Phone No.

[yesman]

I keep on getting calls from this number 08001218132, I have done a search on here, but to no avail.

Is there any way of finding out who it might be without ringing the number back ?

It didn't come up on google either..

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by yesman

I keep on getting calls from this number 08001218132, I have done a search on here, but to no avail.

Is there any way of finding out who it might be without ringing the number back ?

It didn't come up on google either..

Try typing it with a space after the 0800, it goes to somebody's blog by the look of it, sadly I can't access that site from here

[Marge]

Have a look here

http://www.dynamoo.com/diary/lbm-direct-marketing.htm

[gazzae]

I called it for you.

Its these people

http://www.dgplc.com/index.html

We've been getting sales calls from Powergen for the last week or so, that's been an 0800 number, when the phone rings there is no one there for a few seconds then all of a sudden there's a voice, I just put the phone down.

Originally Posted by gazzae

I called it for you.

Its these people

http://www.dgplc.com/index.html

you have to be impressed

Within our support services we held over ten million telephone conversations and mailed 79 million items of post.

- right

[djstevie]

Originally Posted by gazzae

I called it for you.

Its these people

http://www.dgplc.com/index.html

If it is that number then a quick look at the original posters services, indicate he has Sky. This is a company that Sky use for insurance on their digiboxes.

[Gareth]

Originally Posted by Nidge

We've been getting sales calls from Powergen for the last week or so, that's been an 0800 number, when the phone rings there is no one there for a few seconds then all of a sudden there's a voice, I just put the phone down.

Yep, it's called "silent calls" and happens because it's an automated calling system that dials the numbers rather than a person. If the phone isn't answered then the system will disconnect the call and dial the next number. If, however, it's answered, then the system transfers the line to the company's call centre staff who will try and sell you something.

The problem is that sometimes there's a slight delay between when the call gets transferred and an operator is ready to speak to you - what you're getting by the sound of it. Worse, however, is when the company doesn't have enough staff to answer the calls, as the automated system will take back the line if an operator doesn't pick up within a certain time, and usually it will then just drop the call completely. To the receiver of the call, however, it's as if nobody is there, or someone is there and is messing about. For old people, especially, this can cause anxiety.

To put it into perspective, BT had approx 80,000 complaints about silent calls at the beginning of 2006! If this is the number who bothered to complain, imagine how many people are affected but just put up with it.

However, Ofcom do have regulations to combat silent calls, such as no more that 3% of calls over a 24 hour period should end up as silent calls. They've also stipulated that companies must have a recorded message that kicks in after 2 seconds of silence, that not only names the company calling, but also offers an 0800 or an 0845 number that people can call to request their number be removed from the company's list of callers. Also, calls unanswered within 15 seconds must be terminated. Any person that ends up with a silent call must also not be called within 72 hours unless it is by a real person and not an automated system.

Despite this, it's still a problem. I'm only aware of a handful of companies that have been fined for persistently having silent calls - Carphone Warehouse were fined £35,000 and Toucan got stung for £32,500. The maximum fine a company can receive, per notification from Ofcom, is £50,000.

[yesman]

Had the call again today. After about 2/3 seconds when nobody said anything I put the phone down, however, about 3/4 minutes later I went to make a phone call of my own and guess what, they were still on the line.

This is getting silly now