Get rid of those unsolicited phone calls
with TPS - Telephone Preference Service

 
This morning I received yet another phone call from a double glazing company.  I received one yesterday from a kitchen company.

However when I complained to them they informed me that they couldn't remove my name and that I should be registered with TPS.  I immediately dialled 100 and the operator put me through to the Telephone Privacy section.  I am now registered with TPS AND I get Caller Display FREE!
( Previously I have been paying ?1.50 per month for that!!)

Have YOU been getting lots of unwanted phone calls from telephone marketing companies trying to sell you everything from double glazing to loans or credit cards? Well there is a solution now ? BT have brought out their new free Telephone Preference Service (TPS). They introduced it in July and they have already signed up over one million customers to the service.

What does TPS do? 
So  what does it actually  do for you? When you register for the service, your name is taken off the databases that are used by the majority of telephone marketing companies that try to sell all those unwanted products.

There has been a massive growth in the number of unsolicited calls as firms use the latest technology to make sales calls more frequently ? they use what are called automatic diallers that are based on large computers and these have all the phone numbers for a specific area.

The automatic dialler works by  dialling up the numbers continuously. When it rings and you pick up the phone, this call is put through to someone in the call centre, who will then engage you in that time-wasting and annoying sales patter. If all the team  in the call centre are on the phone at the specific time when the call to your number is put through by the automatic dialler, then you get that really annoying [and to some people, frightening ] dead silence.

 How does TPS work in practice? 

BT decided to take out the hassle for those signing up to the TPS, as it already has most of its customers details on record already. All that you have to do is call a freephone number ? 0800 121 8000 ? and BT will do the rest. It has also waived the ?1.75 a month charge for its caller ID service ? showing on your phone the phone number of the person who is calling you.

 A spokesman for BT explains: ?We had been getting about 130,000 complaints a month from people about unwanted and nuisance calls, so we decided to act and make it easier for people to get off these databases.?

The TPS is run by the Direct Marketing Association [DMA]. There is a legal requirement for companies to check their databases against the TPS, which can be contacted directly if you prefer on 0845 070 0707 or via their website at www.tpsonline.org.uk. Once you sign up, then firms have 28 days to delete your details from their files.

How complicated is it to arrange the TPS with BT?

All that you have to do is phone BT on 0800 121 8000 and confirm your details. You will be asked if you require caller ID [which is definitely worthwhile, but will only work if your phone incorporates a screen that is able to show the numbers] as well as TPS. You will then be requested to confirm that you require the service. The entire process takes under 2 minutes, and your details will be removed from the database in 28 days ? so it will be good-bye to those unwanted calls.