Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?

[BankFodder]

Are you being harassed on the telephone by your bank or by debt collectors?

 

Stop being a victim

 

Turn the tables

 

Record your calls

 

It’s legal – and you don’t have to warn the other side.

Use the recordings for your own use such as evidence for the police or a private court case.

 

Assist the media in the preparation of public-interest exposures of bad practice.

 

 

 

We are hearing more and more about harassment by telephone. It is a relentless and upsetting experience.

 

 

Only recently the Halifax Bank was involved in a court case and it seems that they paid an out of court settlement in order to bring the matter to an end.

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Devon | Woman settles Halifax stress case

 

 

But there are indications that this Halifax approach to debt collection is continuing and that a similar style is used by many other organisations.

 

 

You may be a victim of this but you don’t need to be.

• Do you feel under siege from repeated telephone calls received throughout the day and evening at over the weekends?
  
• Are you frightened to answer your own phone?
  
• Are you refusing to answer any calls where there is no recognisable caller-ID?
  
• Are you receiving calls from numbers which only give automated messages when you call back.
  
• Are you being harangued and upset by unpleasant collection agency staff?
  
• Are you being required to give confidential identification details to anonymous callers?
  

Don’t put up with it any more.

 

 

Keep a log and start recording your calls.

 

 

If you use Skype as your telephone system then you can use a number of telephone recording programs.

 

We think that CallBurner is very good and we have managed to obtain a big 20% promotional discount for CAG Users.

 

 

We will soon be announcing a recorder which will record calls from your ordinary landline telephone as well.

 

More details of CallBurner and the CAG landline recorder coming soon.

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/announcement.php?f=119&a=96

 

 

 

.

Edited November 14, 2008 by BankFodder

[BankFodder]

Have you seen the review of the TrueCall telephone recorder?

 

Steve4064 has been testing one and he thinks that this might be exactly what people might need to fight the problem of unlawful harassment on the telephone. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/telephone-recorders-reviews-write/167120-truecall-digital-telephone-recorder.html

 

In fact it is far more that a telephone recorder. You can use it to manage all of your incoming calls - including those which you don't want to receive.

 

We'll be running more tests on this machine over the coming weeks. However, it looks very good indeed.

 

One warning - it isn't cheap. About £100 for the fully featured model. there is a modified model which offers fewer features but which will still record all of your calls. We are waiting to learn the price of this model.

 

In addition to all of the useful features of the TrueCall, - call recorder, answering machine, call screener, etc, it records digitally - on a standard memory card.

 

This makes it very easy for you to transfer your sound files as evidence to your lawyer or to get them transcribed.

 

Our special offer to you is that if you can supply us with any recorded sound files of harassing phone calls, we will get them transcribed for you free of charge so that you have the evidence on paper as well as in a sound file.

We will also assist you to bring your complaint of telephone harassment.

[Watchout]

All my calls come to my mobile. Is it possible to record mobile telephone conversations?

[BankFodder]

Not with the TrueCall.

 

You would have either to use some facility witin the phone itself or get a recording device which allows you to attach a microphone - maybe by means of a stickypad to the body of the phone itself.

 

the TrueCall will monitor, manage and record calls on fix lines and in somecase on voip phones too - but not mobiles.

[TheMike]

I use Solicall. The software version is free. They also do another version for the hardware world but I don't know much about it, I'm afraid.

 

I use it in conjunction with Voipfone (software phone). For a one-off payment of a euro I got myself a number to accept incoming calls to Voipfone.

 

I recently had phone calls from Virgin regarding a direct debit they had failed to use - they were chasing around 18 mths worth of payments. I immediately asked them to call my voip number and informed them it would be recorded.

 

Always good to tell them as it puts them on the backfoot and ensures they are more careful about what they say.

 

I also use Solicall to record podcasts.

Edited November 16, 2008 by ukaviator
Commercial Link Removed

[naughtykitten]

you can also register specific numbers with optout

 

I think it costs around £5 then you let them know when a certain number calls & if they continue to call after optout have contacted them, it gets escalated. I was getting calls once a day from 2 seperate numbers & it took about a month for it to stop with optout & (touch wood) I haven't had any problems since.

