To whom are you selling my details?

[#1]

I'll be brief in the hope someone from PlusNet responds to this properly.
- I have a business where we get reasonably regular referrals to business, home office and residential clients.
- When I sign up a customer; I undertake to look after their line/broadband support. Their name and payment details; my contact telephone number and email.
- PlusNet not only seem fine with this arrangement; historically its been encouraged as not only am I recommending your product, I'm dealing with the problems.
- I set up a new line and bb connection through PlusNet two months ago.
- Today I recieved a phone call from 01612127860  purporting to be from the "Telecom Advisors Group".
- I am familiar with the tactics of call-call centres which have scripts that include "regulation" "ofcom" etc.
- He claimed to be phoning on behalf of BT. Somewhere along the line he'd got the idea that the billing was with BT. So on he prattled. As he did, I googled them.
- He ended the call quite abruptly when I explained his figures were irrelevant, the customer was with PlusNet.
- They phoned MY number and asked for my CUSTOMER by name. They can ONLY have got this combination from PlusNet
- So... do PlusNet realise who they are giving these details to; why are they doing it and just who the hell are these pirates.
Let's have at it, then. I'm not particularly happy about this chain of events....

[#2]

I did some searching in the internet, I suspect these people are scammers.
I also suspect they are taking the data (illegally, but routinely done) from the OSIS data set (directory enquires dataset, including ex-directory) I suspect since you set up the line, your name has gone against it in the OSIS dataset.
I used to work for a OSIS licence that used to abuse the data set in all sorts of ways, the best way to detect this for certain is to use a unique version of your name when ordering a telephone line, you should then ask the company calling you where they got their data from, be very insistent and dont take no for an answer, you can then report that organisation to BT and hopefully a corrupt licensee will loose their licence.

[#3]

Thanks fourfour,
Yeah, I could sniff a scam the minute he began speaking.
I did not realise you buy information like that. I'd still like a comment from PlusNet about this; ultimately I revert my contact details to that of me clients - the last thing I need are my clients getting calls like this.
I once came across a company that purported to be a "Financial Watchdog" - they actually called themselves that when they called people. They used exactly the same type of wording to confuse people that they were official to turn a cold lead into a warm mortgage lead for a sister company. It was horribly unethical. Kind of fortunately, the recent financial crisis destroyed them. It was uncanny how similar the tactic was.

[#4]

Chris,
Can you please PM me details of the customer?
Username would be spot on, cheers.

[#5]

Yeah I would like to know this as well, as IMMEDIATELY after transferring to PN for phone I start getting sales call 
Not at all happy with PN over this especially the POOR CS via the tickets (3-4-5 days between answers and even then trying to sell me something I DON'T WANT) and no rep feedback in my post in the home phone section.

[#6]

Google "Buy Cold Calling lists" in my experience a lot (infact I can only think of one company that I know refused) of the data companies will sell you whatever you want regardless of their licensing rights.
I suspect your data was picked up from an aged "new movers" data set derived from the OSIS.  Put simply they scan the OSIS each month for new records where the consumer name is new at the address, and then after some massaging of the data to hide its origin, create a dataset called (for instance) March2011NewMovers and so on.
It's all pretty shocking to those that don't know, but we used to have access to the details of just about every man, woman and business in the UK, in many cases we knew a lot about them depending on what and who had sold what about them, we could track people moving and all sorts of stuff.
If you want to reduce the incidence of you being cold called and mailed then I recommend the TPS and the MPS, register, I have.

[#7]

@Hairy Biker, it is extremely unlikely to be Plusnet that are at fault, and had you initiated a new Telco service (landline) with anyone you would have received the same phone calls.

[#8]

I take your point, fourfour... but dodgy scam call aside, there is one ugly part of this I really do not like.
The contact number for the line is not my client's installed telephone line; but mine. This means that the information being passed to this listing is a great deal more general than PlusNet lead you to believe. It may not be PNs fault that it is possible to get this information; but I expect them to address the problem and either a) plug the hole or b) make it crystal clear where your number can end up.
My understanding of entering a contact number was that it was for Plusnet's benefit; not for general release.
It possibly also explains why I've been having a lot of these types of calls; sales calls, recorded messages, texts re accident compensation, debt counselling and, of course, telecoms chasers. (None of which, I'll add, I'm in the market for - even the last).

[#9]

Ah!  I'd misunderstood which number they called.  I don't think the OSIS data set would have a different contact number (i.e. a number not associated with the telephone service), although it was over 6 years now since I was involved in this.  Unless Plusnet actually say they sell our data onto third parties I still doubt they released the information for this purpose, although from my experience the whole data list business was a seething mass of corruption, with bribes, stolen data, ignored licences etc etc

[#10]

I have been/am registered with TPS and I haven’t set up a new ll only transferred providers.
Just had ANOTHER pre-recorded call 

[#11]

Chris (and others).
I've had it confirmed by our Marketing Team that we certainly didn't pass this data onto BT.

[#12]

So why then did they call my mobile (the contact number on this account) and ask for my client by name (his name on the account). (Hello is that Mr. Br~~~~~~)
The PN account is the only way they could make this match....

[#13]

I'm afraid that I can only give you the information that I've been given and my contact in our marketing team has stated that there is no way that they would have given your mobile number to BT.

[#14]

What about who else can access the data?
Staff, suppliers, service companies.
If people are being called using details only available from Plusnet, then even if Plusnet has not given/sold the information, Plusnet must be the source.
I would watch this one to make sure it doesn't blow up in your faces like the ACS:Law thing did, I would also alert all CS reps to report to a central place any incidence of this reported from the customer, that way you can start to see if, how and when the data may have been breached/stolen.

[#15]

Chris,
What he's suggested is that you call the people who phoned you and ask where they got your data from.