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How To Combat Cold Calling About Fictitious Accident Claims

Occasionally we receive an email from somebody complaining that we have cold-called them. One thing that we never do is cold call. The only people that we ever call are those that contact us first and have requested we call them back usually for advice or to start a claim, and so we decided to look at a few ways people can try to combat those that do participate in annoying and intrusive cold calling.

Before we look at how to combat cold calling about fictitious accident claims it is worth noting that not all cold calls are illegal. If you have agreed to receive marketing phone calls from a particular company they are quite within their rights to call as detailed in the agreement. The vast majority of companies will take you off their marketing list if you change your mind but there are some companies who push the boundaries and some that go way beyond the boundaries.

One type of cold calling which has been doing the rounds for some time centers around a fictitious car insurance claim amid suggestions that you or a loved one have been in an accident. As more and more people are spotting cold calls on their mobile phone and landline these companies are becoming ever more ingenious in their approach.

Getting You To Answer The Cold Call

In the marketing cold calling world once you have picked up the phone the hard part has been done and the next challenge is to keep you talking. We all recognise various numbers, various area codes and many of us will not pick up a phone call from a number we don’t know. However, many companies have found a dubious way to get around this!

Have you received a phone call recently which appeared to come from your local area (hence the local area code) yet on answering you find the company is nowhere near you? Companies are now able to redirect their phone calls via the Internet and using a system commonly in use in the cold calling industry they can pick up on your local area code and redirect their call. The reason they do this is because the vast majority of us will pick up a local dialling code number, perhaps we are concerned it is a loved one trying to get in contact or an important phone call that needs to be taken.

Spinning Dubious Stories About A Car Accident

Thousands upon thousands of people have received phone calls over the last few years regarding fictitious car accidents from which they “may be entitled to claim compensation”. As money is tight for many people, perhaps Christmas is on the way or they have bought into the compensation culture which has grown in the UK, the chance of cold hard cash can catch many people’s attention. However, when was the accident, who was involved, and what details do they have for your records?

No unknown third-party insurance company would ever contact you about a car accident involving you or a member of your family. While the cold calling company thinks they have your interest when you have picked up the phone call and listen to your potential compensation claim it is then time to turn the tables. If you haven’t already hung up the phone ask them for details, where and when, who was involved and why have they taken so long to call you?

The Story Begins To Unravel

If you start asking questions many of these companies will quote the data protection laws and perhaps suggest they are unable to confirm details at this moment. While some of these cold callers blatantly lie to get your details and never reveal who they really are there are others that are supremely confident they will talk you round, and will often give you their real contact details, once you begin to ask questions the majority will backtrack and hang-up the phone. There is no point in barring these Internet-connected phone calls because they will just use another number the next time, but take note of the company and their real contact details as they may come in very useful.

So what was the reason for the original phone call? To see if you have actually been in an accident of late and whether they can help – at this point they would focus on your real accident and dismiss the fictitious one. Compensation claims, court cases and time to build your case can lead to a handsome pay-out for the cold calling companies – although they are only doing it for you!

Knowing Your Rights

The Information Commissioner’s Office has a very interesting section on nuisance phone calls and what you should do to avoid them in the future. In summary, you have a number of rights with regards to third-party cold calling and if used correctly they can certainly reduce the problem.

Telephone Preference Service (TPS)

The TPS should be your first point of contact because by simply registering with this service you are confirming what you do not wish to receive live marketing calls. This is a central register of individuals that have opted-out which should be respected by all telephone marketing companies. If you register with the TPS you may need to wait 28 days before the system is fully up-to-date but you have (in theory) opted-out of receiving any live marketing phone calls.

Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS)

The CTPS is the corporate equivalent of the TPS and covers companies and other corporate bodies who wish to opt-out from receiving live marketing calls. In an environment where wasted time equates to lost revenue, the number of work hours wasted taking marketing cold calls can become expensive and tiresome, to say the least.

Check The Small Print

As we touched on above, many marketing companies have small print hidden away in their customer agreements which allow them to cold-call customers unless advised otherwise.

There has been a change in the law over the last few years whereby customers should opt-in rather than be forced to opt-out of such arrangements but this is not always adhered to. So, you should check the fine detail of any agreement you sign with third parties and opt-out of any areas which you find unacceptable.

While many of us complain loudly about marketing cold calls, how many of us actually check the small print before we sign a purchase order or new customer agreement?

Tell The Cold Callers To Take You Off Their List

While there are services to sign-up to and small print to check, you always have the overriding option to tell any cold calling company to take you off their marketing list.

