Companies who call you...

[S10 GTA]

And then want to confirm your personal details really annoy me. Had two calls from Orange this evening as I have mobile and broadband with them.

They called me on my mobile, and I confirmed it was me. They then start asking me to confirm my address, my date of birth etc. I refused. They asked if there was a more convenient time to call back, but I told them they would get the same response.

Really annoys me that they called me on my mobile yet want to confirm loads of details before they will discuss with me. I don't call my mate and ask him to confirm his dob before I talk to him.

Am I alone in my annoyance, or is it justified?

[davepoth]

S10 GTA said:

And then want to confirm your personal details really annoy me. Had two calls from Orange this evening as I have mobile and broadband with them.

They called me on my mobile, and I confirmed it was me. They then start asking me to confirm my address, my date of birth etc. I refused. They asked if there was a more convenient time to call back, but I told them they would get the same response.

Really annoys me that they called me on my mobile yet want to confirm loads of details before they will discuss with me. I don't call my mate and ask him to confirm his dob before I talk to him.

Am I alone in my annoyance, or is it justified?

No, it's crazy. How do you know they are actually from Orange?

[Robb F]

So the bank call your phone, and give whoever happens to answer it access to your account details and possibly even the ability to move money around and to other accounts.

you could have just been mugged, lost your phone, sold it and let them keep the sim, left it lying around etc etc.

I'd rather just confirm my d.o.b etc, which is annoying, but not as annoying as being told you have no money.

I would also not talk about details if I was called anyway. I'd call them back to ensure I was actually talking to the right people.

[MissChief]

Ok, so someone dials the wrong number by one digit and gets Bob, all round dodgy geezer who is rather partial to a new Iphone 4s.

'I'm glad you called, i was about to phone and tell you I've moved house. My new address is blah blah. I also wanted to take out two new contracts for new iphone 4s's on whatever contract will get me them for free'

BOOM, £80 a month on you, Bob gets two new iphone 4s phones which he promptly flogs on gumtree for £400 each.

Would you rather they didn't ask you to confirm your details? What if they're phoning to tell you Bob has changed your address but they're suspicious and want to confirm further details with you? it's probably a sales call or something, but of course they need to confirm it's you. It could be anyone!

[NSFW]

I had exactly this today from N-Ram, on an old account I forgot I had - Asking me to confirm my full address, postcode and DOB. I refused and she got all funny, saying. Could have the number to phone back on but I said I have no idea what it is about so I won't be calling you back.
I asked her to confirm the post code they had on record, she refused so I just said guess we are in a catch 22 situation, so send the information in the post.
She was saying it was to update account information, but as its an account I haven't used in 10 years (Have had the same mobile number since pretty much day 1) I'm not that bothered about it!

[freecar]

I wont ID myself for them either.

If the bank REALLY need to speak to the account holder, they'll make it clear that it's not a sales call.

If not, fk them off they're just trying to sell you something.

FTR, I used to work for Barclays and nearly lost my job when I refused to participate in an evening of cold calling our customers so I don't give two sts if "they're just doing a job".

[Tiggsy]

S10 GTA said:

I don't call my mate and ask him to confirm his dob before I talk to him.

Ever called your mate to give him highly confidential information that would get you fined if it went to wrong person yet not know how to recognise if your mate was the one who answered? No? Then your analogy is dumb.

[purplepolarbear]

I give an incorrect one. If they recognise it is incorrect, it's probably who they say they are and not someone trying to get personal details.

[Phil1]

Why would anyone provide security details to the first scammer that cold calls you claiming to be from your bank!

Get a name and department and call them back on a number you've got from their website...

[s1962a]

Tiggsy said:

S10 GTA said:

I don't call my mate and ask him to confirm his dob before I talk to him.

Ever called your mate to give him highly confidential information that would get you fined if it went to wrong person yet not know how to recognise if your mate was the one who answered? No? Then your analogy is dumb.

They could be smarter about it when they call and offer to volunteer some information and you fill in the gaps. For example, they could tell you the day of your birthday and you have to confirm the month and year, or they could tell you the value of a direct debit that has gone through your account and ask you what it's for. It's that 2 way communication that makes it seem more genuine than a cold-call where they just want information from you before they'll tell you what it's about.

[Maty]

A tactic I've had a few times is "what can I tell you that will make you believe the call is genuine" and "I'll give you part of your postcode, can you confirm the rest". For me I still wouldn't give them details, if it's that important, send me a letter, oh no wait a minute you'll charge me Xp per month to do that, send me an email instead!

[Jasandjules]

As above, I will trade information but if they don't want to do that then I ask them to write to me.

[boobles]

My tactics seem to work. "fk off" usually does the trick!

[cj_eds]

IMHO they seem to get really shirty when you won't give them your details. You telling me you work for Vodafone is not sufficient for me to give you enough info to commit identity fraud. 90% of the time they're only trying to sell you something anyway.