How one man turns annoying cold calls into cash

[Zoots]

Funny...


A man targeted by marketing companies is making money from cold calls with his own higher-rate phone number.

In November 2011 Lee Beaumont paid £10 plus VAT to set up his personal 0871 line - so to call him now costs 10p, from which he receives 7p.

The Leeds businessman told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme that the line had so far made £300.

Phone Pay Plus, which regulates premium numbers, said it strongly discouraged people from adopting the idea.

Mr Beaumont came up with the plan when he grew sick of calls offering to help him reclaim payment protection insurance (PPI), or install solar panels.

He said: "I don't use my normal Leeds number for anyone but my friends and family."

Once he had set up the 0871 line, every time a bank, gas or electricity supplier asked him for his details online, he submitted it as his contact number.

He added he was "very honest" and the companies did ask why he had a such a number.

He told the programme he replied: "Because I'm getting annoyed with PPI phone calls when I'm trying to watch Coronation Street so I'd rather make 10p a minute."

He said almost all of the companies he dealt with were happy to use it and if they refused he asked them to email.

Warning

The number of calls received by Mr Beaumont has fallen from between 20 and 30 a month to just 13 last month.

Because he works from home, Mr Beaumont has been able to increase his revenue by keeping cold callers talking - asking for more details about their services.

He admitted the scheme had changed his attitude, saying: "I want cold calls", and that he had moved on to encouraging companies to make contact.

After a recent problem with his online shopping, he declined to call an 0845 number but posted his number on Twitter in the knowledge that the number could be picked up by marketing companies.

But the premium number regulator Phone Pay Plus says the public should think twice before setting up their own lines.

They say phone line providers must meet consumer protection standards, which include transparency, fairness and complaint handling, which would mean clearly setting out the cost of each call to any organisation that rang.

They told You and Yours: "Premium rate numbers are not designed to be used in this way and we would strongly discourage any listeners from adopting this idea, as they will be liable under our code for any breaches and subsequent fines that result."

A survey for charity Citizens Advice found that two-thirds of those asked had received unwanted calls, texts, emails or letters about PPI mis-selling.

More than half said that they had been contacted more than 10 times in the past year.

Source: http://bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23869462

[Over Carl]

Even if he gets 7p/min which isn't explicitly stated, that adds up to £4.20/hr. Still not quite worth it but nice idea.

[freed0me]

Good idea haha.

In holland you have something called: bel me niet register. It means don't call me register. You can register there with your phone number. That way the call centers need to remove your number from their calling lists. It takes a time before it gets effective. But it's worth the effort.

[Mickey]

Might give it a go lol I hate them fuckers ringing me. Shame it cant be done to spam txts. I joined the tps and still I get them

[beerman]

Good idea haha.

In holland you have something called: bel me niet register. It means don't call me register. You can register there with your phone number. That way the call centers need to remove your number from their calling lists. It takes a time before it gets effective. But it's worth the effort.

We have the same in the UK. It's called the Telephone Preferred Service (TPS) and upon registration it then becomes illegal for companies to contact you without you giving permission first.

[DejaVu]

We have the same in the UK. It's called the Telephone Preferred Service (TPS) and upon registration it then becomes illegal for companies to contact you without you giving permission first.

"Illegal" is a strong word in this case. It's not as black and white as that.
They can get out of it using a simple loop hole saying "You allowed them to call you because you didn't read the T&Cs properly".

TPS works OK for companies that are also registered to the scheme and get the numbers through legit means.
It doesn't stop Mohammed from India calling you at 9:30pm with a special deal on (INPUT_SOME_CRAP_PRODUCT_HERE) though.

I think this is a cracking idea and wish I'd have thought of it. I'd sign up for all sorts of random shit to call me and leave them on hold in a queue with elevator music!!

[macmilm]

I am registered with TPS but as DejaVu says with some companies it means fuck all.. I still get annoying calls asking me to do a "short" survey..
What is annoying however is that it apparently is illegal to use a megaphone down the telephone in response...