HOW TO: stop unwelcome and nuisance phone calls
Filed under: business, consumer, how to, nuisance calls
Nuisance and prank calls can be a serious annoyance if they continue over a long period. We know that these calls can sometimes be quite distressing, so we’ve set up a dedicated Unwelcome Calls team to help you stop the calls in these situations.
Hang up calls
These are calls where you hear the caller put the receiver down, followed by the busy tone, as soon as you answer the call.
Silence, hoax, obscene or abusive calls
These are calls where the caller holds the line open with silence or speaks in an abusive or obscene manner and does not hang up.
To clear the line on your fixed phone service, replace the receiver and do not pick it up for 5 minutes. This will enable you to call out.
Malicious or life threatening calls
Of course, if you’ve received a malicious call threatening your life, you should immediately contact the police by calling 000.
In other situations, our specialist Unwelcome Calls team can help with a number of situations. Find out more detailed information here.
They’re trained to help with everything from basic advice and practical steps on how to stop calls, to liaising with the police to trace calls when necessary. You can request a callback from our Unwelcome Calls team by completing our online form, or by calling 13 2200 and saying “unwelcome calls”.
If you’re receiving unwanted telemarketing calls, you might also be interested in joining the Do Not Call Register. This is a service run by the Government and will add your mobile or home phone number to a blacklist, meaning that you won’t receive unsolicited marketing calls. It only takes a few minutes to join the Do Not Call Register online.
Hi,
Ever since moving my phone line to Telstra I get more unwanted calls than I care to imagine.
I have added our number to the do not call register yet still they come.
Why is it that in 6 years with another provider this never happened once and as soon as I move to Telstra the prank or unwanted calls start?
How can I resolve this once and for all?
Thanks.
Hi Nathan, Give the Unwanted Calls team a call on calling 13 2200 and share your story with them and see if you can get some insights.
“Why is it that in 6 years with another provider this never happened once and as soon as I move to Telstra the prank or unwanted calls start?
How can I resolve this once and for all?”
It has nothing to do with telstra and is just a coincidence.
Recently the number of unwanted calls i have been receiving has increased also.
The do not call register is only valid for Australian companies, it will never stop overseas scam companies calling you.
There is nothing you can to stop overseas companies call you as they just dial random numbers
I’ve had so many since moving to Telstra. This morning I think it may be as many 6 or 8 in the last two hours.
Good to see that you are offering “infomormation”.
You may wish to spell check before hitting the post button.
Thanks for the pick up Steve. I must admit I added that link and line to Leigh’s blog at the last minute. Brendan
I’m very grateful that you provide this service to us. I have a silent number to keep this sort of activity away, however it’s amazing how many of these problematic phone calls have reached me in the past.
Because I don’t know when this amnesty stops, I’m re-enrolling so as it doesn’t reoccur.
Thankyou, Telstra
Hi Monica,
Your number will remain on the Do Not Call register for five years. You’ll automatically receive a reminder email from ACMA to remind you to re-enroll in Do Not Call when you’re close to the expiry.
None of these ‘How To’ solutions actually work.
I repeatedly added myself to the do not call register. I’ve contacted 132200, with the result ‘Sorry there’s nothing we can do’. I never give my number out to those crazy online competitions. Yet they continue to call all times of the day. Usually silent calls, or Indian call centers wanting money for something.
Since Telstra & the Govt won’t or can’t do anything about them, simply walk away. I didn’t want to pay extra for silent numbers or caller id, so my solution was to cancel the fixed line, this way everyone loses!
Steve you are so right. Telsta have no vested interest in doing this beacause every call means more money to them An independent body is needed to stop this invasion of our privacy. I will guarantee you that the Telstra executives and CEO do not have to endure this poor standard of telecommunications.
Paul, Steve.
Is is that hard to work out that telstra has no control over who calls you?
Only Australian companies have to obey the do not call register.
It does not stop overseas companies/call centres from randomly calling phone numbers.
If I had enough time i could randomly dial phone numbers until i called your house.
How is it possible for telstra to stop me from doing this? (It isnt..)