Make a note of what you told them, when you told them and keep this to hand in case they call you again (maybe even send an email where possible). If they continue to call you and ignore your wishes to be removed from their marketing list they are breaking the law and you should report them to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Closing Thoughts

Even though many marketing cold calls are perfectly legitimate and above board, many of us have experienced nuisance phone calls on a regular basis. Now there are options to remove yourself from live marketing call lists and you can report them to the authorities who have the power to hand out fines of up to £500,000. Indeed some companies have received even greater fines for continued contempt of the law and the wishes of the general public.

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  • Just had yet another one of these callers. I quite enjoy making up the stories to see how far I can go before they give up…
    Plus, the longer I can waste their time, the longer they’re not scamming someone else. Win, win

  • These calls do alarm me because they prey on the old and vulnerable. It is an absolute disgrace and more should be done to take fraudsters to task and ensure they get what they deserve. I had a call this morning claiming to be from Amazon, before he could continue, I asked if it was a spoof call where he wanted my details so he could rob me. He hung up. I have had the ‘you’ve been involved in an accident’ several times. I asked the last one if we could run through some security, “Please confirm my name, post code, and first line of my address.” She kept repeating I had been involved in an accident and I kept asking how she could say this when she doesn’t know my name or anything about me. She gave up and said that they must have been misinformed. I also had a convincing one claiming to be from Homerton Police station. The guy said my card had been cloned and fortunately, was recognised when they tried to use it in a local shop. I was almost interested as I had been in Homerton Hospital for an operation. I asked the guy for the crime reference number and told him I would contact the police station myself to check the authenticity before I continued. He started trying to give me some number but the phone went dead. It was as though some senior fraudster was monitoring and realised they were on a no-hoper. I just never trust anyone who phones now. I would always contact the’organisation’ myself via the proper channels and using a different phone (in case they are still on the line – making it sound legitimate.)

  • Alex Linke

    My latest response when “told” I’ve been in an accident in the last two or tree years is “ do you mean the very serious one that I got killed in?” It totally throws them. Where are you talking to me from then? Is their default response. The last time I said “Hell” I was abused in Hindi, but I don’t know Hindi or Urdu so really care as I didn’t understand what he was saying , but is usually something about having a baby with my wife or mother. They’re both dead so I don’t care either

  • Never answer unknown numbers with your name. As soon as you do they then open with your name, as if they knew it all along. Just answer hello.

    When you ask them if they even know your name, they usually either hang up or ask you to confirm your name due to data protection or other such made up rubbish.

  • Iain MacDonald

    I get the Ambulance chasing calls from the one and only time I ever put my step-daughters name an the same quote form as my own dated 2013 -I had mine on business insurance, I usually ask what the call is in connection with or who’s calling ,very politely then when they’re lulled into a false sense of security I tell them to Foxtrot Oscar and don’t bother me again. I have approached the company from whom I wanted the quote but obviously they deny any knowledge. Hmmm

  • Thomas Gallacher

    I get at least one of these calls every day. Most of the times I just tell them to “eff off” but if I’m bored I’ll string them along. My recent story has been how I was sitting in my car when all of a sudden a helicoptor landed on the roof. It then took off again without stopping to exchange details. I tell them how I got a hold of the tail number and they should be able to track the pilot from that. What’s bizarre is that some of them continue to press you with questions without even recognising the absurdity of the tale.

  • Silly van

    I just ask them what accident are you talking about I’ve had two ?
    The one last week ?
    Or the one I had in my pants
    Boom gone !!

  • Stuart Holland

    Keep asking them if they want your car registration plate details and eventually they’ll say okay. Then tell them it’s a private plate and then read it out……..
    F…*…*…K….O…F…F or what ever insulting word you can come up with.

  • Paul Chambers

    If you have the time and want to waste their time then here’s what to do:-
    You receive an automated response call, usually a female voice. It’s quite convincing these days until you ask a question, you are then redirected to an advisor who may be from another part of the country or outside of it. Give a fictitious story about an accident, start off by making it a believable story. A good story could be you were driving down a country road when suddenly a gate swung out, pushed open by the farmer of that field and cows came running out. You screeched to a halt but not quick enough. Three cows were killed as a consequence and the farmer is trying to sue you for lost earnings. The advisor may ask what damage was done to your car, you then say “none” It was the trailer you were pulling that killed the cows. When you had to stop suddenly the trailer flipped over the car and hit the cows. You can give the Farmers name as McDonald and say he’s an old man, a song was written about his grandfather, then you can sing the Old McDonald had a farm song. The longer you keep them interested the less vulnerable people they will bother

  • Al Archibald

    I like the way that when you insist you haven’t had an accident, they just hang up, without a “sorry to bother you,” “we’ll adjust our records,” kiss my arse or go to hell.

