Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 56395	2005-04-03 20:47:00	Telephone Problem Not Related To Computers	Pauline (641)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
341252	2005-04-03 20:47:00	Hi, Over the last month our phone has been ringing at all hours of the day & night but there is no one at the other end, you just hear a click & then nothing. Calls are coming in at 2.30am, 5.45am those are the ones I hate. I have been logging these calls & have been in contact with call investigations. They tell me it is another communication company's customers & have told the other company of my problems, who then pass it on to their customers. They seem to be coming from fax machines from a few different numbers. We don't have a fax machine or caller ID. I am not getting any satisfaction. Anyone got ideas to solve this problem? I'm willing to do almost anything to get this sorted. Pauline.	Pauline (641)
341253	2005-04-03 21:40:00	Is there any way that you can borrow a fax machine for a while? The calling faxes should ID themselves within the fax protocol separately from Caller ID which may or may not be passed from other networks. This would allow you to fax back your midnight callers and find out why/how they got your number. Your number was probably included by mistake in some publication. It seems odd from what you say that all the callers are TelstraClear rather than Telecom unless they are from overseas.	PaulD (232)
341254	2005-04-03 21:42:00	I work from a home office and had that problem on my business line. If you are willing to do almost anything Pauline, this will kill the calls: I put the phone on a plug-in timer and set it to shut down between the hours of 9pm and 7am. You need to be using a phone that requires mains power (a rechargeable) but it sorts the problem. Buy a cheap phone if necessary. If you need to have the phone available 24/7 (elderly parents/children out late) then all you can do is keep logging the calls and times and informing Telecom. It gradually gets sorted. I had a data modem calling at all hours for a while too, but Telecom sorted it after I gave them the requisite five dates and times. Junk faxes seem to have almost dried up now, though there has been a minor resurgence of late from a pesky Australian company (miracle diets & police auctions etc) but Telecom should be able to deal with them for you, though it does take time. The cheeky buggers also use an 0800 number with charges attached for their "unsubscribe" service. :mad: Cheers Billy 8-{) :thumbs:	Billy T (70)
341255	2005-04-03 21:46:00	Is there any way that you can borrow a fax machine for a while? The calling faxes should ID themselves within the fax protocol separately from Caller ID which may or may not be passed from other networks . In my experience very few provide a sender's fax number these days Paul . Something to do with endless-loop-return faxes maybe, or just laziness/incompetence . Only the fully legit ever bother and they don't give problems . Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
341256	2005-04-03 22:11:00	Hi, Over the last month our phone has been ringing at all hours of the day & night but there is no one at the other end, you just hear a click & then nothing . Calls are coming in at 2 . 30am, 5 . 45am those are the ones I hate . I have been logging these calls & have been in contact with call investigations . They tell me it is another communication company's customers & have told the other company of my problems, who then pass it on to their customers . They seem to be coming from fax machines from a few different numbers . We don't have a fax machine or caller ID . I am not getting any satisfaction . Anyone got ideas to solve this problem? I'm willing to do almost anything to get this sorted . Pauline . Perhaps an answer machine? Make the bastards pay to fax-scream at your answer service while you sleep, and with luck, these evil fax spammers will bankrupt themselves! Yeah! I wish them the same grotesque future i wish to all spammers, be it email, fax, or snailbox . :D	personthingy (1670)
341257	2005-04-03 22:17:00	I'd vote incompetence setting the machine up, most faxes are plain paper now so the endless loop isn't as common. PC based faxing usually doesn't include calling number within the fax signal as well as on the coversheet if any. While Telecom can wash their hands of the matter by referring it to another company, this problem is likely to drag on until the source of the mistake is fixed. Perhaps a new ad will get the number right and the calls will just stop.	PaulD (232)
341258	2005-04-03 22:55:00	Hi, Telecom have offered us a new phone number free of charge, (didn't know there was a fee for that). It seems a shame to go that way as we have had this number for over 20 years. Then I think what if the new number is close to a well rung number & we are worse off. I'll see what the rest of the family think or try Billy's idea of a phone timer. Thanks for the replies. Pauline.	Pauline (641)
341259	2005-04-03 23:10:00	We had this problem a while ago. Except my husband had number diversion to his cellphone and thats where the faxes would end up trying to call. We found out from Telecom it was a TelstraClear number trying to fax so we rang TC and they told us the number. Rang it, got the name of the company, looked them up and then send a couple of bills to the director, charging him for our time plus loss of earnings (due to the cellphone being tied up all the time). They soon stopped pretty fast.	pctek (84)
341260	2005-04-04 09:38:00	Hi Pctek, Yes it is a Telstra customer causing the problems. I'm surprised that they gave you the number/name of the culprits. I did try to ring them today (Telstra) but the recorded message told me that there would be a 20 minute delay before I could speak to anyone. I will try later in the week when I have a spare 20 mins. Pauline.	Pauline (641)
341261	2005-04-05 02:42:00	Hi Pctek, Yes it is a Telstra customer causing the problems. I'm surprised that they gave you the number/name of the culprits. Hehe, so were we! Good though....	pctek (84)
1