I agree with Steve 21 /7 /12. There is little else to do.When I rang Telstra Unwanted calls ,both 1800805996 and 132200 ,I got the same woman and was told they could do a line trace free for a month , then it would cost $5.95 a month after that to stop this number calling me!
Un believable. What is the right story?????
As for someone back in May believing that the scam would be looked at , well its now August so who is wasting there time on this? MEEEEEEE
Re unwelcome calls, call screening using an answering machine cut our unwelcome calls to nearly zero. Let family/friends know to hold the line and identify themselves so no follow up call required. Took a few months and occasionaly have to call back tradespeople but worth it.
We did exactly the same thing, got an answering machine a few years ago and screen all our calls.
We also have caller ID on the machine which makes it even easier, we found it was worth the extra charge though of course that’s just personal choice.
We registered on the Do Not Call a few years ago and since then we only get a very rare call now and then from surveys, for us it definitely cut out just about all the Australian-based telemarketers.
We do occasionally get a run of either charity calls (legitimate though still annoying if it’s not one we’ve chosen to support). Once in a blue moon we get a day or two of overseas marketers/scammers ringing on those automated calls where they just ring till they get someone. The answering machine filtering as above pretty much cuts them off before they start.
We are also very very careful about who we give our number to – I always read the conditions on things like competitions or instore loyalty cards or promotions as by joining a lot of those you are giving them permission to contact you. (Same goes for your email address). I think a lot of people probably get a sudden increase in marketing calls because they have inadvertently done something similar. It’s a pain but saves a lot of hassle later – read the small print folks!
Telstra has the technology to deal with unwelcome calls but chooses not to because it would cost them money.
If another company has good coverage in the bush I would use them.
Telstra has gone from a total monopoly to a partial monopoly and attitudes have not changed.
i have been getting nuisance calls for the last few weeks from people who say they are from the australian taxation department saying that they have cheque for me i know this is not so as i have already recieved my tax cheque i am of the belief that it is a scam .they ring constantly i have had at least five calls in the last hour plus how ever many while out. can this be stopped ?
Hi Leslie, it is very unlikely the ATO will call you regarding a cheque they owe you. I do not work at the ATO, but I do know if they need to contact you, they will attempt to call you no more than three times, on three different days at different times of the day. After that they would send you a letter. You can call the ATO at anytime to verify this. What you have described is definitely a scam. It is likely someone from overseas calling your number usually over the internet at zero cost to them, asking and confirming your details to be used in some form of fraudulent activity. Telstra cannot do anything, and it is so common the local police are powerless to combat this amount and level of international fraud. I’m assuming these scammers are calling your land-line? The only thing that is guaranteed to stop these situations is to vote with your feet, and cancel the land-line. Maybe replace it with a a cheap mobile plan, as from overseas there are very few options to call Australian mobiles for little to no cost.
So, what can be done about hang up calls?
I know that Telstra has the ability to give the receiver of calls the control over line release. From there it should be a simple matter of a few keystrokes to identify the calling number. 10 years as an exchange technician and hundreds of call traces in that time, so I do know it can be done, yet I get told it is not available!!
I have caller ID, but the numbers don’t come up at all. Not private, not overseas, nothing…no display at all.
I presume these calls are from an auto-dialler identifying valid numbers for database purposes, but do they really need to call between 12 and 20 times a day??
Any suggestions, and NO I do not want to change my number.
I have been receiving nuisance calls for the past couple of months – 28 September 2012 – 116 calls in 3 hours. 5 October 2012 – 60 calls in 2 hours. 8 October 2012 – 31 calls in an hour. I have contact Unwelcome calls, emailed them the times and dates. Still receiving my full bill even though when these calls start I have no landline. All I have is static. I can’t dial out and anyone who tries to call me goes straight to answering machine. When I try *10# all that comes up is an overseas dial tone. Pretty cranky right now and have been a loyal customer for over 15 years!
Hi Jodie. I’m a little cusfused by your comment, the details I mean so I’ve asked for an investigation and for someone to call you. Brendan
And yes I am registered on Do Not Call Register and no I don’t want to change my number!