 

I might add that this is a cheaper alternative to recording calls -marketing & other similar nuisance calls who have gotten hold of your number from wherever. I don't think it would work on companies if you hold a debt with them & they are chasing you for it -but then it may still be worth a try!

Edited November 26, 2008 by naughtykitten

[Jimbo1944]

My wife is being hounded by GE Money for money that has been paid and proved to have been paid to them. But despite giving them proof, contacting the Ombudsman and being told by their Complaints department that everything as on hold for four weeks while they carry out an investigation, she has now received a letter from the court.

 

Can anyone give me advice on what to do to get it through to GE Money that they have already had the money they are chasing????

[la2006]

(better to move this post to PAYDAY thread)

 

(I think) DCA are not allowed to call/ contact you with demands after 9PM. Would the same rules apply via e-mail? would that be classed unfair business practice. For a loan companie's collection department (based in the UK) to contact you with vague e-mails at certain times after 9PM at night.

 

I received a letter via post this morning stating the balance is a certain amount (03/01)

 

Well its saturday, (really in debt due to lost of job been anxiously waiting over the xmas period for Jan 5/6 if any work will come myway), I have a outstanding debt? ( by 2weeks) with a payday type loan. And I got a e-mail on Sat (03/01) at 23.09pm stating that more charges have me added and will be added, threatening me with legal action and debt collectors.from the Collections Department. The amount stated is higher from the letter i received only this morning by this the same company.I've already drafted a formal complaint letter regarding there charges and unfair things that they are trying on with me to be sent on Monday. Theres not much I can do at 23.09pm at night - the number they want me to call them on is a 0871 number.

 

( in addition must remember add the following to my complaint 0871, default fee £35,00, no default notice???,a £25 fee for something, £10 charges whenever they what to add by sending me a quick e-mail)I also complaining over the true costs of them trying to collect charges, sending four e-mail late at night on Saturday/ Sundays always after 9.30PM - 11.58PM and two template letters received a few days apart, and the orginal loan amount.(I add more details about this later)

Edited January 4, 2009 by la2006

[Big Fella]

Hi Watchout,

 

edited

 

I'm a protection officer and used the following to record calls to a principals mobile. Very simple to use, you can plug into both landline and mobile and the call clarity is excellent. The recorder is also very small and so fit's conveniently into your pocket.

 

Search for the following:

 

Products

Telehpone recording equipment for the recording lead

 

Then recording equipment for the recorder.

 

It's about £160 in total I seem to remember but if your looking for quality, it's of a high standard.

 

If you live in London, they're based in Portman Square.

 

Good luck.

 

Bf

Edited January 8, 2009 by jonni2bad
Link removed

[p4nd0rasb0x]

This might not be totally related to this thread, but hey ho.

A neighbour has just knocked on my door with a telephone number, she said theyve had several calls from this number saying that theyve tried delivery parcels to me and was she aware if i was still living there or not. Firstly this neighbour is ex directory so how they got her number ive no idea, and secondly why are they making what i can only describe as a 'dodgy' phonecall asking for my whereabouts etc..

Ive managed to trace the number to someone called Telegrams apparantly its connected to capquest.

Hmmmmmmmm.... their office is now closed, i shall be calling them first thing monday morning, then if i dont get a sufficiently satisfactory explanation from them then i shall take it further... what a bunch of muppets. grrrrrrrrrr

[tbs]

Hi today I checked my credit report to see that an inquiry against my report had been done by a company called Gothia. I googled them and they are a debt collection agency. Called them and they asked for my phone number and address (which I refused) I gave them my name but they said there was nothing on file under my name, And again asked for adddress.

 

Checked my credit report again, and have no defaults, have been advised of nothing in the post being late etc. But am now worried this could be something from my previous address (moved 1.75 yrs ago).

 

Could be coincidence but my wife had a knock on the door from what she thought were doorstep sales people, who only asked if we had a landline (we don't) so they went away. Is this linked, and what's going on ??