One of the things I like about my mobile phone is that it doesn’t ring that much. I use it primarily for work and the occasional personal call, but otherwise, it remains silent and that suits me just fine. However…
A company will begin offering a directory service from next week that allows people to find the mobile phone numbers of people they don’t know.
Run by 118800, it will cost £1 and use databases of numbers it said are freely available for purchase and in the public domain.
Anyone searching for a number can type the name and location of the person into the 118800 website.
It claims to have some 15m numbers in its database.
Oh, bugger. I managed to silence the unsolicited calls on the landline and now it looks as if it will start up all over again on the mobile.
118800 gets numbers from three sources. First, market research companies who contact individuals and ask if they would be prepared to allow their numbers to be used for commercial purposes.
Second, from online businesses who often ask customers to tick boxes during the normal course of online transactions.
Thirdly, 118800 gets them from brokers who buy and sell lists of phone numbers.
I never talk to market research companies. However, I cannot be 100% sure that I have not ticked a box somewhere and let my number leak out at some point in the past. I do occasionally give my number to people I do business with just in case they need to contact me regarding the order. I will be extremely annoyed if I find that a number given in confidence is now being traded on the open market.
The first unsolicited caller will be treated to a short sharp response.
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Update: I just checked their database and it seems that I am not on it. Jolly good.
I don’t give my mobile number to anyone, as I only use it for outgoing calls in emergencies and it is usually switched off.
For me it’s an essential business tool, particularly if I need to find a new client I haven’t visited before. I wouldn’t be without it. However, I don’t want any Tom Dick or Harry calling me up.
The first right through to the Nth will receive a short rude 2 word response of which the second word will be ‘off’, followed by being hung up on.
Unsolicited phone ads are not accepted in my house.
I’m aware it’s going to be some poorly paid schmuck doing the phoning, but perhaps, just perhaps if their logs show they were told to fuck off 593 times today, the company paying them to do so may just rethink?!
Anyway tough shit. If you don’t want people being rude to you then don’t do telesales, or become an MP.