    Anyone that discourteous I don’t want to do business with.

  • Eugene Macdonald

    My advice is this. Get an anti attack scream can ( the ones that woman keep in their handbag) keep the caller interested.. then blast them . Won’t hear from them for a while😂😂

  • Good content. Has some great insights from commenters.

  • Christine Coburn

    I’ve recently had two calls from accident claims companies, but what bothers me is that in both cases the caller has sounded very much like a child – probably a girl. I know I could be mistaken, but it’s worrying me a bit. In both cases, the caller didn’t seem very confident, and sounded as though they were following a script. Am I over-reacting?

  • I am surprised no-one has said they just hang up. That’s what I do. I don’t have a car and have never used Gumtree but I still get these calls. It’s normally obvious from the silence at the beginning that it’s going to be an automated voice. As soon as it says something I put the phone down and block the number although I realise this might not make a difference.. Thankfully I only get these calls once every 6 weeks or so.

  • I regard these calls as good sport. Also, the longer I can keep them on the phone, the fewer vulnerable people they will reach. I am sometimes moved to tell the first caller that they are working for a criminal organisation or at least an unethical business and tell them I’m really sorry that they have to do work like this. I think they often do not realise this as the employer has been dishonest towards them about the legitimacy of the business model. Today I was put through to a second person, who I sensed had bought in to the unethical nature of the business, and I managed to string him along until he lost his cool, insulted me and hung up. Success! (It is, however, very depressing that it is considered fair game to lie for financial gain. I blame the Thatcher/Reagan phenomenon for starting the rot 40 years ago. There will be dishonest and unethical people whatever happens, but the Thatcher/Reagan phenomenon gave tacit permission for such people to do what they do, and peer pressure has swelled their ranks. And where has it got us? It has got us to what you see around you today.)

    • You seem to be forgetting about the slimy Estate Agents across the UK who lie and harass for a living! they are made of the same sheeeite

  • I get at least two calls a week or more frequently if i post a advert on gumtree. Makes no difference if i ask to removed from their suckers list

  • As annoying as these are, I would like to know whether they “suffer” more if you actually end up being put through to someone, like if they begin a human conversation with you do they lose commission or something if the call ends without any success? If so, I am more than happy to string them a long each time and make it as time-wasting as possible for them as they are for me – especially if the outcome is a satisfying as knowing they had just “lost business”.

    If anybody knows please pray tell …

    • Bianca Gabriele Schmitz-Culbert

      we always wind them up which usually ends up with us being called names…

  • These scammers use Gumtree to get your phone and number. As soon as you post car sale advert you WILL received cold callers (fake accident calls) telling they are from Liverpool Victoria, Road Traffic Management, and various solicitors. Almost 90% of the callers are actually based in Asia and simply using UK phone numbers. They simply collect more of your details and them sell them to accident management companies for 500-700 per valid lead.

  • I went on compare the market to get car insurance and I had to tell them I had a claim for an accident at the end of march last year. Two days later I received a call from a firm of solicitors . They knew the date of the accident and the reg no and make of my car. I assumed that the insurance company had given them this information but now I think it was compare the market because my insurance company told me that they do not give peoples details out to other companies.

  • Johno4521

    It’s pointless listing all the numbers these cold calls are “from” as they are totally fake numbers generated randomly to get past any call barring equipment you may have.

  • S. Meliora

    As soon as I realise it’s a cold call, I pretend I am a poor auld lonely soul, delighted to hear their friendly voice, and would they like to hear a song, Obviously I don’t wait for an answer I start with Old Scots Mother Mine; Annie Laurie; etc funnily enough after attempting to interrupt my singing without success, they give up and hang up! Go through YOUR song or hymn list, a joyous experience to frustrate these callers!

    • Denize Crozby

      I am crying with laughter that’s hysterical. But it’s also really scary for the scammer the other end!
      My ex boyfriend and I had a fictious accident cold call while he was driving! He told the caller that his clairvoyant skills were outstanding because he was about to have an accident the next couple of minutes… To which he placed the phone near his bum and broke the loudest wind ever and said ‘ now that’s a accident mate’ he never got a call again! Priceless!

    • Brilliant…! I always try to see how long I can keep them on the phone for. I go along with their questions giving them a story to the point where it’s so ridiculous that a child would think it’s BS. Play them at their own game. I’ll be using your one next time and sing them a bit of chas and dave

      • Same here – sometimes i start singing or use angry german accent. Or start asking where are they located (company) as none of them even know where the actual company is based that they are pretending to call from.

