08700426655 - Revisited written 4 years ago

I was just googling DT, used to work for them (I know, I know). Couple of thoughts; The drop calling is a sales tactic to solicit curious calls to the national rate phone number and is, I think, on a rather larger scale than the call 6, drop 5 ratio you estimate. The people called regularly complained that they were registered with the TPS. It didn’t seem to have made much of a difference.

Cheers for that Robin.

Say, since you’ve been to the dark side is there any chance you know of any techniques for avoiding this type of call? That is if you ever see this..

Maybe the biggest problem with DT is they’re liable to keep calling you back, and back, and back, even if you ask them to stop, though they’re legally obliged to comply. If that does happen with a company like DT and you’ve got a minute to spare, ask politely to be put through to the supervisor; you don’t have to explain that. Assuming they don’t just hang up on you, ask the supervisor to take you off the list. More likely to work if you ask the supervisor.

Do all companies use that method? I do get the same few companies calling me all the time trying to get me to upgrade to contract and what-not, but some call at ridiculous times! If they indeed call back again and again, isn’t harassment a factor?

originally posted by Robin Bagshot

I was just googling DT, used to work for them (I know, I know). Couple of thoughts; The drop calling is a sales tactic to solicit curious calls to the national rate phone number and is, I think, on a rather larger scale than the call 6, drop 5 ratio you estimate. The people called regularly complained that they were registered with the TPS. It didn’t seem to have made much of a difference.

Strange we can not find you in our personnel records!

Since we have a Docklands Telecom representitive present, do you have anything to say regarding the “call 6, drop 5” hypothesis?

originally posted by Rob

Since we have a Docklands Telecom representitive present, do you have anything to say regarding the “call 6, drop 5” hypothesis?

With an automated dialler, we have what is called a drop rate. This is an acceptable percentage set by the communications watchdog. Prior to December 2005 this was a maximum of 15%. Our policy was not to have it that high as it makes the dialler unproductive. We have our dialler set to 3% which is 3 dropped calls per 100 dialled numbers. The current drop rate on the dialler as of today if 2.89%. This bought us into line with new regulations from 1 Jan 06 of 3% max percentage.

originally posted by Docklands Telecom

The current drop rate on the dialler as of today if 2.89%. This bought us into line with new regulations from 1 Jan 06 of 3% max percentage.

I must be very unlucky then, having recieved ~ 10 calls from yourselves, all of which have been dropped. My maths tells me there’s more chance of winning the lottery than that happening. Perhaps I should put some numbers on?

Also, can you advise what timeframe I shall be removed from your calling lists, since I have registered with the TPS. Thanks :)

originally posted by Rob

originally posted by Docklands Telecom

The current drop rate on the dialler as of today if 2.89%. This bought us into line with new regulations from 1 Jan 06 of 3% max percentage.

I must be very unlucky then, having recieved ~ 10 calls from yourselves, all of which have been dropped. My maths tells me there’s more chance of winning the lottery than that happening. Perhaps I should put some numbers on?

Also, can you advise what timeframe I shall be removed from your calling lists, since I have registered with the TPS. Thanks :)

If you wish to contact me directly on 01708 383 222 then I can check to see if it is on my latest list.

… for those that are following this; it turns out I wasn’t on the Docklands Telecom version of the TPS list, Which explains why I got a call this morning.

This suggests there’s a considerable delay in getting new phone numbers onto the list, considering that the one in use at Docklands was from the 27th Dec 2005, which is hardly out of Date.

Also, the nice (but incredibly rushed) man informed me DT have actually only rang 4 times (it only feels like so much more). This still means that I’ve managed to beat the 1 in 1.4 million odds against being hung up on.

Anyway, I’ve been removed from the list (hurrah), so perhaps I can advise people to ring the number above to get themselves removed.

just got a call off it 20/1/06 18:00

they’ve started calling lower numbers it seems, glad i googled it

originally posted by Docklands Telecom

Strange we can not find you in our personnel records!

Strange indeed. Try googling it. Still, it’s sweet you tried.

I worked for Docklands Telecom Centre about a year ago, and I agree with Robin Bagshot on the sales floor you are pushed to hit targets and if you miss them you are picked on and pressured into using unhand sales tricks to get people to sign up.

May I kindly ask that I first be assured that the number above for removing myself from the list is not simply a way of extorting me more? I mylsef have been called approximately 8 times. On two phones, which i transfered the numbers on.

originally posted by Daniel

May I kindly ask that I first be assured that the number above for removing myself from the list is not simply a way of extorting me more?

Having called the number myself I can assure you it leads to someone at Docklands Telecom, and having since called it 4 months ago I have only received one further call from this number.

Personally I’d say it was worth giving a go, I’m sure they can’t object to you too much for cold calling them…

Having received my fifth or six call from D.T. (not including the numerous hang-ups)and despite requesting my number be removed and also subscribed to the TPS, I have resorted to being as foul mouthed and abusive to the sales operative as possible, and by golly it seems to work, so ring me as many times as you like and give me some free therapy ( it does make you feel a whole lot better ).

