ORANGE sells contacts details to spamers!

[Guest florin_m]

:)

I got my contract on friday, but been to lasy to activate it till yesterday.

I managed to call only 3 of my mates using my new number. I don't even managed to memorize my new phone no.

Today (19:14) got a phone call from 08001385425 a so called "Orange specialist" asking me how much i spend on my "pay as you go" card. The person Knew my name as asked for me when i answered so is no way for a ramdom dialing.

So Orange sold my contact details to dam SPAMERS callers ;) . What about data protection Orange???

[Guest kelv23]

:)

I got my contract on friday, but been to lasy to activate it till yesterday.

I managed to call only 3 of my mates using my new number. I don't even managed to memorize my new phone no.

Today (19:14) got a phone call from 08001385425 a so called "Orange specialist" asking me how much i spend on my "pay as you go" card. The person Knew my name as asked for me when i answered so is no way for a ramdom dialing.

So Orange sold my contact details to dam SPAMERS callers ;) . What about data protection Orange???

Ive had a few 0800 missed numbers on my phone, if they know my name etc when I do answer I'll be looking at what I can do to terminate my contract

[Guest]

So Orange sold my contact details to dam SPAMERS callers :) . What about data protection Orange???

[Guest]

Ive had a few 0800 missed numbers on my phone, if they know my name etc when I do answer I'll be looking at what I can do to terminate my contract

Let me save you the bother of investigating it: you won't be able to terminate your contract because somebody called your number.

Register your number(s) with the TPS, then if you do get called you can sue the caller.

[Guest Disco Stu]

It is simply a co-incidence that that the person who previously had you re-cycled phone number had the same name as you.

You must work for the CIA to come out with that one ! :)

I was under the impression that Orange were fairly open about their arrangements with 'commercial partners' - I think it has come up before here on a few occasions.

[Guest florin_m]

So Orange sold my contact details to dam SPAMERS callers :( . What about data protection Orange???

They don't.

Ask yourself: why would they? What's in it for Orange?

If the person who cold-called you really knew about your account (which they obviously didn't) then they would have known you were on a contract, and a recently obtained one at that. It is simply a co-incidence that that the person who previously had you re-cycled phone number had the same name as you.

There are many sources from which the information could have been drawn. Direct marketing companies like this spend thousands on getting "clean" data lists, data which is pulled in from numerous freely available sources.

My name is ROMANIAN, so imposible for someone to guess it :) . Other marketing companies? Hey I JUST GOT THE CONTRACT (4 day old and only 1 day active!). Been bought from ORANGE online shop. SO NO WAY of 3rd party!

Not even all my palls received my number yet!I don't even know it ;) i have to keep check the phone to see it :D

[Guest drblow]

I work for a well known UK market research company ... :)

I couldn't tell you for a fact if O are indeed selling your number (it is very unllikely to be a coincidence) ... but I can tell you a couple of facts ... ;)

1) the data protection act covers your privacy as far as people passing on your details (for cash or not) without your permission ... it is VERY easy for companies to get your signature on a contract that has a special little clause in it somewhere that says 'tick here if you do NOT agree to having your details passed on ..."

2) to buy a set of telephone numbers with the correct persons name attached is VERY expensive & is a luctrative business for MANY MANY MANY companies ... basically any company who holds information about people/individuals/companies etc on a database that they can claim they have permission to 'pass on' has a goldmine ready to be drained for evey penny!

3) You can always refuse to listen/take part/agree to anything ... most often a polite but firm refusal will be enough to deter any serious caller. If you are really not interested then just tell them that. The data protection act only covers passing on of information, but there are also several other agencies that govern the conduct of telemarketing companies (ours is the MRS ... the Market Research Society). They set rules which if broken carry harsher penalties than breaking data protection, if our company was discovered to have broken some of them we could be closed immediately pending a full investigation.

Currently by law, if a person we contact asks never to be contacted again by our company about anything whatsoever, then we MUST take a note od their details & add them to a 'do not recontact' database. the MRS then requires us to check that database against ANY sample of telephone numbers we use.

If you feel that you would rather not get any sales calls at all then any LEGITIMATE company must do the same.

4) Don't forget that the person you are speaking to is just somebody like you & me doing a job. They are not picking on you by calling you 15 times a day, in fact it's most likely a computer that dials the numbers & you just end up being patched in to the next available phone. They may be trying to sell you something you neither want nor need ... but so what!?! :D If you really don't want it then just say no!

Remember, you are being sold to every second of every day ... every time you open your eyes you see an advert for something ... just get over it, it's a fact of life. & the truth is that every so often one of them will actually offer you something you want ... at a discount ... and everybody likes discounts!! :(

Oh yeah, one more thing ... don't do what the guy above suggested & 'sue them' ... you probably won't get beyond a lawyer asking you 'is this a crank call?' Contact the governoing body that regulates the industry you are dealing with (in this case I assume the mobile communications industry?). If a company is operating outside the law then they will know about it. The police/your lawyer/ will have much better things to worry about.

[Guest jimbouk]

And as the poster earlier said, go to the telephone preference service and register your number. The quantity of cold calls will reduce very quickly - almost to zero.

You can also retrospectively contact Orange and ensure that they mark your details as private and not to be passed on. As they will be registered with the Data Protection Registrar, they must tell you what data they hold and they must act upon a request to change the marker on your account to stop them passing them on.

[Guest florin_m]

Checked my contrat details, nowere was state that i allow them to pass my detail to a third party.

Today got a new spam call :) . So i got very pissed off and canceled my contract (still in 14 days return YEY).

[Guest Swampie]

Tried doing a directory enquiries lookup on your name/number with Orange? If you didn't request it to be excluded, then you may have your name and number on there.

Incidentally - next time you get a sales call, ask where they got your name and number from.

As for the TPS. It does reduce sales calls - but doesn't eliminate them. To register a complaint against a company with the TPS you need to know the company name and their number (and ideally who called, time of call etc). Many sales companies who ignore the TPS will hang up when you ask the company name or number (if they've, as many do, withheld their number when calling you).

Finally, if you do manage to get the details to report to the TPS, they don't actually do anything it seems. I've never heard of any 'convictions' (I don't think it's criminal so I use that word lightly) by the TPS. They're as bad as OFCOM really - a toothless regulator.

[Guest jimbouk]

Finally, if you do manage to get the details to report to the TPS, they don't actually do anything it seems. I've never heard of any 'convictions' (I don't think it's criminal so I use that word lightly) by the TPS. They're as bad as OFCOM really - a toothless regulator.

They do contact companies who breach the rules. I know of a couple of companies who breached fax and phone preference rules and they were ordered to submit where they got the data from and to stop calling/faxing.