        • A friend of mine answered hers with, she better tell her parent, so they don’t get worried, because she didn’t know she had that accident herself. 😀 Needless to say they didn’t stay on the phone very long.
          Singing a tune sounds fun though. I need to try that. Better than asking them to take me off their list, which doesn’t seem to help. Ignoring any unknown number seems to be a better way to go, at least for about 2-3 months. They leave you alone, if they don’t get through a certain number of times.

  • My elderly father had phoned the AA to report an accident. I got involved and using my mobile I phoned up the AA to check how long it would be before assistance would arrive, within half an hour of making that call I received a cold call advising me I’d been involved in an accident. You can imagine what I now think of the AA.

  • No Name

    I put my car on for sale on Gumtree & Facebook Marketplace last night, and so far this morning i’ve had 4 calls from accident claims management firms. Coincidence? I think not

    • You’re right man ,

      I just added 2 different ads on Gumtree and 5 minutes after I got 2 different calls for someone telling me about a car accident 2 years ago . Say them to go to Hell.

  • I always help cold callers asking about my motor accident by giving them a load of totally fictitious details. Longest call was 19 minutes. I told them in a broad West Country accent that it ‘weren’t just me, it were “my woife and pregnant daughter what got it worse nor what Oi did”. I tell them in great detail about all our injuries, including which toe on which foot was removed in surgery following the accident, and frequently break off to “ask moi woife a bit more details”. I finally said it had been a pleasure telling them about “moi little troubles” but I had to go as the taxi had come to take me to the hospital, and I put the phone down.

    • Donald's Rump

      Brilliant! If scam baiting were an olympic sport you’d be on the podium!

  • I’ve had 4 persistent calls on my mobile
    All 4 kept persistently saying I’d had a car crash in the last 2 years but saying it wasn’t my fault and that I was hit from the side. I said no I haven’t had any accident and the women said “ maybe you was hit from behind or the side” I said what car was it? What reg? And she couldn’t answer.
    I’m Sick of these calls!….

    • Well all of u guys here do not understand the nature of the call and what uninsured losses are.

      Basically no one is scamming you. No one asks u for any bank details, the agencies just confirm if u where injured and have you claimed, if it’s a no to all, you are transferred to senior advisors for compensation and documenting that is sent to your home address. No bank details asked, payment done on check service.

      • Of course it’s a scam. They claim to have been informed by the Road Traffic Accident department (which doesn’t exist) that I have had an accident. I either challenge them by asking them to tell me what my name is, or I say ‘ooh I think you mean my son, I’ll get him for you’ then I just leave them waiting and go back to doing whatever I was doing before they interrupted me

      • Denize Crozby

        The point is here that in a sense it is a scam. Although they do not adk for bank details etc thry do press claiming or try to get you to say or question if you have had an accident. If you have for real then you will have ajreadky reported it etc and will know that they are phising.But the other point us they get huge compensation if you go along with it even encouraging you to make a false claim and you get prosecuted. They get a big pay out a d can’t be traced. Dies not mean because your bank details have not Bern gained its not a scam. The term is very broad.

      • Ricardo

        You sound like you may have worked for one of these companies, in which case can you say why they call every day and insist the case has just landed on their desk this morning?
        If you were actually a successful claimant, congrats. No need to answer the above question.

    • I also received a call just now, and the situation she described is exactly the same as yours. But I already sold my car last year, when i asked her could she tell me the the specific time which the accident happened and she hung up the phone.

  • Just had a car scam phone call.

    How can we easily register such numbers, and would anuyone pay these folks avisit to stop them?

    • Denize Crozby

      The point is here that in a sense it is a scam. Although they do not ask for bank details etc they do press claiming or try to get you to say or question if you have had an accident. If you have for real then you will have already reported it etc and will know that they are phising.But the other point is they get huge compensation if you go along with it even encouraging you to make a false claim and you can get prosecuted. They get a big pay out and can’t be traced. Does not mean because your bank details have not Been gained its not a scam. The term is very broad.

      Unfortunately there are no direct laws that protect a victim they are very flimsy at best and are basic legislation designed to cover very basic concerns. The legislators would expect you to take the company to court at your own expense by first hiring a private detective to find them, Bruce Willis to arrest them and Arnie to sort them out for good in a very small prison cell. Well guys this only happens in the movies!

  • Ilkin Jamalli

    The article is useless as it doesn’t say what to do if you already opted out of calls but still receive a robocalls followed by real people claiming to be from Accident Management Company. It would be good if a recording of my conversion where I supposedly play along and pretend to have had accident until they expose real AMC company name which can be passed to ICO for prosecution then it would be useful. Until that there is no point of even picking the phone up. I use apps “TrueCaller” & “Should I Answer” which helps to identify and report this numbers.