Would this be the Docklands Telecom in Essex? haha i worked there for a while to, made alot of money from them, if so i would say thats John.com replying to most of these messages? Rmember me John. hows things going there?

Anyone who worked for Docklands Telecom willing to give me some information?? Or indeed anyone targeted and received a good or bad product from them? If so, please contact me on dp256161@hotmail.com

originally posted by Cheryl

Anyone who worked for Docklands Telecom willing to give me some information??

People will be a lot more forthcoming if you let them know who you are, and why they would want to contact you.

I love it when I get a call from a company like thss - gives me a chance to pitch their telesales staff on my own business! I Help people set up in business part time so they can leave their full time jobs and work from home, but I guess you could pitch them on whatever you do/sell etc.

I am in dispute with them at the moment. They caused the de-activation of my phone before I received the upgrade causing no end of hassle as I was going abroad to work for a week. I would never upgrade or take out a contract over the phone.

originally posted by Cheryl

Anyone who worked for Docklands Telecom willing to give me some information?? Or indeed anyone targeted and received a good or bad product from them? If so, please contact me on dp256161@hotmail.com

Am a journalist looking into the pratices of dealers like Docklands… Anyone who’s had ANY experience with ANY company like this can I urge to contact me on the above email. Cheers.

I have just recieved a call from one of your representitives who was bl**dy rude and as good as hung up on me when I told her my phone was a company mobile!! manners don’t cost anything!

Thanks for posting that. I just had a missed call from them and googled it to see who it was. I know not to call them back now!

My wife was called by DOCKLANDS TELECOM, a big mistake………she was comvinced that she should try these phones,one for her and one for our daughter,if she didn’t like them she could send them back,they arrived,they were cheap looking pieces of crap, but before they opened the boxes their previous numbers were cancelled, this practice is shit, the phones are going back, my wife was assured she didn’t have to accept them and there is no mention of barring both previous numbers,don’t touch them………be warned

I have had calls from DT too - perhaps because I have an old looking Orange number. They take a flyer and say “we notice your contract is out of date…”

They called even though my number is on TPS and has been for a long time, and I am ex directory.

I have told them not to call me, and have told them the number is TPS registered. If they call again, I will spend 2.50 on the companies house website to get the directors telephone numbers and I will phone them at home at 8am on Sunday morning to let them know that I do not wish to upgrade!

originally posted by Dave

If they call again, I will spend 2.50 on the companies house website to get the directors telephone numbers and I will phone them at home at 8am on Sunday morning to let them know that I do not wish to upgrade!

And if you do get that number, please share ;-)

I have had a really bad experience with Docklands Telecom now changed name to DIRECT TELECOM beware last year DT upgraded my phone without my consent to a new contract with Orange, I didn’t find this out until this year when I tried to upgrade, Orange said they couldn’t do nothing about it then in September of this year I received on average 5 phone calls PER DAY from this company trying to upgrade me again. I had to move from Orange to another phone provider because Orange said that they could not guarantee that DT would not upgrade me again into another contract without me knowning. I received calls from DT telling me they were going to upgrade me anyway whether I liked it or not. I wrote to OFFCOM, The Direct Marketing Association and I am currently talking to Trading Standards about their practices. This is a really bad company. In the end we had to speak with a General Manager at DT and threaten them with the police under the law of 1997 Protection from Harassment Act (look it up on the internet) because their phone calls were becoming so upsetting. They have been told numerous times by me to stop their calls but still they carried on - the likes of Sam, Owen and Robert from DT have alot to answer for they were the ones who constantly rang me ALL THE TIME. I am on TPS but it made no difference to DT. What a pants company despite changing their name (presumably because the other one was sooooo bad) they have not changed their ethics though!

If you are on the TPS list and DT call you, Complain to the TPS organisation and DT get fined ?10,000.

originally posted by Dave

If you are on the TPS list and DT call you, Complain to the TPS organisation and DT get fined ?10,000.

Well guess what Dave, I have been on TPS for three months because of these maggots and STILL they call me, I thought I had bottomed this out no calls for FIVE whole weeks, yippee then tonight just gone 5.30 the bastards phone up. I am going to report them on Monday to TPS, they are in breach of this and also in breach of the Telecommunications Act, this does not deter Direct Telecom (just a repackaged firm othwise known as Docklands Telecom in their previous incarnation). This has to be without doubt the worst company I have ever dealt with, non sensical, useless, gormless gits on the end of the phone (and thats just the managers) saying that they don’t give a shit about the TPS! Words fail me with these muppets, the more people know though about their unethical practices of how they generate business the better. If I can stop just a handful of people from ever dealing with this firm then I will have achieved something.

