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Cllr Clarence Barrett (Cranham, RA), who has alerted the TPA to the practice, said: "TPS is a free service for consumers wanting to register and they would never contact people in order to obtain payment. Please be aware of companies claiming to be TPS or BT asking for a fee to register or renew a TPS registration. The bogus operators typically ask for a £39.99 registration fee for what is actually a free service. "The golden rule is not to make any payments or pass on bank details to organisations or individuals unless you know it is a trusted source." In response to Cllr Barrett's concerns, TPS said: "We are concerned about some outfits misrepresenting our organisation and will collate and report misrepresentation to the appropriate regulatory bodies and will cooperate with Trading Standards and/or other agencies to investigate cases where such calls are fraudulent." "There are commercial companies offering call suppression services and we would advise residents not to provide bank or credit card details to anyone who calls them." Link to the official TPS website is here http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html 15.10.11 |
Residents are urged to be vigilant when registering for a service to block cold calling by telephone. Following a recent article in the Residents' Association newsletter informing residents of the free Telephone Preference Service (TPS), it has emerged that bogus operators are contacting residents and offering the service for a substantial fee.