VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

So last night I get a phone call to my mobile. Claims to be on behalf of Virgin Media and clearly from overseas. "I have an offer for you on your TV service"

They then want to take me through security, and want two letters from my password.

Now call me paranoid, but, this is a cold call. They have called me, I don't actually know it is Virgin Media, they just claim it is.

I could give out these two password letters. And I know that by itself isn't a problem. But in a couple of weeks when I've forgotten about this, somebody else calls, and again I give out two different letters. Doesn't take too much for people to start to be able to predict my password.

Now if I use that or similar passwords elsewhere (I'm trying to avoid this, but to be honest there are now so many places that we use passwords that inevitably a pattern forms), things get more vulnerable.

So Virgin Media, if you want to make me an offer that is too good to refuse, perhaps, if you must cold call (by the way I thought I was opted out of such stuff). Just describe the offer. If I want it I can call back on a number that I recognise, and then I'll be happy to do your security.

Oh and by the way, I deal with all companies the same way, especially credit card when I get called to apparently check an unexpected transaction.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

The thing is, if everyone responded to cold calls by saying they were not interested and put the phone down, the call centre sales teams would go out of business, the fraudsters would get fed up and go back to robbing banks and we would all get some peace.

Well, unless you're a banker of course! :D

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

I believe the reason they ask for security immediately is that if they start describing the offer without doing so e.g. 'Upgrade to TV XL for only £5' or something, it could be classed as disclosing details of the state of your account at present, which is then breaking DPA rules.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

it should be a two way street - if they want Customers to prove who they are then its only reasonable that ' they prove who they are '

it should be dead easy to store a ' caller password ' so that they can use it when they call.

for far too long Companies hide behind the DPA even although the act is there to protect Customers.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

How on earth would offering a discounted cable package come up against the Data Protection Act???

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

The DPA is about releasing information to 3rd parties. If you call someone up and immediately launch into a discussion about what upgrades are on offer, then they are specific to where the account is at present - therefore you are releasing details about the account.

It's been several years since I was on the phone, but when I was we had rules that unless it was straight away if we called someone back after they had called in, we had to do DPA again as potentially we could end up speaking to the wrong person.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

No, the DPA is about releasing personal, identifiable information.

Talking about an offer doesn't need protection.

I can understand the company wanting to make sure they are talking to the correct person, but wrapping it up in the "DPA" label is like blaming everything on that evil Europe.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

Absolutely right - I've taken to asking these callers to quote two letters from my password to me, and I'll quote two back at them... or something similar.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

Sorry, my error in my reply.

But what is 'personal information' can still be fairly wide:

http://ico.org.uk/for_organisations/...nce_guide.ashx

So to me unless the offer has no direct connection to the existing account e.g. 'pay this standard price for Sky Sports that everyone can get' then it's a personal offer e.g. 'we're offering you Talk Unlimited because we can see your call usage is high' and would be considered 'related to' or 'used to inform or influence actions of' an identifiable individual.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

Or maybe... 'If you are trying to sell something to me, press 1. If you want to know what I think of your company, press 2. If you want to know whether I have signed up to the preference service and your call is unlawful, press 3. If you want to make a donation......etc.

I am getting seriously fed up with cold callers, as you may appreciate!

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

I would never deal that way anyway from any cold call. I might have lost the odd good deal but doubt is more than four or five and they were hardly worth a fortune if they were genuine.

Much happier to say no thanks to cold callers.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

It's not always unlawful.

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/...lls/#stopcalls

Also, TPS registration does not work if you have previously given a firm permission to market to you by phone.

You may have done this without even realising. For example, some forms include a tick box which allows you to opt-in, or in some cases opt-out, of direct marketing by that organisation.

By opting-in (or not opting-out) you may inadvertently have agreed to receive sales and marketing calls, even though your number is registered with the TPS.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

I have NEVER been contacted in this way by phone by VM.I get emails instead informing me of any offers or they mail me.So I too would be wondering why they had phoned me and asked for my details.:confused:

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

I have been with Virgin for 4 years now and i am hounded to the extreme. Every week i get personal mobile phone offers, i have no idea why as i have told them time and time again to remove me from the mailing lists and that i am in a mobile contact elsewhere. They have now taken to calling me trying to get me to upgrade to Sky Sports or movies with exclusive offers. These exclusive offers are not so exclusive as they have been quoted on here (3 month half price movies and sports). I explained to the pushy woman i have no interest in either and she said something along the lines of what about when your friends come over and want to watch movies or sports. That just made my angry and i terminated the call.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

Block the number?

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

If when they've phoned you've asked them to take your number off of their list but they continue to phone then report the matter to Ofcom.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

I keep getting these calls both on my home phone and mobile phone, I don't answer them but there is not a chance that I would disclose any details from my password if they rang me, the fact they are ringing the number registered against my account should be enough, I did it with barclaycard too, they rang me questioning a transaction on my account and I refused to give them security details, I then rang them back on the number I have registered for them, if VM want to sell me anything I have registered email address and a postal address they should use them.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

I opt out of all such rubbish and never give my details out (particularly landline). Also register with TPS. The only company that used to pester me was VM. I had opted out but they have my phone no since they're my phone company. They stopped eventually but it took a complaint.

There's no way they'd be offering you a 'deal' unless they thought it was going to make them money. They were trying to get me to upgrade my phone package - quoting last months usage. True I had used the phone a bit in the previous month due a family crisis, but they conveniently ignored the 12 months before that ! The only decent deals I have got are via retentions when i've been out of contract, on phone calls which I've initiated.

Nothing good ever came from a cold call.

---------- Post added at 13:33 ---------- Previous post was at 13:30 ----------

Except that VM charge for Caller Display, unlike BT. So you'd in effect be paying VM to stop there own marketing calls !

Ring CS and opt out -they have to comply or they're in trouble.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

BT do and always have charged for Caller Display.

They previously had an offering called BT Privacy with Caller Display which was free but this now has a charge of £1.75 per month.

You can still get this offering free but you are required to commit to stay with BT for your landline for a further 12 months. This 12 month period is separate from any Line Rental Saver period of 12 months.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

BT had a place on their website that if you registered with the TPS via it, you were rewarded you with free caller ID. Not sure if it still exists but I get caller ID for free since then.

Worth a look.

Any caller that does not reveal their number gets to talk to the answer phone or blocked by the junk number system on my phone.

Re: VM Marketing Cold Calls & Customer Security
 

My post describes exactly what you suggest and the current situation.