Well, one way of stopping a lot of the calls….hit the hash key on unidentified numbers as soon as you answer them. They (the nuisance callers) realise that there is a possibility it is being held and traced. If they talk after that, and you are happy with their response, alls good.
The do not call register is useless, even if you make a formal complaint. Give it a shot Jodie, see how you go. It seems to have worked for me, but use the # (hash) key on answer.
I’ve been registered with Do Not Call for years and found it only seems to work for Australian companies. Problem I’ve been having last 3 or 4 months is those constant overseas calls from India from the scam Microsoft Windows saying your computer is downloading wrong stuff! What a load of b…t!! I have several times said I’m from a police station they hang up, then few days later someone else calls, today I had another call at 6.30am this morning! I said keep doing this I will call the police! I am now getting these calls up to 5 times a week, I’m sick of it! Surely something can be done about this problem?!
Some good news.
Those annoying calls from “Microsoft” should stop occurring as the The Microsoft Impostor Scam seems to have been shut down.
“Australian, American and Canadian authorities have joined forces to foil a major international phone scam, known as the Microsoft Impostor scam.
The scam, which involves people pretending to be Microsoft employees offering to fix computer viruses, is thought to have ripped off tens of thousands of people in six countries.
US authorities this week won court orders to close down and freeze funds of alleged US-based parties involved in the scheme. Canadian authorities have fined one of the companies involved, Pecon Software, $490,000.”
…..
“The scammers attempted to avoid detection by using 130 different phone numbers and 80 different domain names online, according to FTC papers filed with the court. ”
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/consumer-security/australia-helps-foil-global-microsoft-impostor-scam-20121004-2706t.html#ixzz28HwV61pm
These calls are still being made 01/11/2012. My poor father who is 85 years of age got scammed by one of these ‘mongrels’ today. They are very very convincing and they did trick him into giving them access to his computer. Fortunately he didn’t pay them any money as he doesn’t have a credit card and he doesn’t do any banking via the internet. We are now in the process of getting his IP address changed and his laptop cleaned of any malicious programs.
as far as the calls relating to windows,i used to get them all the time,then i told them i used linux………..no more calls after that about windows/microsoft
Agree with Steve, above as the solution:
“call screening using an answering machine cut our unwelcome calls to nearly zero. Let family/friends know to hold the line and identify themselves so no follow up call required.”
That may work for some but it wont stop the 50 calls a day coming in that you still have to screen.
Caller ID should be enabled by default. Any unidentified source call should be blocked. To make a call you should have to identify who you are. This way both parties know the caller and the receiver before any communication takes place. Until something like this happens the telephone system is similar to what email was 10 years ago, full of spam.
It’s a disease & we all keep feeding it by paying the $30+ a month for a phone line. The call centers will continue to call you with spam. We’ll continue to complain and argue on forums, with Telstra, with the police, with the government, but there is nothing anyone will do.
Vote with your feet & cancel your line. I did, and the problem has completely gone!
When enough people cancel their lines, the telcos will wake up.
Is there a way you can block a phone number?
Hi Wendy. Take a look here and find out all about how you can manage these calls. Brendan
Most / all spam calls are from a private number so as they have no number you can not block them.
Saying that there is no ability to block a certain number on a land line.
You can on your mobile phone if it is not an iphone (as the app needs to be able to run in the background)
I am with those who believe that the owner of a landline phone should be able to block calls from those who have chosen to block their own number.
Privacy is a two way thing in my book and the ability of someone to call you on their blocked phone and thus play games or whatever without revealing their phone number offers that person an avenue to intrude on your privacy.
I note that questions in here regarding blocking calls from private numbers are shafted sideways. This is not good enough. Telstra would surely have the ability to do so (it is available elsewhere – see below * – and it should get its act together and do so.
* When a call is placed to your caller-ID-equipped home (landline) telephone, the caller’s name and phone number are displayed. But if a caller chooses to block the information from reaching your caller ID display, your caller ID will display the word “Blocked” or “Anonymous.” If you want to prevent callers from withholding their caller information, you can add “anonymous call rejection” to your phone service. When anonymous call rejection is activated, callers whose names or phone numbers are blocked are informed that you are not accepting calls from blocked private callers. Callers must unblock their caller information and call back.
