I’ve stopped answering my phone

In the U.K. you can get a phone that “stops” unrecognised calls - so we never, ever have a nuisance call - it is definitely worth seeing if you can get one - google it?

We have caller display, if we don’t know the caller we don’t answer it, once you answer a nuisance call they will keep calling you, often the same call centre but selling different products or scams.

I now have no landline BT costs were just ridiculous considering I never made calls anymore via my landlin and it’s such a relief not to get all those scam phone calls. Everyone now has my mobile number or calls me on Watsapp. I know it’s not for everyone but it’s certainly working for me.

I don’t answer calls from locations I don’t recognise but do answer those that have no caller ID as they could be the doctor or hospital.

Mine is now on silent mostly, I check it and answer calls I choose to.

tanith

I now have no landline BT costs were just ridiculous considering I never made calls anymore via my landlin and it’s such a relief not to get all those scam phone calls. Everyone now has my mobile number or calls me on Watsapp. I know it’s not for everyone but it’s certainly working for me.

I too have cancelled my BT landline and gone broadband only. It will save me £31 a month and put an end to the nuisance calls. I only use my mobile anyway and few people called my home phone.

I use call protect which blocks spam calls. On my mobile I also block unwanted calls.

In the past I have ignored numbers I don't recognise, until I ignored persistant calls from the same number, while on holiday abroad.
It turned out to be an appointment for an angiogram at the National Heart Hospital, which did not use the generic NHS number, which I was familiar with.
Not always a good idea to ignore.

Get your phone number (landline or mobile) onto the list at the Telephone Preference Service, which allows people and businesses to opt out of unsolicited live sales and marketing calls. Since I registered, no-one has tried to sell me anything over the phone.
www.tpsonline.org.uk/pages/what_is_tps

"If a number is registered with the TPS/CTPS, organisations are legally required – by the Privacy and Electronic (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 – to refrain from calling it. In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office enforces the law and has power to fine firms that break it. Organisations are required to screen against TPS/CTPS at least once every 28 days,"

I am registered with the TPS but I read that it does not cover calls from abroad. I received several nuisance calls every day.

We haven’t answered our landline for ages, unless we recognise the name/number. If it’s important they’ll leave a message. I have blocked nuisance calls we’ve received in the past.

I have an app on my mobile which filters out premium rate calls, spam and nuisance calls. it was free to download and has been a godsend. I think it's called should I answer. Google it.

What do you expect any government to do about it, OP? We block numbers from which we receive nuisance calls and receive very few now. You need to do something about it yourself - there must be blocking technology in Oz. And if you pick up the phone to a nuisance caller just put down again. How silly not to answer your phone.

I would second using the Telephone Preference Service, I've been using this for years. it doesn't stop them all but if I get any unsolicited calls I just block them.

You can also check who called you, where people put the details of callers and whether spam or scam. You don't have to register:
who-called.co.uk/

I don't understand why BT is considered expensive. I'm paying £22.05 for Broadband and £6.52 for the BT Vision Box making £28.57 a month in total. That includes a landline but I don't use it. Is that expensive?

I leave the answer machine on all the time. Nuisance callers hang up as soon as they hear the recording telling them we're not here.

I'm the same, don't usually answer unknown numbers, occasionally I do, which proves our point, dont answer them, from what the lady, usually sat in her house, trying to tell me I've had a whiplash injury, or an accident. "Did I survive", usually gets the phone put down their end, then it's blocked. Very rare to get them now.

The TPS has worked well for me for years now. I still get the occasional one from abroad but that's all.
Do you have a similar service there?

Marydoll

In the past I have ignored numbers I don't recognise, until I ignored persistant calls from the same number, while on holiday abroad.
It turned out to be an appointment for an angiogram at the National Heart Hospital, which did not use the generic NHS number, which I was familiar with.
Not always a good idea to ignore.

Good point.
Over the last month or so I have had several calls from numbers that I didn't recognise, and most of those have turned out to be from various hospital departments regarding appointments.

As an NHS employee, I run Pacemaker clinic remotely. If I need to phone a patient the phone I'm using will have the number withheld. All Hospital numbers are.
We are not to leave messages on Answerphone unless the person has clearly said their name.
If we see a Landline we always go for that first as it gets answered more than a mobile.

I always answer those who leave a message, even if I don’t actually know them but spam calls never bother to leave them. I don’t get calls from hospitals so no worries there. I actually spoke to our local MP about it, particularly the spam calls and they actually are looking at some ways to at least cut them down. Obviously, from Germanshepherdsmum’s comment
,your MPs have different agendas from ours. I think ours are more approachable by all accounts.

We have systems we can use here, as I said. I’m surprised that you don’t have them in Oz and that you think this is something any government can control.

I now have the generic NHS no. saved to my phone, I then know it is a medical call. However, sometimes that doesn't work, e.g during Lockdown, when people were working from home.
I realised it was the National Heart Hospital, when I searched on, Who called me?.

We’ve been mobile only for over fifteen years, if it’s a number I don’t recognise and I’m not expecting a call I ignore it. My answerphone message clearly states my name, I don’t often get random calls.

I do answer the no number calls as it’s usually my doctors surgery. I ignore numbers I don’t recognise but check if there’s a voicemail. I forgot and answered absentmindedly this morning and just had to say no thank you , it wasn’t anyone I wanted to talk to