    • Hi – two numbers have called my daughters phone, I answered and when I asked where they got my number from, she said the accident bureau, after which I told her this was false as my daughter is too young to drive let alone have a car, at that point they hung up. Our numbers are with TPS.

    • Johno4521

      Pretend to be interested to obtain the caller’s details first, eg Company name, geographical address, website. Then tell them you are going to report them to the ICO (Information Commissioner s Office) as these people are usually breaking the law on 3 counts;
      1. They must have a list of people who have not opted in to receive cold calls or are in the TPS to refer to before calling them.
      2. Companies who call you must by law transmit a WORKING telephone number ie one you can ring them back on.
      3. It is illegal to cold call using a recorded or robot voice which gives, or attempts to give, the impression you are talking to a real person.

  • Just say you need to go and check something, put the phone down and then switch your radio on! Alternatively, my mother-in-law keeps a very loud whistle by her phone to use with cold callers!!!!!

  • HackdOrf

    If I ever find out where one of these companies is based I will chain their doors shut and torch the place with EVERYONE in it!

    • …until you realise that many of the operatives are often the desperately poor from third world countries, who have no other choice but to cold call us Westerners in order to receive a pittance to try to support their families. Some of them may have already had their homes torched.

      • Helena B

        They sound very British to me!! Nothing but young,,British scammers.

      • @ Simon i very much doubt that when they call from a call center generating £50k a month and only paying them £70 per claim on top of there basic, the money from these claims isn’t going to the customer they are KEEPING THE MONEY for themselves.. Iv investigated further and found out they have more than a few companies under their belt. including phone house company (fake Chinese mobile phone’s at extortionate prices) and the new company THE TYCOON generating from you guessed it Rawalpindi Pakistan.

  • I received a phonecall about an accident. They told me the third party contacted them and told them. They where wasting my time so i started to waste theirs, i said yes i was in a crash cant remember the reg plates of my car or theirs. They actually told me the reg plate of my car and the reg plate of the third partys. Dont have a clue whos they are but they are someone’s as i checked an app on my phone. They also told me what date it happened and everything.

    • my daughter is on my insurance had a slight touch in my car last February. My front number plate had a slight crack, no damage to other car, but she notified the insurers as we are bound to do. The calls started within 2 weeks and were unremitting. They called themselves First Response Legal. These parasites use a bank of different telephone numbers so you don’t realise until you pick up the phone. It should be made illegal. I was told by my insurers that in the wake of the “crash for cash” scams they are required by law to last all notified accidents on a national database and this is where these people get the information from. Hundreds of people have complained on loads of websites, Martin Lewis, who called me, etc.if you google First Response Legal, there is a link to a YouTube video by an actor calling himself Ben Beltane which is actually a recording of a conversation he had with them,it’s hilarious.

  • Desmond Abraham

    Was recieving phone calls about so called accident I never had when will these organisations who were ringing stop their nonsense

    • Chris Gosling

      Been receiving many of these accident claim companies. After the initial preamble I told the caller I was dead to which he repluued “may you rest in peace”. Rather funny I thought.

  • Despite tps **** rang my number saying that I had an accident. I replied i don’t drive where did you obtain my number they went on to ask about trips and slips. Again question where was my number obtained from answer road traffic accident division my reply rubbish and repeated query promptly caused the person to hang up

    • Lindsey

      i’ve had a fair amount of calls, all sounding weird and when i challenge them, they just hang up! I can’t call back or match their number to any business!

  • If it is a real person, I reply using a diferent language. The language need not be live or real Klingon, Sumerian etc. – or you can make something up. The stunned silence is worth the effort of learning a few phrases. I don’t get repeat calls

  • In the space of an hour this morning I had three calls one from **** a known scam number from Ottawa Canada. Another from **** , a call centre in India and the third from **** a Chesterfield number. I didn’t answer the first two which cut off when the answerphone kicked in. I did answer the Chesterfield call as I know someone from that area. It was a young female voice who said the National Accident Centre has reported to them that I had been involved in an accident, saying “Is that right?” I told them I was registered with the TPS, to take me off their calling list and she was talking bo**ocks. I disconnected the call. I have had a few of these calls over the past month or so, they come from a UK number, often with an area code that is familiar to you to encourage you to answer the phone. The caller always ends with “Is that right?” Iagree with the other comments that something should be done to stop UK numbers being used from overseas call centres.

  • Bruce Stewart

    So I’ve done ex directory, I’ve done TPS, I’ve reported companies to the Information Commissioners Office and you want to know the truth? It makes not one bit of difference. Someone bumped my car in a carpark, someone else (either from the insurance company or repairers) sold my contact details. Once those details are out there it’s like a virus. They get sold from one company to the next. When I ask where they got the information I’m told ‘The Road Traffic Accidents Department.’ That department doesn’t exist. And I get calls, not for weeks , not for months but for YEARS! It’s happened to me twice. Until people are jailed for this activity it won’t stop.

