persistant sales calls from Optic Communications

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Just got called by them - Sarah - unbeliveable - i had to hang up - she threaten to report me to MD for not listening to her
 
they have to be the worst company every i would never deal with them
we did put them on file for June but after the amount of calls we got we have told them we will never deal with them but they just keep calling
 
STAY WELL AWAY FROM THEM

I too have just received my 5th call today from a person called Brad, he promissed me thee sun the moon and the stars if I moved my calls to them...

I received a fax about 4 days ago and then i received 3 calls to see if i had received the fax and another 2 that day from a Michael to see if I had any questions about the fax..

I did, so here are the questions and also the answers..

"Whatever you bill with your previous your previous provider they will refund back"

Q.How is this possible my bill was €2,500 last month
A. Yes sir we will Guarantee you a refund of this amount after 6mths but I need to confirm that for you

"20% Rebate every Quarter"
Q. so €500 back every Quarter so a further €2,000 back per year.?
A. I will have to get back on that sir

1c local Calls
Q. Is this a VOIP offering
A. No Sir we use the best network possible but I will have to get back to you Also.

Having received a total of 15 calls thus far i still am waiting for answers to my questions and given that my questions were based on the facts they have put on their FAX it seems they didn't bargain to speak to someone who know a small bit about it.

And by the way, the 15 calls were from others within optic, trying to sell me the service yet when I asked about my questions to Micheal, I am either told he is on a call, if off today or best yet he no longer works for this company, but the following day he is back and is on a call..

These guys should be reported to comreg , I have , as they seem to gearing up to the biggest scam I have ever seen in Ireland..

STAY WELL AWAY FROM THEM
 
Well said thomasj surely something could be done with this sort of annoying behaviour

Incidentially if you are wishing to move check the rates here www.zefone.com
i have dealt with them for a year now and found them to offer real savings
Dealt with a guy called Darren (really weird surname which escapes me now) bit full of himself but seems to know what hes about

BTW I am not connected in any way except as a customer. (satsified so far)
 
From the link provided by Rainyday above:


COMREG CONSUMER GUIDE -

Unsolicited Marketing Calls

Do you receive unexpected calls from companies attempting to sell products or services? You have rights concerning the use of your telephone number by companies wanting to sell to you. This guide looks at privacy issues for telecommunications users.

About ComReg

ComReg is responsible for the regulation of the electronic communications (telecommunications, radio communications and broadcasting transmission) and the postal sectors.

What is the law?

Regulations1 made in 2003 prohibit unsolicited contact by electronic communications means for marketing purposes. This includes contact by fax and SMS. Companies must ensure that you have given your prior permission i.e. “opted in”, to receive direct marketing calls on your mobile. A fixed line customer is considered to have “opted in” however they can “opt out” by contacting their service provider.

What information must companies provide if they contact you?

Anyone contacting you must provide:

his or her name,

the name of the person or organisation on whose behalf the call is being made,

the telephone number or address

at which that person or organisation may be contacted



If a company already has your electronic details because you are an existing customer, they can contact you about their own products or similar products. You must be given the opportunity to withdraw your consent (“opt out”), in an easy manner and without charge every time they contact you.

What is Unsolicited Contact?

An unsolicited contact is contact that you have not requested. This includes telephone calls, faxes or text messages. This generally happens when someone wants to sell you a product or service, to conduct market research or for other promotional purposes. The term “Unsolicited Contact” does not include calls or messages placed with your prior consent or calls made by an organisation with which you have an existing business relationship.

How can I stop being contacted?

Request the organisation to remove you from their contact database. You can write to the organisation concerned, and they must write back to you within 40 days confirming that they have dealt with your request.

You can contact your telephone service provider and inform them that you do not consent to being contacted.

Records need to be updated and the Regulations allow 28 days for this to occur. Therefore, after 28 days you should no longer be contacted.

I have an ex-directory number, can I still be contacted?

An ex-directory number provides you with a way to increase your privacy because customer information for an ex-directory number is not published in print or electronic phone directories. Also your number is not available through operator assisted directory services. Bear in mind, having an ex-directory number will not prevent you from receiving unwanted calls as you or a member of your family may have included your number on application forms and competition entries. Should you receive a call you must inform the caller that you are to be removed from their contact database.

Who do I complain to?

If you have “opted out” and you continue to receive calls after the lapse of 28 days, you may wish to make a complaint. Contact the Data Protection Commissioner who will investigate the matter for you. If your Telecom Service Provider has not complied with your request to “opt out” you may complain to ComReg who will investigate the matter for you.



How can I contact ComReg?

You can contact ComReg in a number of ways:
By Phone (LoCall): 1890 229 668 (9.00am to 5.30pm)
By Fax: 01 804 9680
By Email: consumerline@comreg.ie
By Post: ComReg Consumer Team
Irish Life Centre
Block DEF
Lower
Abbey Street
Dublin 1

How can I contact the Data Protection Commissioner?

