Beat Cold Callers & Junk Mail

HiTecK

Administrator
Staff member
Courtesy of.

junkphone.jpg

How to stop junk calls

Under government regulation it is illegal for UK companies to call any individual who has indicated they don't want the calls. To do this you simply join the telephone preference service register, it takes about 28 days after registering for all to be stopped.

The calls it won't stop

Sadly this won't stop all calls. If you are being plagued by competition calls sometimes these are just the product of random number generators. These can be a plague, they call lots of numbers in the hope that some get through. The best thing to do here is to write the number down and then submit a complaint to the regulator PhonePayPlus (it used to be called Icstis) to get it blocked.
If you're getting silent calls, which can be generated by automatic dialling equipment in call centres, you can register with the Silent Callgard Service.
It's also possible you'll receive commercial calls from companies based outside the UK. There's very little that can be done to stop these and they can be annoying and frustrating. The best thing to do is not engage in a discussion, or some MoneySavers suggest pretending you don't speak English discuss Ways to stop overseas sales calls.
Another way to avoid receiving sales calls at home is to set up a free VOIP telephone number. Read MoneySaver Thenotsowyzewun's short guide on How to avoid nuisance calls.
Never pay to block these calls

There are reports of companies setting themselves up with names similar to the Telephone Preference Service and then writing or calling offering to block marketing calls. This however entails a fee.
There is no need to pay, do it right and it is ALWAYS free. If you get a call from someone asking for personal details or payment to complete a registration, hang up and inform the official TPS.
 
How to stop unwanted mail

junkletter.jpg
There are two different types of junk mail we tend to receive, and both can be stopped. It depends on whether the letters have your name and address on or they're just distributed by the Post Office.
Addressed mail through the post

All members of the Direct Marketing Association agree to a Code of Practice not to send junk mail to any individual who has indicated they don't want it. To stop the junk you simply join the mail preference service register, it takes up to 4 months for the Service to have full effect although you should notice a reduction of the mail before that period.

  • Web: The easiest (and cheapest way) is MPSOnline
  • Phone: 0845 703 4599
Unaddressed leaflets and mail

The other common types of junk are leaflets, flyers and other unaddressed post which is delivered by the Royal Mail. It's possible to opt out of this too, although it does affect all unaddressed items as Royal Mail is not able to know which items are wanted and which are not. It takes about 6 weeks for the items to stop being delivered.

  • Post: Freepost RRBT-ZBXB-TTTS, Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Out, Kingsmead House, Oxpens Road, Oxford, OX1 1RX
  • Email: optout@royalmail.com and you'll then be sent a form
  • Web Details: Door to Door opt out
pencil.png
 
How to stop cold callers

junkcoldcalls.jpg


How to stop cold callers



There’s nothing more frustrating than people knocking on your door when you don’t want to be sold things. First remember you don't have to let them in, but there are more protections too.

  • You have a 7 day cooling off period. Buy something and the 'the doorstep selling regulations' mean you have a 7 day cooling off period on all goods you buy over £35.
  • Energy salesmen must obey ‘no cold caller signs’. Energy sales people are rife, promising to save you money (some even outrageously say they’re backed by ‘Martin Lewis’ or this site), yet it's the worse way to switch energy (do it right via the Cheap Gas & Elec guide).

    However in May 2010, after pressure from Consumer Focus & Trading standards, the big six energy companies agreed their sales people would not knock on doors with “no cold caller” signs (get a free one below). If they persist, note down their name & employee number and report them to the company and Trading Standards.
  • No cold caller signs are a good way to say no. If you have got a no cold caller sign, and someone knocks, you can simply point at it and say, ut hmm, “please read the sign and go away”.

Free Printable MSE 'No Cold Callers' Sign

Print the Free MSE cold callers sticker
THERE ARE TWO VERSIONS PER PAGE: BIG & SMALL

Use whichever you prefer
While the print out is colour, we’ve specifically designed it for easy printing in black & white too.

Where to stick it?

The best place is on your front door, but as it's a print out the colour may run. One option for the small one is sellotape over it, or put it in a clear plastic folder and stick that.

Alternatively if you’ve glass doors, or windows near enough your front door, stick it on the inside to protect from bad weather.
Tips to protect against any door to door seller

  • Remember you don't have to let them in
  • Ask to see the salesperson's official ID and find out exactly where they're from
  • Don't sign anything even if they're only offering a quote
  • A trader must advise you in writing that you can cancel any contract, if they don't they can't hold you to anything in the contract.
More info at Consumer Direct.
 
How to stop unwanted texts

junksms.jpg
Reverse billed text messages, where you get charged for receiving a text to your phone, are becoming increasingly common with people being scammed out of £100s, without realising until it's too late.
However sending texts to people who have explicitly specified they don't want them is unlawful. If you're receiving a premium rate text messages then it's easy to stop them.
phone.GIF
If this fails, get in touch with your network provider and asking them to stop the messages. If you're still tearing your hair out as a last resort get in touch with the premium rate regulator PhonePayPlus and it'll investigate your complaint.
Reclaiming the charges

If you believe you never signed up for the service you can attempt to get a refund either from the service provider or your network provider. To do this you will need to find out the details of the service provider who is sending you the texts, which can be done using PhonePayPlus's number checker.
pencil.png
 
Stopping spam e-mails

junkspam.jpg

Stopping spam e-mails

'How can I stop spam?' is sadly the million dollar question which has no million dollar answer. There isn't really a solution that works perfectly.
Think carefully about how much you block

Blocking spam is a balance, there are many software packages that help to do it, but ultimately it's a trade off between losing legitimate e-mails (such as Martin's Money Tips weekly email!) if they're incorrectly filtered, or keeping more email and having to manually delete spam.
Technology is a quickly evolving entity and as such new ways to generate spam are always being developed, making it difficult to keep on top of. Remember, spam works, someone somewhere is clicking on it - and even one in a million people may mean they earn money.
The best place to start deleting spam is by using the tools available from your own e-mail provider; spam filters and rules are reasonably effective at blocking spam. There are free 'mail washing' programmes that you can use, as explained in detail in the Free Anti-virus Software guide. You can also discuss tips and impacts with other MoneySavers in the Techie Stuff Forum Board.
pencil.png
 
This is what i hate .....every morning i get up around 6.15 for work by 6.30 theres a sticker dropped in my door some crowd wanting old clothes,apparently to help people in the 3rd world etc,now there are genuine collectors but we also have the collectors that make a pretty profit from this and the 3rd world see nothing of this...just recently 2 of these collector "gangs" here in Cork were threading on each others patches...... on a very busy road one morning recently 2 vans stopped and they had a very violent altercation regarding this,so moh has a sticker on his letterbox "no junk mail " but they continuously dropped these stickers in....so moh waited one morning for the eastern european to arrive and as he was about to drop this in my door i opened it and guess what,, i no longer get them :)
 
Back
Top