    • Johno4521

      If they’re not ringing from the UK, they’re not going to be worried about UK laws!

  • Richard

    I just tell them to f*** off and hang up, my theory being that I want to make their experience as unpleasant as possoble. Though if I had the time and patience I would spin out the call for as long as possible, wasting their time (as others have suggested).

  • These calls never going to stop. Unfortunately. But there is one thing everybody can do. You can waste their time.
    This is not my method, but one of my friend’s. Tell them they are right, you have been in an accident. Then they will ask for any details regarding the accident. Then you tell them you need to find the papers with the details. Ask them to wait, then you just put the phone down and enjoy the show. Usually they wait around 10-15 minutes before they realise what is going on… 🙂

    • C Sellers

      Absoulotely keep them waiting lwaiated for the supervisor for a while to keep them on line. When he asked me about my accident I said “ an ice cream lorrry. Hit me and nearly drowned me,! He hung up. Have some fun with these scammers !,

  • Richard Laughton

    I phoned Admiral Insurance to update my payment details ready for renewal. Less than 10 minutes later I had a cold call from a company asking if I had just had a no fault accident. It was an English female, the number was ****. It would seem that the numbers I am calling, or some numbers, are being logged somehow and triggering these unsolicited calls.

  • Tel number **** called me about an accident that wasn’t my fault today.. please add to your list of nuisance numbers, Thank you

  • Phil Sharp

    you can add this one to the list of cold callers, **** they called me this morning about accident that was not my fault, When i asked what accident they went on about national accident database as if it was gospel. I asked again which accident, wanting details since the only accident i had was over 10 years ago. The phone went dead when i wouldnt bite and give them personal details.

  • The Government needs to just force ISPs to ban incoming VOIP internet-telephone calls from any international organisation. Make it so that only legitimate organisations can contact the UK and force through some legislation to make the company recognisable (i.e. not allowing fake phone numbers to be shown).

  • Put my car for sale on gumtree 4 days ago and so far had 8 calls from these scammers, all from apparent UK numbers but from call centres in India/Pakistan. Thats 8 more calls than I have had asking about the car for sale. Do gumtree just sell these on as a matter of course or do these scammers parse the web picking up the phone numbers.??

    • Same problem. East Europeans and Asians constantly calling. Stating various companies. All sorts of numbers, mobiles, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds. Only happening since I advertised a car on Gumtree.

      • Georgia Collier

        Same – Gumtree advert and I have had three calls.

        • Same here for 10 minutes at least 70calls from various companies and no they don’t understand that you never had an accident. Almost made me go crazy then I switched to Hungarian language. I think I am deleted from the system 😀

        • SAME!!

          Never received these kind of calls before until I posted my car on Gumtree – now this is the 4th call today and it not even mid-day yet!

  • I keep getting these phone calls every 2-3 weeks. I told them to take me off the list. They didn’t. I told them under GDPR they have no right to have my phone number or any details in their database as I din’t gave them my consent. No effect. Told them that I’m registered with TPS so they have no right to call me. No effect. I told them I’m recording the conversation and reporting it to ICO and ActionFraud. No effect. Actually I keep reporting them to ICO, but it’s a different company name and phone number every single time, so it’s all in vain to block the numbers on my phone… I disabled (using TrueCaller) calls from unknown (withheld/private) numbers, but they mostly don’t use number blocking so they get through. If I ask them to talk to their manager, or repeat the name of their company they just hang up… So annoying.

    • @AA – If you have call screening technology and a call blocker on your phone, you should be able to select ‘calls from people on your contact list only’. This blocks ALL foreign numbers that are not included on your phones contact list, (they don’t even get to ring through). You want to check your settings.

  • I’ve started having these calls again a few hours after advertising a motor bike on Gumtree but what I wonder is, how do they make money from the calls? They ask if I’ve received my cheque for compensation from this fictitious accident so are they acting as agents for a “no win no claim” company here or do they ask for payment to release the compensation cheque or ask for your bank details. I’ve never engaged them long enough to find out, presumably one person a week falling for the scam would earn them enough to pay all their phone operators, but what is the scam?

    • C Sellers

      Absoulotely keep them waiting lwaiated for the supervisor for a while to keep them on line. When he asked me about my accident I said “ an ice cream lorrry. Hit me and nearly drowned me,! He hung up. Have some fun with these scammers !,

    • @Sue – I think a lot of these companies are phishing scam fronts, in that they simply want peoples details like name and address (to go with phone numbers their software generates)- they sell these details onto other unscrupulous companies. It does not really cost them money to call you, only the cost of one web subscription. They phone victims via VOIP.