Read more: How to Block Private Calls From Home | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7438287_block-private-calls-home.html#ixzz2S78QbqTp
>I am with those who believe that the owner of a landline phone should be able to block calls from those who have chosen to block their own number.
And how about all of the legitimate businesses that you have accounts that try to reach you?
Many legitimate businesses make calls from a private number, ie banks and so on.
If calls from private numbers are blocked then how are they supposed to reach you?
Large companies obviously do not want people having the direct phone number for each staff member in the call centre as that would create a mess so they have all outbound calls marked as private.
I have been receiving nuisance calls from a blocked number in the middle of the night for several nights in a row. Telstra has put a trace on my line and told me to record dates and times of calls. Once I do this, I was just wondering what the next step is. Will they disclose the number to me? Do they contact the person? And how long does the trace take?
Hi Katarina. May I suggest you get back to the people from Telstra who assisted you as your questions will need answering by these specialists. I would imagine that there would be privacy legislation to consider. Brendan
I am left wondering as to the specific legislation which prevents providers from divulging the identity/number of a person who has made a call that is obviously a pest call. Can anyone help me out with this?
There is a variety of reasons why some consumers may want a private number. They are all to do with their privacy – stopping, for example, someone making pest calls to them.
Private numbers should be about preventing identification and or communication from all and sundry. However to my mind if you “venture out” by making a call to someone you have done so knowing the number and identity of the person you have called and they should, in turn, have the right to know the number and identity of the caller. They should have this right because the caller has assumed the right to “use” their phone by dialling the number.
There is a simple solution to stop pest calls being made by pests hiding behind a private number. If the private number is available to the recipient those predisposed to committing a nuisance would not do so.
>I am left wondering as to the specific legislation which prevents providers from divulging the identity/number of a person who has made a call that is obviously a pest call. Can anyone help me out with this?
There is probably none.
However, your carrier does not bill you to receive a call so there is no need for them to keep a record of the numbers which are calling you.
>There is a simple solution to stop pest calls being made by pests hiding behind a private number. If the private number is available to the recipient those predisposed to committing a nuisance would not do so.
The large companies overseas who are responsible for most nuisance calls are not going to stop calling you just because you can see their number.
I have a trace on my phone at present for nuisance calls. Will I be told who the callers are when it finishes?
Hi Robert (of 9th Oct 2012), just wanted to confirm your idea: answer phone with usual “talk” button and then press #? Or do you have a function of answering with the # button? I am getting regular blocked calls, on answering noone is there. I can leave them to the answering machine and then there is just a hang-up.
To Brendan (community manager): this evening I had an Australian woman ring from a research company (EMRS whatever that is). I asked her how she had my number as it is unlisted and I am on the “do not call register” She stated that research companies and charities are exempt from the register and she had my number from a random generator. Was she lying?
Hi Jillian, I will ask for you. Brendan
Hi Jillian. You should find the answer here online.
i have been recieving calls on daily basis, for months now they call all hours of the day and night sometimes up to 10 times a day, all of them are very similar and start with 039… when i answer i get recorded blurb of a digitised voice saying numbers, when i call it back it get nothing . . . its frusrtating annoying and very time consuming……..i have register with do not call, they still come………telstra have said theres nothing they can do, i am considering going to police with harrassment , i have no idea what who or why this number is calling………ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
I received hang up calls from the same person for 18 months. Telstra wouldnt do a thing, as she would only can every couple of weeks. I know who it was as she left her caller ID on once. Every other time it was coming up as a Private Call.
Ive just started receiving hang up calls again and this person (not sure if it is the same person as before or not) obviously knows the policy regarding unwanted calls, as they are calling a couple of times…then leaving it a few days before calling again. This has been going on for a month now.
How about amending this policy to protect the victims of this rubbish, not the offenders? The person calling ME knows me and my number…shouldnt I have a RIGHT to know who they are? If their privacy is so sacred to them, maybe they should consider that before they invade MINE by harassing me!
