Threatening phone calls - can NTL trace 'anonymous' callers?

boxinghris · 20-11-2006, 19:28

Hi all,

Below is a copy of an enquiry I've just emailed to NTL, but perhaps someone on these forums might be able to assist?

The message I just sent is the following;

"An anonymous caller has been ringing a friend of my partner, making
threats in regard to my partner.
My partner's friend has call-barring on his NTL phone service and so
assumed that once the caller had finished their call. it would be possible
for him to dial 1471 and find out the caller's number. However, this was
not possible and we have since found out that calls from a broadband
connection can get through the call-barring service and remain anonymous.
At this point, what I need to know is whether it would be possible for NTL
to find out the number of the anonymous caller if we gave you the date and
approximate time of the call.
We are reporting these calls to the police and in due course they will
contact you themselves, but if you could at least let me know whether you
are able to help, I can inform the police that they should contact you and
it would of course provide some assurance to my partner that there could
be a successful conclusion to the problem.
If you confirm that you can in fact find out the caller's number, I can
arrange for my partner's friend to correspond with you directly so you
know exactly who you are dealing with."

Since sending this message I've since realised that the NTL 'call-barring' service relates to outgoing calls rather than incoming, whereas the service my partner's friend has prevents anyone from concealing their number.

Basically, if anyone tried to call him while concealing their own number they don't get through, which is why he assumed the caller making threats to my partner had neglected to conceal his number - if only.

As I stated in the message above, we've since been informed that calls made via broadband do get through and can have the caller's number withheld, but will NTL still have a record of the caller that they can give to either the receiver of the threatening call or the police?

Thanks in advance for any help - as you can imagine we are quite keen to find the identity of this low-life before he has chance to follow through his threats.

Best Regards,
Chris.

20-11-2006, 19:30

sounds nasty hope you find the culprit

Paul K · 20-11-2006, 19:31

NTL should have a department that deals with this sort of call and yes they can track the calls. BT has a similar department that deals with nothing but nuisance calls.

Fingy · 20-11-2006, 20:10

They can also ask customer care to put anon call barring on the line.

boxinghris · 20-11-2006, 20:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fingy

They can also ask customer care to put anon call barring on the line.

That's something which could be useful for future calls, but I really want to find out who made one particular earlier call.

Fingy · 20-11-2006, 21:14

I very much doubt you will be able to as all they would be able to do at most would be to put a LUC on the line now to monitor calls.

lostandconfused · 21-11-2006, 02:42

ntl do have a nuisance calls bureau that deal with it, but as im aware they only deal with the police so it would have to be them to get in touch with ntl through official channels

sterritt · 21-11-2006, 13:09

lostandconfued is correct its against the law for ntl to give out details on anon calls they can only give these details to police.

hatedbythemail · 21-11-2006, 14:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by sterritt

lostandconfued is correct its against the law for ntl to give out details on anon calls they can only give these details to police.

can vouch for that. got a death threat last year and ntl wouldnt release details. i reported to the police who were quite sympathetic; we had a chat and learnt i wasn't the only one to have received such a call from some idiot with a scouse accent that week. the things some people do to keep themselves amused eh.

but i was lucky. hope they catch this bugger - but you need to get the police involved

boxinghris · 21-11-2006, 17:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by hatedbythemail

can vouch for that. got a death threat last year and ntl wouldnt release details. i reported to the police who were quite sympathetic; we had a chat and learnt i wasn't the only one to have received such a call from some idiot with a scouse accent that week. the things some people do to keep themselves amused eh.

but i was lucky. hope they catch this bugger - but you need to get the police involved

Thanks all for the input - appreciated.

We did get the police involved last night and if any more calls are made we are to inform them, and they are quite confident that even if the caller is withholding their number by whatever means, it will be possible to trace the number.

Of course, if the caller has an unregistered mobile we're back to square one, although I'd imagine it would also be possible to find out what location the phone was at when the call was made.

I hope I do catch the bugger - my partner's car had a screwdriver rammed through the radiator a few days ago so it's not just some idiot making threats from the compfort of his sofa.

Jules · 22-11-2006, 13:05

Good luck I hope you get it sorted

**Paul** · 22-11-2006, 13:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by boxinghris

We did get the police involved last night and if any more calls are made we are to inform them, and they are quite confident that even if the caller is withholding their number by whatever means, it will be possible to trace the number.

As long as the call was routed through all digital exchanges then yes, the originating number can be traced very easily, just the same as if you dial 999 they can see your number, even if you have 'withheld' it.

tweetiepooh · 23-11-2006, 16:34

I helped develope the system used by NCB in ntl and we most certainly can get nearly all caller ID's. (I won't say what the exceptions are).

You will need to go through the police and then ntl can place the appropriate action on your line. The caller ID is know as soon as the connection is made whether or not you answer.