  • I like to get past the cold calling robots to get through to a real person and let them say their bit. Once they’ve finished and ask the details of the accident, I tell them I was sat at my desk and didn’t make it to the toilet it on time. I then explain how dirty and ashamed I am.

    I then go silent until they twig and put the phone down. I’m sure I’ve managed to get a laugh out of one or two of them.

    • @Merv Y’know, people say they ‘do this and that’ when cold called… but y’know what? The employees of these dodgy companies use software to generate hundreds of calls an hour. They are literally sat there with a headset for 6 hour shifts. You think they haven’t heard every conceivable thing before? There are people on youtube regularly generating revenue through comedy vids, wasting these callers time. They dont care. While it might make you feel better, it bores them. They just want your details and are onto the next call seconds later… wasting their time is part/parcel of the job. Needs to be gov legislation against this once and for all

    • Richard Yeo

      I had a call a moment ago. Once I said yes to the robot, the guy started talking. I said “go on then” as though to allow him an opportunity to continue. He took offence to the “go on then” remark and started arguing with me. I told him I would hunt him down and knock him out and then he almost started crying and said I was the rudest person he had ever spoken to!

      • I just had a call myself and he was insistent that he was just confirming details at this stage, he took offense when I asked him where he was and listed a couple of Indian cities his tone when he told me he was from Pakistan made me smile!
        So, I decided to comply and give him some of the details “Well if you are sure I am eligible for compensation then I would be foolish not to go ahead. So, the guy was busy waving his hands at me so he was too slow to get out of the way and I ran him over, OK I had to swerve to make sure I got him, but he really shouldn’t have been on the road. He made a real mess, I am still quite distressed thinking about it, I mean the blood is still drying on the bonnet now. I was just getting a wet cloth when you called.” He interrupted me, but I still manged to keep him on the line for over 6 minutes. He said he will call me back, bet he doesnt!

  • My problem is a little different from the rest, I’ve been involved in a real accident, it was a small accident and it wasn’t my fault. I just wanted to repair my car, the third party insurance gave me money to repair my car because they considered is no use to repair it. I repaired the car on my own, everything is fine now, but I started to received calls from solicitors to make a claim because they say that the law tells if you had an accident with more than 5 miles per hour and the cost of repairs is more than 500 pounds then you can claim money due to medical condition such like disconfort. I don’t want to harm anyone, I don’t want the insurance price for the other driver to explode and I told them that I don’t have any sort of pain from this accident but they keep going that I am entitled to make a claim and this won’t affect anyone, in fact they told me the other driver is already charged for this and if I don’t make the claim for this money, my insurance company will get this money after 1 year and a half and they will use it for marketing purpose. I need this money but I don’t want to harm anyone, could you please tell me if what they told me is true and should I go on with it or back out of this wierd situation? Thank you

    • Yes you are in your right, it’s from the third party insurer and it’s your uninsured losses payment which is legally put aside in the UK whenever you are involved in an RTA, dependent on the damage to the vehicle you can claim up to 1000-5000 pounds

    • Hello Dorin, it doesn’t really matter what yarn they’re trying to spin, if you haven’t been injured then please don’t try to claim compensation for an injury because it would be fraudulent.

      • That’s what I’ve told them, but it seems to get worse…on my last call I told them I will sign the papers if they add my statment “After the accident I haven’t had any sort of physical injuries or disconfort.” it seems that they calmed down for the moment…I’m a religious person with a fear of God and I don’t want to take advantage of something that it’s not true. Thank you for your answer and I hope they won’t bother me again..

        • My friend fell for a cold call exactly like this after they rang about 20 times. He has ended up with a bill for £2300 – please don’t believe what they tell you. It’s immoral that they prey on vulnerable people.

          • I alternate between a high pitched scream to p••• off and asking why it took them so long to get in touch and launching into a l o n g story about travelling down the High Street in awful weather and when I came to the Zebra crossing got such a fright when a car nearly hit me and I scratched my walking stick when it fell. It’s good timing how long they stay on the line.

  • GUMTREE ADVERTS

    All the calls i received are from posting vehicles on Gumtree i know the exact location of the call centre and also who runs it, it feels brilliant when you tell them what call centre they are calling from and then they seem to get very nervous an want to end the call, they started the company in 2012 called KAREEMIYA technologies in Rawalpindi Pakistan now there is a rival company called ACE BPO all the calls are from these call centres.

