Fax spam

ART6

I'm not sure where to post this, but Consumer Issues seems as good a place as any?

I work from home, and have separate phone, broadband and fax lines. In the last few months I have started to receive single page advertising from a wide range of companies over my fax. The formats are always the same although the companies are different, and all of them offer me the opportunity to opt not to receive them if I phone a telephone number that is different in every case. Since I am now getting two or three a day, I have better things to do than to keep phoning different numbers. This suggests to me that there is some advertising agency behind all of this, and to me it is a revised version of spamming. Anyone else experienced this and found a solution?

taram

Experienced it in a job in a small office, but we ended up having to change the number, no amount of ringing the companies being advertised would trace it back to a ad agency, but you might be luckier than we were!

Miaireland

I am having the same problem. Most of them appear to be from holiday or stationery companies. The one thing I notice is that the opt out number only half prints out or else there are lines through it making it impossible to read.

Does not happen with any other fax.

EKRIUQ

I started ring the company's that was advertising to complain as the number to stop was useless, I don't seem to be getting as many now.

Cabaal

find ther number that faxes you, then use a program on your pc to fax them back 500 black pages?

podgeandrodge

I tried that before Cabaal - but they seem to have been able to block the number it came from (like hiding your number when phoning..) :mad:

JohnC.

Would fax be covered by the same rules as phone marketers?

litup

Funninly enough, there is a product on the Irish Dragon's Den now called 'Fax Cop' that stops these things. Seems like it works like an email spam filter.

flatpack

litup wrote: »

Funninly enough, there is a product on the Irish Dragon's Den now called 'Fax Cop' that stops these things. Seems like it works like an email spam filter.

may be Fax Cop want to sell their product this way

Arcee

ComReg (the communications regulator) have loads of info on their site re: unwanted faxes, phone calls, emails etc. Here's a link
http://www.askcomreg.ie/home/what_can_i_do_if_i_have_received_an_unsolicited_contact_(eg_phone_call_text_message_fax_or_e_mail).9.118.LE.asp

ART6

Arcee wrote: »

ComReg (the communications regulator) have loads of info on their site re: unwanted faxes, phone calls, emails etc. Here's a link
http://www.askcomreg.ie/home/what_can_i_do_if_i_have_received_an_unsolicited_contact_(eg_phone_call_text_message_fax_or_e_mail).9.118.LE.asp

Thanks for that. Complaint sent, although I'm not sure what they can do about it since the name of the agency is never revealed. Maybe action against one or two of the companies that use the service might have the desired effect.

Oryx

Kahless wrote: »

Would fax be covered by the same rules as phone marketers?

I checked this. Not when you (the receiver) are a business, unless you have specifically opted out with your line provider.

I have faxed back to any numbers that were legible, and while it does stop faxes from that company, theyre like mushrooms, get one, and a half a dozen others pop up. Youve just reminded me that I need to get onto eircom to stop it.

Funnily enough, here it says it does apply to business faxes.

And here it mentions the specific opt out thats needed.

ART6

Arcee wrote: »

ComReg (the communications regulator) have loads of info on their site re: unwanted faxes, phone calls, emails etc. Here's a link
http://www.askcomreg.ie/home/what_can_i_do_if_i_have_received_an_unsolicited_contact_(eg_phone_call_text_message_fax_or_e_mail).9.118.LE.asp

As I said, I sent a complaint. Withing an hour I had received another four faxes, which is two more than on an average day:eek:

Davy

flatpack wrote: »

may be Fax Cop want to sell their product this way

May you should contact the guy, he did have a working model, so possibly had more. He did get a deal so chances are you wont see it advertised but im sure he would be delighted to sell some.