02078909051

[Sigh]

There really isn't anything to be afraid of here folks...

GfK NOP are a legitimate market research company, operating under the Market Research Society (MRS) code of conduct who, should you politely ask them to, will refrain from calling you further (as others have mentioned).

Legitimate market research such as this doesn't fall under the auspices of TPS since there's no selling involved - TPS was only ever intended to curtail direct marketing.

Telephonic market research surveys of this sort have been around for years, and remain one of the most effective and fairest ways of collecting people's opinions on any number of issues. Very often, surveys of this kind are used for customer satisfaction research - to better understand how services like banking could be improved on the basis of extensive, verifiable evidence direct from the customer base.

If you think about it, if you were to use only paper questionnaires or online surveys to gather these views, the feedback collected would be inherently unrepresentative and, ultimately, meaningless. Most people have a telephone and a certain proportion of those are helpful enough to answer a few questions.

I say all of the above not as an employee of GfK, but as someone who understands the processes that lie behind these calls and their importance to the efficient operation of all sorts of organisations. It's sometimes all-too-easy to paint contact like this as being "a scam" or "a swindle" when, in fact, it exists to help you in the long run.

But then again, making baseless complaints is so much easier... "Hell in a handbasket" and all that!

To Former GfK NOP (LutonTIS) - 5 Oct 2008

Just to clarify something --

There is *NOTHING* in the 1984/1998 Data Protection Act of the United Kingdom that would prevent a cold caller revealing the name of the company they are calling from or on behalf of.

I *REALLY* hate companies and mis-informed idiots that try and tell me and others that something is not allowed because of the Data Protection Act - when actually they are just being sneaky and to trying and scare people.


Please look over the information contained at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Protection_Act

and the full text of the act:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/Acts1998/ukpga_19980029_en_2#pt1-l1g3/

PLEASE please please stop trying to hide behind the law when it suits to try and scare the general public - and especially when you are completely WRONG!

(Think on this the next time you pick your phone up to *ANY* company - if they reveal the company name and you already deal with them - is that against the law?)

"I'm making an official complaint to OFCOM, don't know if will do any good but these parasites need teaching a lesson."

They're no more parasites than any other legitimate business. They don't take a penny from you, they get paid by whatever company has commissioned them to do the surveys.

What DOES annoy me is when I answer and they put the phone down on me.

Called my mobile and left no answer message. I was expecting a call from London so I called back to hear the same recorded message as other respondents have quoted "....you have been chosen to participate in a market research project; you need do nothing......." I was exceptionally irate for two reasons: a) I had to pay for returning the darned call which I never solicited in the first instance; b) I am ex-directory, unlisted, and with TPS. What the hell is the use of being so registered if these parasites, yes they are parasites, can still call any number unchecked?? They MUST be stopped.

Call went like this...phone rang.. woman on phone said they are 'lots of letters' calling on behalf of HM&CE
Are you VAT Registered - I said not any more
Are you on a payroll - I said no
Many thanks for your time... and ended the call.

i am confused.

Had a call at 10am this morning, luckily I wasn't having my usual Sunday lie in!  

A foreign lady asked for my partner by full name. I explained he wasn't here and would take a message, but she point blank refused to leave I'd and said she would call back later. We never give our home number out and have paid for a service with bt so that our number cannot be used for this sort of thing.

Where are they getting our names and numbers from!?

Did anyone get an response from OFCOM?

This company have been badgering our surgical secretaries asking for me by name and claiming to be from the Deapertment of Health.  When told I was busy in clinic, they demanded to be put through to me, saying it was important.

When the phone in my clinic room rang, I was examining a patient.  The nurse answered the phone and told the caller (again) that I would not be doing any market research.  The caller retorted that she'd try calling again later, then slammed the phone down.  Fortunately my patient took it in good humour - many wouldn't have done.

Whoever these parasites are, they've stooped to the level of interfering with NHS consultations, and affecting our patient care.  Whoever these parasites are, they won't take 'no' for an answer, regardless of the law.  And whoever these parasites are, they've got hold of my name and place of work when I've only been here a couple of weeks.  I presume they are plundering NHS clinic records and letters as there's no other way they could have possibly put me and my place of work together.

Despicable, disgusting and disgraceful.  Lies and law-breaking.  Filth.

Unfortunately many of the informative information on here is correct, i suspect that it is just harmless market research. the people on the other line can be under a lot of strain to reach certain targets and alot of people can be found to bend the rules when calling, hence, they may use the partial information in front of them to get an angle in order to get past Gatekeepers (partners, sectaries etc)

if you ask them to be removed then the are legally obliged to remove you from their list.

i would urge any one just to remember that it is very annoying but they are just trying to make a living im afraid. just insist on being removed

hope that helps.

