Forum Discussion

VsUK's avatar
VsUK
Dialled in
2 months ago

Spam, fraudulent calls from Virgin.

I've been getting calls nearly every day now from this number 08000525306 & it shows up on my phone as Virgin Media. I've been unable to answer until today & a guy was on the line. Asked to speak to me, gave me my full name & even told me some of my package I had & how long left. And he was calling to see if there's anything they could offer me or discounts on offer, so I needed to just pass the security phase to proceed. When I said I wasn't interested in adding anything or changing anything, he just hung up on me. When I called the number back about 5 minutes later, it went to Virgin Media & the automated voice said, it looks like we tried calling you today. 

So, is someone in one of Virgin Media's offshore call centres acting maliciously? Because I googled this problem & there's a site for identifying who called you & a lot of people have been getting the same thing. 

So, Virgin better get to grips with this, or better yet, stop having your call centres abroad in places where telephone scamming is rife. 

8 Replies

    • VsUK's avatar
      VsUK
      Dialled in
      2 months ago

      Yes, I always opt out to those things. But they keep on calling looking to discuss my package & every time I say, I've not long since signed a new package, they don't say anything, just hang up. I've had 27 calls this month, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day & it's getting beyond a joke now. I'm considering reporting them for unsolicited & excessive marketing calls, they just won't stop.

       

    • VsUK's avatar
      VsUK
      Dialled in
      29 days ago

      Well my account has marketing calls unchecked. My mobile is on the TPC service & I've called them to complain, but when I've called, it tells me they've recently tried to contact me & gives me the time & date of their last call, which matches when the last call happened. 

      But it's getting beyond a joke now, it's sometimes 3 times a day now. And each time it's someone who clearly isn't English in the UK, asking to speak to me, gives my full name. Then goes on to explain it's to discuss my package I have with Virgin & to see if there's any offers available, so they just need to ask some security questions, and every time I say, I've not long since signed a new contract & have about 14 months left, they don't say anything, they just hang up. 

      I've already typed out a letter/email for Ofcom because it doesn't matter who's doing it, they're representing Virgin so Virgin are liable/responsible. So after the call I made to them  yesterday about it to complain & told them to stop or I will be taking matters further. I will be writing to Ofcom to make a complaint, because this his harassment now. 

      Virgin should stop putting call centres in countries rife for phone scamming in future. Even when I call to sort out a problem & it goes through to some foreign call centre, I just hang up. I've no interest in dealing with people who put me on hold whilst they themselves contact virgin to ask questions about my problem. It's just a joke now & I honestly don't trust having people abroad accessing my information either. 

      It's just odd that I've had my mobile for about 15 yrs now & no spam calls, but ever since I joined Virgin, I get about 4 or 5 spam calls a week. 

       

      • Robert_P's avatar
        Robert_P
        Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
        28 days ago

        We understand the frustration VsUK and apologise for any inconvenience caused. One option, as you have advised the calls all come from the same number and recommended by goslow, would be to block that individual number. We appreciate this isn't ideal but if no other numbers are contacting you this would prevent further calls immediately.

        You can also update your marketing preferences via your online account. If the calls aren't from ourselves, there is help here with how to help with calls of this nature.

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    29 days ago

    If it is the same number calling your mobile, can you not just block it?

    The responsibilities for different nuisance calls are

    OFCOM
    Abandoned calls, Silent calls

    ICO
    Spam text message (SMS), Recorded voice (automated call), Sales call from a real person (live call) 

    Action Fraud
    Report a phishing attempt, scam calls

    but all of the above are singularly weak and useless so don't expect too much when you log the calls with the ICO.

    You could maybe also try a formal complaint to VM (a required first step) before escalating to the ombudsman

    • VsUK's avatar
      VsUK
      Dialled in
      17 hours ago

      Well the problem is, the number that pops up that calls me. I call back & it goes to Virgin who's automated service says that Virgin recently tried to contact me that day. So unless these spam/fraud callers can spoof peoples numbers now I don't know. But they knew my full name, which I found odd as spam/fraud calls usually just ask for the bill payer or don't mention a name. 

      That said, I changed my number on my account to something different & the calls stopped. So this tells me, it's coming from Virgins offshore sales team, but it doesn't who or why, they're employed by Virgin so Virgin are responsible.