0178999999999

Saturday 8:21am and you can't get a lie in because scam companies like these are hounding you with crap before you even get out of bed!i am so livid at the gaul of these leeches!!

I just got this from money saving expert!!
Firstly, the calls come from an AutoDialler - illegal in the UK. The number 0178999999999 is fake and an indication of the intentions of this company. The people involved in this scam (and it is a scam) are based in the USA - they deliberately target UK numbers to avoid the juristiction of UK law i.e. there is little the TPS and Information Commissioner can do about this as they call from abroad.

The last poster is correct: if you are called by an auto-dialler and asked to press a button to connect to an agent you CANNOT be charged (premium rate number or otherwise) for the call. In fact I would encourage everyone to talk to their agents and waste THEIR time and THEIR money i.e. THEY get charged for the call, not you.

The automated message is misleading and fraudulent. It claims that you have won a free cruise or holiday. The latest message claims this is a cruise to the Bahamas, previously it has claimed to be more general Caribbean cruise. They have been trying this scam since at least 2005 using various different numbers and addresses.

If you get talking to an agent, you soon discover that there is no free holiday and they are asking you to pay £598 for the pleasure for staying at their Calypso Cay resort villas, get tickets for Disney world, visit to Fort Lauderdale, etc and a "free cruise". Flights from the UK are not included of course. Some free holiday, eh?

So who are they? Well, the last agent claimed to be representing Disney! I asked him to repeat that and got put through to his equally unhelpful "manager", Holly Miller.

They will direct you to: http://www.uwontrip.com/promo/uk. This appears to be the following company:
Tropical Grand Vacations aka Matza limited
851 State Road 434 Suite 120-122, Longwood, FL, 32750
and appears to have a UK freephone number as follows: 0808 234 7528 (why not call it?)
This domain name is registered anonymously via DomainsByProxy.
Google is your friend if you search by this address or "Tropical Grand Vacations": https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-180-060-9385/7


The manager claimed they are Calypso Cay Resort aka Amerisuites Vacation:
http://www.calypsocay.com/
Calypso Cay Sales Center
4951 Calypso Cay Way
Kissimmee, FL 34746
UK Freephone: 0800 091 0919 (why not call this number too?)

These people have a nasty history of scamming. Google "Calypso Cay scam". Examples:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/167/RipOff0167630.htm
http://boakes.org/talk/topic/calypso-cay-resorts-are-at-it-again

So what can you do about it if they call you?

Do NOT give them your credit card details obviously, but do waste their time if they call you, then:

Complain to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Go to their website http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/ and click on 'consumer issues' and then go to 'consumer complaint form online' and make a complaint.

OR

File a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Go to their web address:

http://www.800helpfla.com/ccform.html

Next, select the 'File a Complaint' option at the top of the page.

Also posted on whocallsme.

You can prevent these morons from calling you .... but at a cost. if you are a BT customer you can use "choose to refuse" service. It is less than £4 / month but will kill these calls and other nuisance callers.
To use it simply dial 14258 and after entering you security code u can block individual numbers from ringing your phone.

pressing ** will auto block the last number that called you
not pressing ** allows you to enter the number manually for blocking.

peace at last. I used be called constantly now it is a rare occurence

They called about 2010 and we didnt get to the phone in time. Glad we didnt after reading this!!!

Great advice lee w - I filed a complaint too.

Received a call from 01789 999 999 9 on Tuesday 13/1 @ 17.18.

We are TPS registered

Just had another call from this number today , saying that i won a holiday to Florida. American caller, automated.

Well this doesnt happen every night ,but it has happened now a few times in the past months.

I thought it was someone playing a prank on us, but now i see this website, it cant be that problem.

Iam going to ring my phone comapany and get this number blocked , once and for all.

We've had several calls from this number, in November and now in January.  The TPS are useless unless the call originates from in the UK or a country that has an agreement with the UK TPS

serveral calls over last few weekslast one 15/01/09 18:15

Answered and it was silent, later googled the number as I too couldn't believe how many 9s were in it! Found this website - excellent idea.

had these last year, so put the phone straight back down...

Sorry, men had them last year and now today at 15.22

this number rang several times when i answered they hung up
Ive heard a lot of companies ring random numbers just to see what time your at home so they can find you in another time hence the constant phone calls with no answer

i from n.ireland and i receive a call from 017899999999 every week saying i have won a holiday to america and i just hang up, im trying to find a way to block this no at the moment with no luck. can any one advise?

I had a call from them yesterday afternoon at 17.31. Thanks to Lee W I know what to do about them and am now going to do it.

had a call from this number couple of days in a row. we are registered with tps.

Many Thanks to Lee W and to Sean for their excellent advice and to the genius who set up this brilliant website...  
These "9999999999" people are morons, I am waiting for a call from the Job Centre and thought it may have been them.  Huh, who can afford an expensive "free" holiday - especially in the current economic climate?  I'm off to put my complaint on, suggest that everyone who calls into this site does so too...    GOOD LUCK.

Just had the call myself. A scam of course. Be aware people, if anyone works out how to stop it, please post the info.

Had another call at 10.56am today.  They are a bloody nuisance.  I have children and elderly parents at home and if one of them had answered the call they may have been very confused and complied with the digit pressing, costing me a fortune.
Please find out who they are, its probably the third one I have had in three months and I am so cheesed off with these time wasters.  I'm ex-directory too!

Just received a call at 1316