You can contact the office of the Data Protection Commissioner in the following ways:

By Phone : (01) 874 8544 (9.45am to 12.45pm, 2.15pm to 5.00pm)
By Fax: (01) 874 5405
By Email: info@dataprotection.ie
By Post: Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
3rd Floor, Block 6
Irish Life Centre
Lower
Abbey Street
Dublin 1


 
I will let them know once I am not interested but after that I just put them on hold anytime they call back or lay the phone down and continue with what I was doing

If you have a limited number of lines and don't want to tie them up, when they tell you were there from just utter "oh no, not youse again" in a worried voice and hang up

Let them ring back and do the same

It will take no time or effort on your part, and if you have the same sense of humour as me it'll probably brighten up your day

"We're all very busy in life but shouldn't be too busy to enjoy being an ar$eh0Ie occasionally"

David Brent, eat your heart out
 
It seems that I got away lightly from them (hopefully I have got away from them!), when I read about other peoples misfortunes, particularly ThomasJ.
 
Hi Joe,

Do you think there would be anything to gain by contacting a newspaper or radio staion?

aj
 
ajapale,

To be honest, I hadn't thought about contacting anybody. I have had no contact from them in a couple of weeks so hopefully this means that I have been removed from their victims list. If I get pestered by them again, then I will seriously consider taking it further. It seems from reading the posts that my experiences have been extremely mild compared to some other contributors.
 
I filled in the ComReg complaints form on behalf of myself and all the other victims of these guys.


Comments : There is a sustained campaign of harrassment by Optic Communications as outlined by many users at:



My own company, The Accountants Panel has also received this treatment. It is not sufficient for ComReg to tell all of these people to fill in forms. ComREg must take a proactive role in stopping this abuse.

Brendan
 
As per comreg's advice I faxed Optic requesting that they cease all marketing contact with me, I did this on 6th May however today received a call from them. I demanded to speak to the persons supervisor and she hung up!

unbelievable
 
Our friend Brad rang us at lunch time Tuesday, following up on their fax from last week, I'd thought I'd share the gist of the conversation with you....

Brad rings and proceeds with his intro....and launches into the 20% off bit, I try to interupt him by asking questions about ComReg and the location of his Irish office but just continued. After he finished I asked him where he was calling from to which he replied "New York Sir", so I asked my own questions like was New York big and what was the sun shining.

He then asked if I had the fax with me (I rustled some papers actulally my sandwich wrapper) and said yes, and off he launched again. After this claptrap I asked him was there a McDonalds in New York and why was NY called the big apple when there were no orchards, He then refered back to the fax, I told him I was reading the wrong fax, so the fool come back with the same story for the third time. After this I had to ask him if he had any sisters who weren't married, and his opinions on the Kyoto Treaty. I was then put on hold and a manager came on the line, Marie I think was her name, I asked her to transfer me back to my friend Brad. She said that she would deal with MY queries. I asked her why she rang, she then got into the grove, 20%off.... I then asked her if she played Camogie, when I got it "thanks for taking the call sir, have a nice day" and she hung up. The call counter on the phone recorded 16 minutes.

I do not condone this behaviour and I know that people have a living to make but after reading some of the antics of Optic on this thread I thought I'd try an innovative approach. I will let you know if we get any more calls.
 
Best response ever Unregistered! How did you manage to keep a straight face? I would encourage everyone who receives a call from Optic to insist that they will only deal with Brad and proceed to ask him the same questions regarding the weather, location of nearest McD's etc.
 

Who needs a straight face? All you need to do to keep up the act is put the phone on mute while you split yourself laughing, nice one unreg!
 
Optic are call using IP phones and this is the reason for the delay on the phone. Therefore the calls are costing them nothing so they will talk all day no matter where they're calling from.

I got a call from a lady and when I asked about VAT she hadn't a clue. She then put me on to "Sean O'Neil" and he did the rest of the talking. It's all very vague with them. So I sent an email asking for call costs etc and also asked him to outline for me Optic's experience in the Irish CPS market to date and got the following reply.

As far as the info that you requested from me..im meeting with
one of my directors latter today to put together a final proposal...
looking at your numbers im very optimistic.

Thanx for the email.

Sean Oneil
branch manager

He can't spell, punctuate and I hate the ....

I think he is Indian and has learned to speak with an American accent, I kid you not - Barclays Bank do this for their calls centres in India.
 
I am also getting calls (not as frequent mind you) from a nice sounding lady from the orient trying to get my fax number so she can send me a European Investors Handbook. I am looking forward to her next call!
 
ComReg is on their case. An extract from an email to me today:

 
Brendan said:
ComReg is on their case. An extract from an email to me today
they should not contact you again. If they do then you may wish to contact the Office of the Data Protection for their advice.:

I think the office of Data Protection should read this forum...

Again,I received a call from Brad, but I think he must be wondering if all Irish people are fixated with the weather in New York...

He hung up on me.....I repeat he hung up on me... Never thought That would happen... Incredible..
 
Brendan said:
ComReg is on their case. An extract from an email to me today:
I thought I was alone in getting these calls! - Good to see other people are having the same problem...

Haven't got any in about a week now. But my approach was to just say "I'm not interested" and hang up.