Yeah they called me just now. Like an idiot, I looked at the screen, did not recognise the number, pressed the ringer mute button so it still rang but I couldn't hear it. They hung up.

What I SHOULD have done was this - accept the call & put the handset down. Ignore them & they will go away. Remember - they are paying for this call.

I've had two calls this morning (a saturday) one at 10a.m. and another just now. Have got no idea where they got my number.

called on the behalf HSBC but didn't know who they call at all, refused to speak to

I've had over a dozen missed calls from this number on my landline over the last week or so - no messages left of course - and I am grateful for this site in that I now know where the calls emanate from. This may well be a legitimate market research company but I don't buy the random dialling argument. If that was the case why would they 'randomly dial' the same number time and time and time again over a short period of time? And why will they only speak to a named individual? My own view is that the TPS should screen this type of call out as well as sales calls because they are just as unwelcome. There are myriad methods of gathering market research data without resorting to telephone harassment and to the poster who has tried to argue that they need telephone surveys to ensure a representational cross section or respondents I would counter that the only representation you end up with is the 0.05% of the population who are daft enough to actually submit to this type of cold call. My phone number is ex directory and I am signed up to the TPS. That should send a pretty strong message that I only want phone calls from people I have invited to contact me and I consider all other callers to be invading my privacy. To everyone reading I will say that you must make sure that you tick the box on forms or online, or state clearly during phone conversations with any organisation you are dealing with - and particularly buying from - that you do not wish to receive any marketing from them or any third party. If you fail to do so your name and contact details can be freely peddled to uncle Tom Cobbley and all. If you think your bank or any other institution is responsible for the survey then contact them to ensure that you are on their 'no marketing' list.

Received a call this evening asking if I'd answer some questions on behalf of NatWest.  I declined.

Caller telephoned in the evening asking for my son who has never lived at this address and has emigrated eighteen months ago.  Would not discuss anythinng with me and when I queried how she had got my number as I am ex directory - hung up on me.  I dialled 1471 and got the above number.  I dialled that number and received a brief recorded message from GFK NOP asking me to phone back.

Had a call this morning from 02078909051, they are GfK NOP, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 9UL Telephone - 020 7890 9000.  They are a market research company and a very annoying one at that.  The person asked if he could ask a few questions but I said no thank you (being the polite person that I am) then the line went dead.  What an absolute appalling manner in which the call was ended, the least he could have done was say thank you for wasting my time.  I am so annoyed that I will make a formal complaint to OFCOM and I will request the Information Commissioner’s Office to enforce the fact that I do not want these type of calls as I have signed up to the Telephone Preference Service.  I hope that in the event this company do not comply with my wishes they are fined the maximum amount possible under the legislation.  I understand this is a £5000 Fine if they don’t comply with the legislation.

The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is a central opt out register whereby individuals can register their wish not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls. It is a legal requirement that companies do not make such calls to numbers registered on the TPS.

The original legislation was introduced in May 1999. It has subsequently been updated and now the relevant legislation is the Privacy and Electronic (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.

The Information Commissioner's Office    
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF    
   
Tel    01625 545745    
Fax    01625 524510    
email    mail@ico.gsi.gov.uk
Web    www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

The Fight Against GFK NOP Have Just Commenced

"guy said he was from Halifax/Royal Bank of Scotland and asked if I would take part in a surevy. I said ok he asked which one I banked with I replied neither and he suddenly said they had had enough replies from other people anyway and was sorry to bother me.....if he had had enough responses why was he calling anyway VERY SUSS!!!!! I would be very careful if they call you and ask for any bank details!"

BEWARE THIS IS A TRICK

Called and aked for my daughter.
When I asked why they wanted my daughter they said the Data Act prevented them from telling me why. I warned them that I am a member of the Telephone Preference Service and that calls such as this are bannned and that they were in breach of the industry guidelines. The girl said they wewren't selling anything so that is OK. I sais ALL calls such as this are prohibited, she said they are not!
Warned them not to call again.
A total nusciance call on a Saturday afternoon.

I dont give out my number, however I received a text from a free / lo cost texting site (jaxtr)that someone is setup for and this seems to be the only place I can imagine that would have knowledge of my phone number.

Three calls to my mobile from this outfit - unanswered by me as I did not recognise the caller ID. Two of the calls were received late evening - when I was in the land of nod and again today, Sunday morning!

OFCOM might as well give up, how can someone be given the right to issues number licenses and not be able to stop this happening. This whole country sucks, how pathetic we cant stop these callers from intruding into our lives yet we can get put in jail for putting the rubbish out in the wrong colour box.

Another market researcher btw - f*** o**