: 10,265
Fixes: 1,599
Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

Hi there,

 

Sorry to hear you're not happy with our data protection process.

 

We have to protect our customers data on outbound calls as much as on inbound calls, because we need to verify the person we're speaking to is the account holder or an authorised user of the account.

 

For example, if we called your phone number, I appreciate it's a good chance you'll be the one to answer, but we're unable to guarantee or verify that from simply dialling a set of digits.

 

Sorry if it caused you any inconvenience or frustration.

 

Anoush.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
RealAleMadrid
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 2,713
Thanks: 1,395
Fixes: 59
Registered: ‎07-07-2009

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

@Gandalf This has been questioned many times before, how can the customer that has been called have any certainty that they are genuinely  being called by a PlusNet employee. The caller asking for account information is totally wrong. Data protection has to work for both parties.

Balb0wa
Dabbler
Posts: 18
Registered: ‎26-04-2017

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

I said to the bloke on the phone, you could be from india for all i know putting on a very good yorkshire accent 🙂 

 

He asked me my name, address, post code, then he wanted password letters, im like no no no.

 

Mayfly
All Star
Posts: 1,560
Thanks: 425
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎04-06-2009

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

I've always said that - you have no idea who it is calling you and with the ability these days to disguise phone numbers it's even more difficult to trust the company is who they say they are.

Why can't the password system work both ways?

MauriceC
Resting Legend
Posts: 4,085
Thanks: 929
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

I think that you are answering the wrong problem @Gandalf.   The real question in this and at least one other thread is "Why are Plusnet cold calling customers without checking their contact preferences?"

In this age of bogus calls, making unrequested "Service" calls and then requiring the responder to pass "DPA security checks" is just plain stupid!  Many, if not most Users have unchecked the preference to allow calls by phone but they still get called.  This practice has the potential to escalate into something much bigger if sufficient people refer to the ICO.

 

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

@MauriceC Whilst I appreciate what you're suggesting that is not the question asked by the original poster in this thread and is already a topic of discussion in the thread you've linked to.

Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
MauriceC
Resting Legend
Posts: 4,085
Thanks: 929
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

I think you're splitting hairs @Chris

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

I don't think so, although I do agree it's a good point you've made, there is an ongoing thread discussing the point you've mentioned and that is not what the OP started this thread for. Discussing that in this thread would duplicate the ongoing conversation and take this thread off-track.

Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
ITWorks
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 2,107
Thanks: 756
Fixes: 9
Registered: ‎05-11-2008

Re: Just had a call from plusnet


@Gandalf wrote:

Hi there,

Sorry to hear you're not happy with our data protection process.

We have to protect our customers data on outbound calls as much as on inbound calls, because we need to verify the person we're speaking to is the account holder or an authorised user of the account.

@Gandalf On the flip side the customer also needs to verify (whilst on the call) who is calling before giving out personal information.

At the moment PN want to verify they are speaking with the correct person, with out easily allowing the other person to verify it is PN calling, that seem to be the problem at  the moment.

One idea, when you call the customer, before the customer gives any personal information you send them a text/email that contains a few characters of their username and a quick message like  "Hi this is (name) calling from PN "

That way i think the customer is more likely to talk to PN and give details 

 

Regards
Mike

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Gandalf
Community Gaffer
Community Gaffer
Posts: 26,563
Thanks: 10,265
Fixes: 1,599
Registered: ‎21-04-2017

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

Thanks for the feedback Mike, I'll pass it on.

From 31st October 2022, I no longer have a regular presence here as I’ve moved on to a new role.
Anoush Mortazavi
Plusnet
Petard
Rising Star
Posts: 140
Thanks: 23
Registered: ‎22-08-2011

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

Balb0wa: "... they have sent me a message in the member centre , saying i failed the data protection".

I think that is an outrageous interpretation. You have not failed in any way at all. You have been wise enough not to give security details to someone who rang you out of the blue. If anyone has failed, it is Plusnet, who have failed to prove to you that they are who they say they are.

Boooo!

HarryB
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 5,199
Thanks: 1,466
Fixes: 256
Registered: ‎25-03-2015

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

@Petard - While I understand going through DPA checks off the back off an unexpected phone call can be a tricky situation, if a customer refuses to go through DPA checks for any reason, we couldn't put that down as passing DPA and continue to discuss the account.

 

Personally, I would have gone with something along the lines of "Customer refused to go through DPA checks" but it is not incorrect that a customer failed to go through DPA checks if they refused to pass these on the call.

If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Harry Beesley
 Plusnet
Petard
Rising Star
Posts: 140
Thanks: 23
Registered: ‎22-08-2011

Re: Just had a call from plusnet

@HarryB - As far as I can see, there is nothing a caller can say that will prove who he is. Whatever he knows he could have learnt from a data breach. Enough such breaches have been reported - and those are just the ones we know about. Companies often keep them secret.

It follows that the only safe thing we can do is not tell callers sensitive data. If the call is important, then we should ring the company back on a published number  to be sure whom we're speaking to. If the call is unimportant, then it should not be made, since, as this thread shows, it just causes problems.

Can you confirm that the calls being talked about in Plusnet's forums now are important, and are not 'sugging' - selling under the guise of research (etc.)?

MauriceC
Resting Legend
Posts: 4,085
Thanks: 929
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Just had a call from plusnet


@HarryB wrote:

Personally, I would have gone with something along the lines of "Customer refused to go through DPA checks" but it is not incorrect that a customer failed to go through DPA checks if they refused to pass these on the call.


@HarryB  As a representative of Plusnets opinion I think you may be treading on some very  thin ice here.  There is a world of difference between refusing to respond with account details and failing  to pass DPA.  Some future analysis of account details may well categorise these two responses differently and not to the advantage of the account holder?

 

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.