We’ve get numerous calls a day – I blame foxtel/Telstra – ever since we got foxtel, it started. Assume foxtel/Telstra sell the number to make extra cash.
Selling you details would break several laws.
Ever heard of a coincidence?
I have had this crap start today unwanted calls to the land line,they even lead you to believe the are your own provider and then later on slip in that they are Telecom and as I grew up this was THE provider so as far as I’m concerned this would nearly be fraud, so you would think Telstra would at least protect them selves against copy write.
Like all of you, I came here looking for an answer to the nuisance call torture but after reading the posts, I am not going to get it here.
I am an aged pensioner and have supplied my numbers to the DNC register since it was formed and with the exception of Australian Companies, it has made not one jot of difference.
Letting the calls go to the answering machine does not eliminate the constant intrusion of the ringing phone.
Also, my daughter relented and has an unlisted number but the calls keep on keeping on. A complete waste of extra dollars that I don’t have.
I have lost count of the years I have had Telstra as my provider and I pay them to provide a service for me to use, not to provide an instrument of torture for others to abuse.
Telstra needs to heed the groundswell of dissatisfied customers and be proactive in eliminating the scourge that is causing much angst.
My phone has a block caller function in its address book with lots of default actions, none of which is HANG UP! I can play a different ring tone or send a message or even dial the number! Anything except an action for which Telstra cannot make a charge. Similarly, why can’t I set my phone to rautomatically hang up on callers who have blocked their caller I’d?
I’m fed up with any telco which allows the connection to your number to then weasel out of any responsibility for allowing the connection.
I can see two options being useful
1. the telco providing a way to register that the caller is spamming them, much as most email applications allow, so that any future calls are rejected or automatically sent to voicemail without the annoying ring
2. an option (such as hitting the hash key twice) which immediately produces a voice message saying that the call and details of the call will be recorded and may be forwarded to the Federal Police. This should scare a number of them off. Even better would be if the call and details actually WERE recorded so that they would be available should we want them to be followed up
Unfortunately, most of the unwanted calls to my small business number – at least a couple a day – are from people wanting to discuss my “existing Telstra landline”. Umm, I don’t have an existing Telstra landline. I’m with somebody else.
So, how do I get these jerks to stop? Telstra, any insight you can offer, as they seem to be targeting your customers… badly?
They target telstra customers because most Australians are telstra customers.
They would be much less successful targeting Optus or even Dodo customers.
Is there any reason why it is not possible to have phones set up with a whitelist. That is, only calls from a list of numbers are allowed through? This would not seem to be technologically difficult.
I am most disappointed to be informed by a 132200 supervisor that Telstra cannot block specific overseas numbers. Further from this I am disappointed to be told that it is not possible to screen out all numbers that begin with a particular sequence of the same six numbers. (This is from a competing telco trying to poach Telstra my custom through less than honest means like ‘You are lucky to be getting a large discount on your next months phone bill’ and who do not offer the same services.)
I do not want overseas calls blocked nor do I want to use the Do Not Call register as I am happy to receive telemarketing from bone fide well run businesses.
As I already pay for caller ID, it is not rocket science to assume that call data could be screened with only the specific beginning series of numbers regardless of the last few numbers.
It is called using the * (asterisk) !
I’ve been using a WiFi for about six months, and didn’t receive one telemarketing call. Now I’m using ADSL2, where my phone is plugged back into the wall landline connection and they’re coming in thick and fast. I also have no idea how they got my number, and knew my name. I suspect my internet provider may have sold them the information. No matter what I say or do, they still keep calling, and frankly I am not impressed with Telstra at all.
Hi CherieJ,
I agree that this would be extremely annoying. Telstra takes privacy very seriously and we do not give out our customer details or ‘sell’ them to a third party. I recommend having a chat to our 24×7 Live Chat Customer Service team who may be able to walk you through some ways to put your number on a ‘do not call’ list: http://www.facebook.com/Telstra24x7/app_201698766614634
- Gigi.
