We've received automated calls for the first time over the last three days.

What I noticed today was when I close the phone, and later tried to make a call, they were still there and I was unable to use my landline.

How and why is this possible? :o

I've complained to BT about this before and the gopher who answered my call didn't understand why it was a problem. ::)

What if someone needs to call 999 but can't because their line is effectively being blocked by these scammers?

BT really need to pull their fingers out and do something about this, or maybe they are waiting for someone to die/be injured as a result. What is to stop me getting an overseas mobile, calling a house, then breaking in? They won't be able to call 999. Hope no prospective burglars are reading this. :-/

Smasher wrote on Jan 15^th, 2009 at 7:08pm:

What I noticed today was when I close the phone, and later tried to make a call, they were still there and I was unable to use my landline. How and why is this possible? :o

This is not peculiar to international calls. The caller must terminate the call whereas with mobiles either party can do so.

The receiver's line will be cleared after a time out period of leaving the handset down.

This happens with recorded international promotional calls. It will take few minutes to free your line. It is true that we can't recieve or make any calls during that time. TPS will not help to prevent these scammers.

gudman wrote on Jan 17^th, 2009 at 5:59pm:

. TPS will not help to prevent these scammers.

Yes, TPS will not for some reason block overseas calls, I guess it is too difficult to do.

sherbert wrote on Jan 17^th, 2009 at 6:50pm:

Yes, TPS will not for some reason block overseas calls, I guess it is too difficult to do.

TPS do not block any calls.

They produce a list of people who have registered with them in the UK as not wanting to receive unsolicited calls and if you receive an unsolicited sales call from a UK company once you have registered with the TPS then you can report that fact to the TPS/DMA (who just count total numbers of calls made in violation of TPS registration by various firms and pass on the totals to the Information Commissioner) or if you want an actual investigation file a complaint with the Information Commissioner's office.

Overseas callers who are unconnected with UK companies are not members of the Direct Marketing Association who run the TPS and so are not subject to these rules or any action by the Information Commissioner.  The only possible exception to this is overseas call centres in India and elsewhere working for a UK company.  But then most such call centres overseas withhold their CLI.

On the issue of the apparently blocked incoming line an incoming caller cannot block your line indefinitely unless they keep on and on calling you each time your line clears down.

If you hang up on an incoming caller their call is disconnected after a certain number of minutes (certainly no more than 10 minutes and usually no more than 5 minutes) with the idea behind the initial continued connection of the call being that it allowed you to change phone extensions etc without dropping a call (this does not apply where you originate a call where the call is immediately disconnected if you hang up - I can only presume the idea is that if you originate a call you will make it from the phone that is convenient to you).

So an incoming caller cannot block your line unless they dial it repeatedly.  That is why there are rules in most countries restricting the number of automated redial attempts permitted by a fax machine for instance.

So if you put the phone down on the caller and wait 5 minutes they should be cut off.  But if you are impatient and keep picking the phone up then the clock counting towards the say 5 minute cut off is reset every time you pick up the phone.  So if you keep checking every 60 seconds and they do not hang up the call will remain connected indefinitely.

This means that someone can only block your line permanently if they keep on redialling every single time you hang up on them for 5 minutes or so and cut them off by doing so.  On the whole most overseas callers still pay something for each call so would be unlikely to do so unless their intent was malicious.

It is very annoying when you are called repeatedly by say an errant fax machine or of course a call centre making Silent Calls due to incompetence but normally this behaviour desists after a day or so.  If you receive hundreds of calls rather than just a handful of calls and/or there are a few of them but in the middle of the night you may be able to involve the Police of BT's Nuisance Calls Bureau.   However if you are not a BT customer they will try to evade responsibility, even if the line is physically underlyingly provided by BT Wholesale.

If you find you are still connected when you want to make a call.

With the phone picked up, press the Recall button, wait a couple of seconds, then put the phone down.  A couple of seconds or so later the phone will ring, answer it, wait a couple of seconds and then put the phone down.  The line will now be clear and you can again make and receive calls.