    • Thanks for the insight and after doing a quick search found this review for Gumtree on Trust Pilot stating the same. https://uk.trustpilot.com/users/5b883ef34de5666d34697606

      • Barbara Ellis

        I started advertising on Gum Tree 10 days ago and have received endless phone calls every day since, referring to my minor car accident. Which I haven’t had.
        Next time, I will say ‘I’ll just go in search of paper and pen so that I can write down all your details’, then leave the phone beside the cradle whilst I make a coffee.
        Or use a whistle. Or sing.

      • William

        As i see the review its true that call are coming from the call center based in Pakistan,Bangladesh,India and Philippines.These center are in contract with the law firms of UK.They cold call and find the people who had accident and they get commission from solicitors.As i search more about it i get software’s named as eye-beam,VoIP,X ten.They use these software and dial the numbers.They didn’t receive the data from any department they just pick random number from different selling products sites and dial them.How i get these details? I put add on gum tree of my car and i receive calls like other people i had accident but i don’t want to make claim they call me again and again one day i decided to make claim then i give my accident detail to one of the caller he is very good with me one day i asked from him how he get my number then he told me all the things.

      • Hi Admin after doing my own research I can now tell you they use a number spoofing app to obtain your details for the fictitious car accidents they phish (scan) on gumtree as soon as a advert shows online they pounce and bombard the caller with questions about a accident, if you swear or annoy them they will call back on your own number or ring other gumtree prospects with your number showing as person called. If you decide to get emails only on gumtree they still have accounts an will request your number to bombard you with calls (clever lil bas***ds).

        https://en-gb.facebook.com/AceBPO/

        https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Media/Kareemiya-Bpo-100252058022073/

        these are the 2 main companies calling every person in the uk about a car accident and now they also call offering the latest mobile phones for a certain fee scam please be aware i don’t endorse these companies im just making the public aware about where the calls are coming from.

        I have called and emailed Gumtree who don’t seem to be bothered in the slightest about what happens to their users so use at your own risk the UK public shout make a stand to get gumtree to do something about this and block people from Pakistan or India viewing the market place or place a premium number service which will cost them dearly if called from abroad.

  • Shoeysmum

    I have had many of these calls and on several occasions have asked that I be removed from their database only to get another similar call within a few months. They’re always female and it sounds like a young female.

    Nowadays I simply tell them to f off.

  • I had a very weird call this morning. I called a Company on my mobile phone regarding a car they were selling. An hour later I received a phone call from one of these scamming b******s, you know what I mean those that say that I had an accident. So, here’s the weird thing, when the person (Indian accent) called me, the first thing he said was “I am calling you from the claims department of Victoria Motors about the accident you have had.” This is the car Company I called an hour previously asking about a car for sale. It appears that someone is spying on my phone, or how else would they know that I called this Company an hour previously. I guess I need to do something, this is pretty worrying, but I am not sure what to do. Any suggestions?

    • Hi Maz. Have you tried calling the car sales company and asking them? Not sure how the car was advertised for sale but thinking about it, it could possibly be a fake ad? It might be that somebody has set up an ad with the idea that some people enquiring about the car might be doing so because they need a new one following an accident? This might be the sole purpose of the ad, to try to get potential claimants, and there isn’t a car for sale at all. This is just an assumption though without knowing many details.

      • Thanks for your reply Admin. The car sales Company is legit, it’s not very far from where I live, they do have a legit website too. I did not look anything up on my phone whilst I was on the Internet, I used my laptop to check out their website, the only thing I did using my phone was to call them, so it must have something to do with that, but what I have no idea. I have had many calls before from these scammers about car accidents, but this is the first time they have said they are calling from someone I called on my phone. Of course I blocked their number and I have registered my number with the TPS. I am not worried about the call, I am just worried how they know where I called.

        • Ok well I’m not too sure, it could be a number of things I suppose. The most obvious would be that some garages or staff will sell on peoples details, but I wouldn’t want to make accusations in your case as I doubt the Indian caller would have been told to use their name. I’m not an expert on phones but maybe you have got a “dodgy” app installed on your phone, I don’t know.

          Maybe you could get a friend or use another phone to call the car company and see if it happens again.

          • it could be an unlikely but true coincidence. I have been called literally 5min ago after posting an ad on gumtree by a guy, Indian accent, stating he was calling from Victoria Motors about an accident I’ve had. So maybe you just got the Victoria Motors guy same as I did. He probably chose it because there’s at least 5 Victoria motors or similarly named legit businesses in the UK so there’s higher chances that something like your case happens and it’s going to work in their favour

  • Rod Tucker

    I just answer any unknown number as “Fraud Investigation Department”. Seems to get them off the line fairly quickly.

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