I just thought I'd share this with you all....long winded maybe...but hopefully it's of some use to you all !!!!
I came across this on the Money saving expert website ( Martin Lewis....you may have seen him on telly or advertised....
Money Saving Expert: Credit Cards, Shopping, Bank Charges, Cheap Flights and more )when I received the regular weekly e-mail (incidentally it's a very good website with a wealth of very useful information on all sorts of matters)
Quote: ( from one of their regular posters to the forum there)
"I finally found out where these callers from overseas are getting phone numbers and your name from. It's from
Search for People, Businesses and Places - 192.com.
If you go to that site and search for yourself, you will be surprised just how much info comes up on you such as all your details, how much and when you bought your house, who lives in the house everything."
I've just been on the website and was horrified with the details stored on there....not just mine, but a hell of a lot of family members, some of whom are elderly and vulnerable !!! They even had my ex-partner as registered to my address (and there was me wondering how the hell the callers had got my number when they were calling asking for her, as she'd moved out before I got my landline put in !!!)
As far as I can see, there's even details of some dead relatives of mine (immediate family & dead some six years), at their old address. Not a problem to any occupants of the address now...but imagine the distress this causes any surviving relative / spouse still living at an address that these clowns still hold from outdated info they hold!!!
They (192.com) seem to get details from the electoral register. If you've ever examined the voter registration forms you get every year, there's an "edited register" section as in " if you do not want to appear on the edited register, please tick"
Fortunately, If you visit 192.com there is a form you can download (without registering) & print that will get your details removed from their listings !!!
The one thing I'd love to know ( & I will be investigating ) is, I have always ensured that the "edited register" was ticked since I moved into my address (13 years ago). I also made a point of making sure that the ex's name was removed from my address when she made her exit!! ( as it potentially affects credit ratings)
In the last few ( 5 years ) I've always used the internet option when completing the Council's " voter registration form " yet I've still had council rep's knocking on the door asking me to sign the same said form.
When I've (quite angrily) pointed out that I've already completed (quite carefully) the form online, the council rep has shrugged their shoulders, quite apologetically and simply stated they still need my signature!!!
Somebody.... somewhere is either not doing their job,or is deliberately flouting the rules.....or is totally incompetent !!! Given that I have to work with data protection daily and knowing what the constraints and implications of said act, I'm a bit miffed to say the least (without swearing!!), that all these details have found their way onto a website where allsorts have access to them !!!
T.P.S. is all well and good....but if this is an example of how these annoying callers can get around it.....
If I find evidence of negligence or somebody flouting the rules....heads will roll!!!