Hello to everyone - The Book-keepers Forum (UK)

jhonwasting · Newbie

Hello to everyone

Wella · Expert

I'll say it again.

Maybe I'm catching Peasies cynicism but it seems strange to me that this intro and the previous intro lead to debt advice websites

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Morning Bill,

I think that it's inherent in the nature of financial professionals that we have an element of mistrust.

Weird that we've had three of these within 24 hours. Must mean that our little community is becoming popular.

Have you noticed that all of the posts share the same bad grammar making me think that these are not UK based!

Rhianrach · Expert

I'm thinking bots.

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Hi Steve,

but if it was automated you would expect the authors to at least have got the grammar correct!

Personally I'm just thinking that the guy whose posting these is barking up completely the wrong tree.

Actually, whilst we're on this matter. I keep getting automated calls from these irritants and when I do it interrupts my broadband connection.

I always thought that with broadband you should be able to take a call and stay on the internet but that isn't proving to be the case with my setup.

Have you had problems with that? If so, do you have any idea how to get around it so that phone calls don't trash your connection?

Rhianrach · Expert

What have you got and who are you with, there is no way that your calls should interrupt your interweb.
We have cable so the phone line and interweb are pretty much seperate entities, if I remeber rightly when we were with BT on an adsl setup you needed to have filters in place.

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Hi Steve,

cheers for that.

Yep, I'm Virgin Net through BT / ADSL / Filters but regardless of the filters calls still interrupt the service.

I can live with it as it's a dedicated line for the internet rather than my normal phone line but companies such as these just have auto dialers and keep going until they hit live phone lines so at least once a day I get the "Have you taken out a loan" or "This is a free information message" or "We are currently offering free kitchen design"... Who the heck would ever pay for anyone to design their kitchen!

Wella · Expert

Hi Shaun

Have you registered the number with the telephone preference service?

I use to have this problem, went on line entered the telephone number and a few other details and have not had a problem since.

I do occasionally get one after signing up to something (ususally on line) but just ask them to take me off their list.

Bill

Forgot to add, if you follow one of the links on these intros it takes you to, what I think is a U.S. site

-- Edited by Wella on Sunday 16th of May 2010 01:33:29 PM

Peasie · Expert

I'm with the telephone preference service - it makes no difference anymore as I still get the calls. Even from numbers like 11118. I might even have mentioned these weird numbers on here.

Strangely enough I also get disconnected after some calls. I'd always assumed I was clumsily doing it myself by accident. I've reverted to an old fashioned Speedtough 330 modem as I was having hassle with a router and have never got round to sorting. I thought I was maybe pulling the USB plug out by accident. So maybe I'm not going mad after all.

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Cheers Bill, cheers Peasie,

I'll definitely sign up for the service even if it doesn't filter all of them.

Since I posted I began to question why I was accepting this level of service so spoke to a nice person at BT about the problems that I'm having.

Apparently this is something that happens with old style sockets (Anything more than about five years ago) that are not fitted with a capacitor.

Someone will be calling around on Monday to replace my socket and then fingers crossed this problem will go away.

I'll let you know if it works.

Shaun.

Wella · Expert

The telephone preference service is, I believe a voluntary code of practice that the majority of UK companies sign up to. Basically a data list is sent out about once a month to these companies and they set their systems not to call numbers on the list.

The only time I have had calls after signing up is when I have filled in something like an online registration form, this often generates a new cold call for a few days, then they stop. If you ask the cold call company to remove your number from their caller list, I believe they are legally obliged to do so.

These type of calls are really annoying but if they happen when you are not too busy, you can have some real sport with the caller!! Try turning the tables and sell them something!

Bill

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Funny you should mention that Bill!

I had a call a few days back from a bank that I've developed systems for in the past trying to get me to move over to their business account.

I was very friendly with the guy but completely twisted him up in knots especially when I informed him that nobody in the back office who developed and maintained the IT systems actually banked with the company!

Of course, I let him put two and two together and come up with five rather than tell him the truth that if you work in banking then going into the red is a real no no so as much as possible you hide your private affairs from the bank by using a different one (they could find out if they wanted to but they don't tend to bother if it means any effort on their part).

From his perspective though after talking to me for five mins I'm sure that he's now lost all faith in the product that he's selling... Thinks, my work here is done!

I had a visit today and I've now got a capacitor enhanced socket which has survived me phoning myself to see whether it breaks the connection.

I'll keep you informed as to whether I get any more problems but it's so far, so good at the moment... Of course, that's also what the person who fell off a skyscraper was heard to say as he went past each floor!!!

Shaun.