How One Man Turns Annoying Cold Calls Into Cash
31st August 2013
In November 2011 Lee Beaumont paid £10 plus VAT to set up his personal 0871 line – so to call him now costs 10p, from which he receives 7p.
The Leeds businessman told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme that the line had so far made £300.
I think this is a great idea. Telemarketers want to call you? Don’t depend on the No-Call List, which doesn’t work anyway and only wastes taxpayer money; get a pay line and give that out to people who insist on knowing your telephone number. (I’m thinking banks, utilities, online merchants, and similar parasites — I’ve signed up to receive all of my bills electronically, so whenever I get a letter from Chase that says ‘Important Account Information’, I know that it’s actually an attempt to get me to charge stuff at a premium rate of interest, so off to the recyling bin it goes.)
Phone Pay Plus, which regulates premium numbers, said it strongly discouraged people from adopting the idea.
No doubt for fear of government interference, which happens every time somebody comes up with a scheme to interfere with the industries that lobbyists get paid big bucks to have governments regulate.
Once he had set up the 0871 line, every time a bank, gas or electricity supplier asked him for his details online, he submitted it as his contact number.
He added he was “very honest” and the companies did ask why he had a such a number.
He told the programme he replied: “Because I’m getting annoyed with PPI phone calls when I’m trying to watch Coronation Street so I’d rather make 10p a minute.”
He said almost all of the companies he dealt with were happy to use it and if they refused he asked them to email.
And there it is — FREEDOM, which is rapidly disappearing in America and is almost extinguished in Britain.
Because he works from home, Mr Beaumont has been able to increase his revenue by keeping cold callers talking – asking for more details about their services.
Hee hee hee….