I have a private number and it comes up private when I ring people. However when I ring a certain friend of mine and she misses my call she always returns it saying “I am just returning your call”. How does she know it is me calling when I do not leave a message and it is meant to come up private. Her son is a police officer. Can the police request Telstra to unblock all private calls coming through to my friend. In the past she never knew it was me but in the last couple of weeks she suddenly knows. Her son has just installed cameras on her property as she received a nuisance letter but no harassing calls that I know of. I am paying money per month for a private number and if this is be violated and m privacy breached then I should get my money back.
Hi Nick, the best thing to do in this case is to contact our Unwelcome Calls centre for investigation. They work with police when necessary to investigate any breaches of privacy. You can find more information at our Unwelcome Calls page – hope it helps.
Can I do anything to stop the ‘Windows Microsoft’ scammer calls? Will taking our number out of the phone book help?
Hi Kate,
I’m no expert in the Microsoft scam calls, I recommend having a quick chat to our dedicated Customer Service team via their online Live Chat here: http://www.facebook.com/Telstra24x7/app_201698766614634
I am with Telstra here in Perth Western Australia, and I need to ask can I block a caller who rings, TOO CONSISTENTLY on my land line. I have sent a letter to him in the mail indicating his calls are too persistent, but he has ignored my request. He means well, but obviously has not much to do, even though married, and his reasons for ringing are usually about ‘what have you been up to’, how was Christmas, etc, and the same old stories. This to me is an invasion of my privacy and even though I have made excuses to him, ‘will ring you back’, or I have someone here’, white lies, but I have to do this for my own sanity. Can you assist as I certainly do not like being rude, but it is reaching the stage when I may have to be abrupt with him
Please advise.
Hi Margaret – how frustrating. Our dedicated Unwanted Calls team can help you with some advice – find out more here: http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/advice/unwelcome-calls/call-types/
My method of dealing with landline spam calls is simple. I never answer any of the first 4 rings. They then hang up. My friends and family know I”ll answer on the 5th ring.
Recently my mobile has been getting an automated message quoting my name and saying they are from GE. I hang up but so far I’m getting around 5 of these per day. The number appears as “blocked” so I can’t return the call or report it. Any suggestions?
I’m getting the same thing, and I think it’s GE. They call from a blocked number or #100 all hours of day and night during the week and in the weekend. Recently I told a GE worker I only respond to callers that identify themselves, but this doesn’t stop the calls. They are very annoying especially in the middles of the night.
How about calls to telstra mobile that only ring once?
the number 08 6228 4026 calls my mobile and even on one ring when i answer there is nobody there.
Googling the number brings up numerous people with the same problem, funny thing is we all have complaints open with Telstra…
Hi Leanne – our dedicated Unwanted Calls team can help investigate this for you. You can find out more at this link: http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/advice/unwelcome-calls/contact-us/index.htm
That number is Telstra’s call back centre for handling complaints.
I didn’t read all the comments so i don’t know if this advice was previously given: I never answer the phone, the machine always picks it up, anyone who really wants me, calls my mobile. If i do happen to answer the home phone (waiting for a call) and it’s no one i know, I just hang up. I don’t even let them talk. I find it kind of satisfying.
We keep getting calls from tele marketers in India. Can Telstra block calls from specific countries?
They called last night but stated they were calling from Melbourne, there is always a delay when I pick up the phone, I should have guessed.
Hi Bill. Our Unwanted Calls team can talk you through your options.
Worthless. Telstra could, if it put service provision was put before grasping after maximum profit at all cots, provide us with a number to call to discover the last answered call’s phone number of origin by the end of the month or sooner if they wanted to. Telstra puts profits before people because it’s been privatised.
I Have found that when I shifted from my last provider to Telstra that the spam and crap calls have increased. We can blame the goverment for opening the gates and allowing our phone numbers to be passed on. If I had known that this crap was going to increase I would have stayed with my old provider. Telstra have the ways and means of stopping these calls but they wont because of the money they will lose. As the previous comment said, Telstra have put profits before there customers. Take this as a wake up call Telstra, Before you start loosing customers.
