Nuisance Call Blockers - any advice???

The telephone Preference Service is 100% efficient and any company trying to persuade you to shell out money for anything else should be ignored.

We bought a nuisance call blocker with 5000 pre-installed known nuisance numbers from QVC last year. It's brilliant and I can highly recommend it. Unfortunately it is no longer available, but they do have others. All we do if we receive a nuisance call is answer, decide if it's unwanted and then press the red button. This blocks calls from that number throne then on.

I meant to say, from then on. It was well worth what we paid for it, BT sorry that I can't remember the price.

I am on the telephone preference snd am ex directory. That does not stop me getting loads of cold calls. How do these people get hold of my number? I have given up and just hang up on them.

I was told by a nuisance caller that because they weren't trying to sell me anything, the TPS rules didn't apply to them.

When I bought my BT phone, a call blocker was inbuilt so I only get on average 1 nuisance call a month. If it is computer related I just say I do not possess a computer.

I am registered with the TPS too, but that doesn't exclude overseas calls. I bought one of the CPR blockers, but it wouldn't work on my phone line so I sent it back and got one of these:
Call Patrol call blocker
I have only had one nuisance call in the month or so since fitting it, so added it to the blacklist and have had nothing since. You can block various categories or individual incoming calls, including all 00 for international ones, but I read on a review a warning that some British mobile numbers include the 0044 prefix so would also be blocked. I therefore did not set that option and will block '00' cold calls individually for the future as and when they arrive.
I hope you find something to suit you.

I have just noticed that the Ebay advert in my link is from an overseas seller. There are others available from the UK. I think mine was about £14.99 from here.

I have an answerphone and am ex-directory. If I don't recognise the number calling I don't pick it up. Anyone with legitimate business will leave a message but found that nuisance calls gave up after repeated a/phone contact.

We had to replace our phones a while ago and new phone had BT callguard. Brilliant, callers have to identify themselves which sees off all cold callers. You are invited to accept a call from a caller who has indentified themselves. When that call ends you can mark that number as "always accept calls from this number" so all your regular callers get through with no further problem. We, too, had used TPS but found the beggars got round it.

Our house phones use Bluetooth and can be programmed like a semi smart phone (we can send phone numbers from our smartphones to them as well). We have Caller Line Identity set up on them and one of the handset bases has an answerphone as well. We've programmed ring 'tunes' against the names listed (some 200 numbers) so know when the phone rings whether it's a friend, family or business caller. That way, we don't bother with calls when we hear the standard ring tone, just let the answer phone take care of it. We can block numbers on the handset as well. We get the odd nuisance call but not very often. It is an advantage to be able to hear that a caller is someone whose number we have programmed in and, of course, we can look at the handset to see whose name is displayed. We can programme individual ring tones against a name as well but find that 3 tunes is enough. This system is extremely flexible as the Bluetooth sender is connected to the incoming line but the handsets and their bases can be put anywhere in the house.

When we moved back after our fire, we had a new provider and a new phone number. I've only ever given the new one to friends, family, doctor, dentist, etc. If ever I need to fill in a form online or otherwise I simply transpose the last two digits on my landline. My mobile has a free call blocker that only allows calls from people on my contact list and invites others to leave a message.

I like your idea of different ring tones NanaMacGeek

wanders off to investigate own landline phone for similar features

Anya, I wonder if one of your neighbours (the one whose phone number ends with the same two digits as yours) complains a lot about nuisance calls?

Not my problem NanaMacGeek

Try this one next time you're filling in your name and address. Call yourself Lady NanaMacGeek. Of course the website/shop will send you goods in that name, BUT wait and see what junk mail you get addressed to your Ladyship and that's an eye opener. You then know exactly who passed your details on

It may be a very elderly person's phone number you are giving Anya!

I am getting a lot of nuisance calls from a caller number withheld it is always an automated message. Now happening at least twice a day. We are registered with TPS but no way of knowing who they are though!!

We are with BT and have just enrolled in their nuisance call service. As has been mentioned before, it involves using the internet to ban calls. The OH has taken on this task and so far it is working well. We were getting 6 calls a day about gas boilers, each one from a different number, each leaving an answer phone message. It has taken a week or so to ban all these numbers but it is certainly working. It is a free service.

Our new BT package includes the blocking call service. DH can block them or you can do it on the phone. Seems to be working. Also registered with TPS but doesn't stop them all.

Just to let you know. My husband has been trying to deal with HMRC today and they have to give you a code number by phone. The website kept saying the phone call would happen in a few seconds but it never did. He eventually discovered that this was because we had a call blocking service and that this was stopping the call from HMRC.
Of course it wasn't blocking the people trying to sell insulation or the people who tell you you have had a accident, but with HMRC it was very efficient!

We have been with the preference services for some time both in Uk and France. For a while the blocking worked qell but gradually the calls started again. Then a friend said she didn't get many calls as she rented her house and they were then not interested - so now when we do get a call I simply s ay I am not interested as I am the tenant - the callers have reduced massively.

Hi everyone - thanks for the responses to my OP.
We feel the answer will be a call blocker as we have been registered with the TPS for a long time. The problem is that TPS doesn't stop nuisance calls from abroad and, as Newquay says, the beggars find a way around it!
We have ordered a call blocker for about £20 - every time we answer a call we can push a button to save the number as one we are happy to receive calls from, or press the other button which will block any further calls from that number.
Will be a pain for a while but hopefully will deter them?
Had a call this morning at 7.40am! Just the time when, if the phone rings you think it's a problem with our elderly neighbour or a problem with the grandchildren, so it's got to be answered.
Caller display is great except I don't have my specs on at that time of day