Ten things to say when you get a junk phone call.

If they say ``No'':

The Telecommunications Regulations do not apply. Continue the call as you see fit.

If they say ``Yes'':

The Telecommunications Regulations apply. Continue to Q2.

If they said ``No'' but it later transpires that the call is direct marketing:

You say: ``I believe that you have misrepresented the purpose of this call, which is in fact for advertising or marketing purposes. In addition to the remedies available under the Telecommunication Regulations, you may face misrepresentation charges brought by Trading Standards.'' Continue to Q2.

• No
• Yes
• Said No, meant Yes

Record the time and date of the call and caller display information, if available. You may also wish to start audio recording equipment.

If they tell you:

Record the company name and skip to Q5.

If they refuse:

You say: ``Under Paragraph 11 (2) (a), of The Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) (Direct Marketing) Regulations 1998 you must supply this information. You must give me your own name or the name of the company which caused the call to be instigated.'' Ask Q3 again.

If they still refuse:

Continue to Q4.

You say: ``Refusing to provide the information required by The Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) (Direct Marketing) Regulations 1998 is an offence punishable by an unlimited fine.''

If they co-operate:

Return to your last question and ask it again.

If they still refuse:

There isn't much you can do until you know whom to pursue. If you have caller-display, reading their number back should be enough to convince them that you can trace them. If they withheld their number, your only hope is to reiterate Q4 and persuade the caller that BT's Malicious Calls department, Oftel, the Data Protection Registrar and the Trading Standards people will help you to track them down.

• Yes

If they tell you:

Record the caller's freephone number. Continue to Q6.

If they refuse:

They can give you an address instead. Continue to Q6.

If they tell you:

Record the caller's address and contine to Q7.

If they refuse, but they gave you a freephone number in Q5:

They are within their rights. Continue to Q7.

If they refuse both Q5 and Q6:

You say: ``Under Paragraph 11 (2) (b), of The Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) (Direct Marketing) Regulations 1998 you must give me a freephone number or an address where you can be reached.'' Ask Q6 again.

If they still refuse:

Go to Q4.

If they say ``No'' and you are feeling helpful:

You say: ``These regulations apply to anyone who makes direct marketing calls, so they apply to you. They say that at least every four weeks you must get a list of people from the Director General of Telecommunications. You must not call any of the people on that list. Calling people on the list is an offence punishable by a fine. My name is on that list.'' You can read the next bit too.

Otherwise:

You say: ``I believe that you have already committed an offence under these Regulations, specifically Paragraph 9 (2) (b), which forbids calls to this line for direct marketing purposes.''

• Yes
• No

If they say ``Yes'':

Record the fact and continue to Q9.

If they say ``No'':

You say: ``This constitues a notification according to Paragraph 4 (2) and you are required to treat it as such.''

• Yes

• Yes
• No

If they say ``No'':

You say: ``You need to obtain legal advice and speak to the Office of the Director General of Telecommunications on 020 7634 8700.''

If they say ``Yes'':

Congratulations, you might not hear from this lot again!

• Yes
• No

Keep this call log in a safe place. If they do call again, you want to be in a position to take action and back it up with facts.

signature