Hi Brian. We’d never want to disturb you unnecessarily and we definitely don’t pass on your phone number to advertisers. If you don’t have a silent number, it’s likely that these callers have obtained your number from the White Pages. If you haven’t already done so, I’d recommend registering with the Do Not Call Register (run by the federal government) to help prevent these calls.
I have had the unwelcome call block on a phone number of
a very hostile and nasty person for some time now. This
person rang night and day constantly,since blocking his
number I have felt a lot safer. Today his phone number
appeared on my phone display, I nearly answered
the call not expecting him to be able to ring. He has
since been ringing night and day. I am totally disgusted
with Telstra as I haven’t been contacted by Telstra to
tell me that this phone number has been unblocked.
Thanks to Telstra’s slack insensitive service I have had to
unplug my phone so my children dont accidently pick it up.
This has created a lot stress and anxiety on me.
I am very disappointed with Telstra Unwelcome Call
unblocking phone calls after 12 months and not contacting
customers leaving customers vunerable to threatening
and hostile and nasty calls. This needs to be addressed
by the ombudsman.
Kerry, I’ve just sent you an email requesting some details on this so we can look into it.
There are 22 million people with mobile phones in Australia if all of those people returned this morons phone call Telstra would make at least 22 million dollars not a bad profit for a days work, even if your are a moron.
I too am fed up with unsolicited calls – sound as if the are from overseas posing as Telstra staff. I now just put the phone down and let them talk away to themselves – after a couple of minutes they realise no one is there and hang up!
We paid a veritable fortune for a whizz bang 100 number indial service from Telstra around 18 months ago. Since then we have been bombarded with telemarketers who seem to think that some of our numbers belong to individuals. We cannot register with the DO NOT CALL register as we are a business. How do I stop these people?
Hi Dan,
I can appreciate why this is so frustrating. Please have a chat to our 24×7 customer service team online via this link: http://tinyurl.com/24×7-service – they will be able to talk you through your options and give you some tips to stop those unwanted callers.
For the last three days I have been recieving calls from a blocked number which if answered is a fax number. They keep calling for five or six times each day. If I hang up on the number it goes throught o voice mail where it beeps on the message bank. Then my phone reminds me I have a message.
Is there a way to find out the blocked number’s number or stop fax calls coming through or connected my Iphone up to a fax machine?
Hi Paal,
Hhhhmmm, this sounds incredibly frustrating. If you get a moment, I recommend speaking to our 24×7 Customer Service crew via online Live Chat http://tinyurl.com/24×7-service . They have much more knowledge about stopping fax calls than me
Gigi, in response to your continually referring posters who have lodged a complaint can we have someone on here who has the knowledge to effectively deal with the issues? The “system” as it is really comes across as evasion.
Thanks Dennis
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for both your comments. I’m definitely not an expert on the privacy legislation of Australia as it does change from state to state but you can investigate specific laws at http://www.austlii.edu.au/ (this site is fantastic in researching both state and federal legislation). You can also go to http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/advice/unwelcome-calls/legal-info/index.htm to find out specific legal information about our privacy policy and the laws relating to Unwelcome Calls. I’m going to pass your comment on to an expert in this area and get him to get in contact with you.
Hi Dennis,
I’ll pass on your feedback, but we’re definitely not trying to evade your queries! We like to direct issues to the relevant colleagues who are best placed to assist.
Az
Hi I’m getting unwanted phone calls to my mobile from someone I don’t know on a monthly basis for approx the past year. Last time this has happened I’ve tried texting them to find out who it is, but they didn’t reply to both my messages and have kindly asked them to stop ringing me. I’m not sure if it’s someone that I know who is playing jokes on me, but it’s really starting to annoy me & I don’t want to have to change my number as it’s what I’ve been using for the past 5 years.Is there some way to block this number from calling me? The phone I currently use doesn’t have the call reject option.
Hi Erica,
Oh how irritating! I can appreciate your frustration! Have a chat to our 24×7 online Live Chat customer service crew via this link: http://tinyurl.com/24×7-service there may be something that can be done!
If you can set your phone to automatically answer calls from a set number then do that. (Or find an app that can do it)
If you set it to immediately answer you will not near it ring and each time they call you it will cost the money.
Eventually they might get sick of wasting their money.
Thank you for your advice: “find out specific legal information about our privacy policy and the laws relating to Unwelcome Calls. I’m going to pass your comment on to an expert in this area and get him to get in contact with you.”
But this is going nowhere. No one has “contacted” me.
There is the technology available to stop Telstra customers from being called by pests hiding behind private numbers. Surely Telstra has an obligation to provide a service which will be enjoyed by their customers without experiencing annoying behaviour. There is legislation regarding restricting the revealing of private numbers. We all know this.
What I, and obviously others, want is the problem addressed. Telstra should be pro-active on this. They should realise that there is a problem, resolve to address it and take action (including addressing any problems arising from legislation – get it changed) and solve the problem.
Given modern technology, is it possible for Telstra to provide the facility for individual subscribers to not receive calls from private numbers? I would think that there is. I also believe that the provision would not be a contravention of any legislation. Time to move Telstra. Time to look after your customer.
Hi there Dennis,
I sent you an email yesterday about getting our unwelcome calls team to get in contact with you – did you receive it?
For consistent and unwanted phone calls the answer is fairly simple and relatively cheap, my sister had a problem with unwanted callers who rang and did not speak after calling at anytime day or night. Solution as advised by the NSW Police, buy a whistle – one had blast and the caller simply goes away !
I tried the blast with a whistle…next time I got one of ‘those’ calls I got a blast in return…not nice. So THAT doesn’t work
Telstra’s “unwanted calls” team unfortunately do not supply all the information required when you arrange traces on landlines. What they do not advise is that for them to send letters to “private callers” who are harassing you, there must be more that 10 calls in a day, more than three calls in five days or there must be a pattern to the calls. People who want to harass you, already know this and so are able to dodge the system. It seems that the police are the only option. And to continue to trace calls after 30 days, you have to pay to stop someone from harassing you by using Telstra equipment.
Well done Telstra, it is amazing that the victims have less privacy than the person who is doing the harassing.
I have had nusiance calls and many hang up calls for a number of years now and have good reasons to believe it is one of my anti social neighbours making the calls. I have made a few complaints to Telstra but they do nothing to stop the problem.There should be a law that all phone numbers be open to the receiver just as one has to show identification when entering yur property. Stop making it easy for criminals to get away with everything.
Where are these people getting the money to make so many calls for no reason at all?
I have decided to deal with this by refusing to take calls from anyone with their caller id switched off. This is inconvenient for me…and I it means that I am also refusing to take calles from my network carrier – Telstra – as any calls they make are ‘Private number’ also.
If Telstra want me to answer their calls, they can take the lead in lobbying to have changed whatever ‘privacy’ legislation they claims prevents them from giving out details of people who harass you (me!) by telephone!
Hi, I have been receiving a regular nuisance calls, possibly from kids, to my mobile. my mobile number is used for both work and home, so blocking my number is not an option. They call 2-4 times a couple nights a week and just say stupid stuff but its quite annoying. The issue is they are calling from a blocked number. How can I get the calls from this number stopped?
Hi Penny,
Best you speak to our Unwelcome Calls team.
You can request a callback from them by completing our online form, or by calling 13 2200 and saying “unwelcome calls”.
They’ll be able to help.
Az
How is it that you can provide a detailed list of outgoing calls but not a list of incoming calls?
In this modern day and age with the sophisticated equipment that is in use surely this could be achievable.
Hi Bruce,
Thanks for the feedback. Interesting point you raise here. As we don’t charge customers for incoming calls, I’ve never really thought about there being a demand for people to know this on their bill.
I’ll pass it on to our billing team. Just as an FYI, you can look up recently called numbers on digital home and mobile phones through the phone’s internal memory.
Az
I tried to ring 1800 number but they did not put trace on to my line. Now they claim they did and want $5.50 per month.
What is point.
Hi Robert,
Please have a chat with our 24/7 Live Chat service so we can investigate this for you.
Az
What do you do when the nuisance calls are coming from Telstra?