Like many others I received a call that appeared to come from Orange. I was offered a ‘free upgrade’ with assurances that it would make no difference to my existing contract. When the ‘upgrade’ arrived I considered it to be far inferior to my existing phone, so I wrote a complaint to Orange and told them they could have it back. Orange rang me to tell me that I had entered into a contract with Docklands Telecom (up till then I had never heard of Docklands) and that the new phone and the ‘contract’ I had allegedly signed with Docklands was nothing to do with Orange. My phone was cut off, and only after many calls to Docklands did I speak to a sympathetic representative who more or less admitted that some telesales reps mislead customers into thinking it’s Orange calling. Docklands took the junk phone back and normal service was resumed. That was about 18 months ago, but since then I have been continually contacted by Docklands as an ‘existing customer’. I have told them politely, not so politely and been downright abusive, but still they call. On November 6th 2006 a Docklands manager, Jon Burns, assured me that Docklands would never call me again. That was not the first such assurance I have had from him, and on 13th December I was duly called by a Docklands salesman who seemed to think that I might still be using the junk phone I returned last year. I have made many complaints to the Telephone Preference Service, but as they have no sanction powers they are next to useless when up against a company like Docklands that appears to have no sense of business ethics. My greatest concern is that Orange may again take the word of a company like Docklands against mine and insist that I have entered into a contract I know nothing about and cut me off again. Orange is aware of Docklands Telecom’s behaviour, yet appears to be happy for them to be an approved dealer.

As a sole trader whose work is mostly overseas, I find the threat of being cut off without notice because of the apparent cooperation of Orange with scam companies like Docklands unsettling.

A Miss Unknown posted several comments. Since they included large amounts of quoted text, I’ve chopped them down (the text remains the same). Here’s what remained:

originally posted by

— In reply to Frazzled —

I worked for DT and I’m one of the Sam’s and Owen’s who constantly ring you. It seems to me that you are badgering and accusing us of calls in which whether you like it or not HAVE to call. We are given data and our job- what we get paid for- is to ring these bloody numbers. I have to say I do hate every one of u bloody customers who accuse us of being the pests when we’re the ones getting experience to pay for uni, or courses or even to bloody live. If you don’t like it complain to Orange thier your bloody provider and if they can’t do anything then move. Because of you’re petty mindedness ands those like you I lefrt that job loving the people working there but hating the public!!!!!

Ethics?!?!!? Y don’t people like u use your braina nd just not pick up private numbers or blatant sales calls?!?! i.e 0800/0845 Btw just cos u changed provider doesn’t necessarily mean u won’t get calls anymore cos u haven’t changed your number. And u know what? I’m bloody glad! I hope they bloody ring u!!!!!!

— In response to Dave —

For your information they’re actually one of the best bosses i’ve had and btw it’s not a flyer it’s called a “script”. Thick shit

I could reply to each of the points made above, but Miss Unknown has shown, quite eloquently, the type of person that calls you from DT. Nothing more really needs to be said.

originally posted by Rob

A Miss Unknown posted several comments. Since they included large amounts of quoted text, I’ve chopped them down (the text remains the same). Here’s what remained:

— In response to Dave —

For your information they’re actually one of the best bosses i’ve had and btw it’s not a flyer it’s called a “script”. Thick shit

Miss Unknown:

I stongly object to being called a thick shit by someone who is able to demonstrate so accurately by their (notice the i comes AFTER the e!) previous posts what a thick shit actually is !.

I admire the fact that you chose to go out and find some work, regardless of the ethics of what you do (or did), rather than doing the same as all of your peers and just signing on and sitting at home watching Richard and Judy.

However, the simple fact is that cold calling IS ILLEGAL under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Act 2003.

1. • (1) A person shall neither transmit, nor instigate the transmission of, communications comprising recorded matter for direct marketing purposes by means of an automated calling system except in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (2).

(2) Those circumstances are where the called line is that of a subscriber who has previously notified the caller that for the time being he consents to such communications being sent by, or at the instigation of, the caller on that line.

So there is no real difference between you cold calling or working as a pick pocket on Oxford street. Just because you work for someone who tells you to do it does not make it right, legal or morally correct.

Let me give you a tip: When throwing shit, it is usually better to do it from the moral high ground, not from the gutter. Don’t bother applying to go to Uni because from what I have read in your posts you will be wasting your time. Spend your money on a Dictionery and some evening classes in basic English, and turn on T9 on your phone as it helps you with your spelling.

Well done Dave that was totally brilliant and I concur with the point that she is wasting tax payers money by going to Uni. We have all complained to Orange about Dockland’s behaviour Miss Unknown and yes we do hate you, so why don’t you go and get yourself a REAL job, like actually working and HELPING the public instead of harassing them. Are you aware of something called the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act? No maybe not but I suggest that you type this into the web and read up on it, there is also the Telecommunications Act of 1984 which Docklands/Direct Telecom all fall foul of. Your former employer breaks these laws and yet continues to harass and pester people despite them registering their telephones with the TPS. Why should we change our phone numbers because mindless bimbos like you have to harass us, go and get yourself a worthwhile job like cleaning in Barnett Hospital for instance with a bit of luck you’ll catch MRSA and then we can all cheer that this time it has attacked a mindless human being with no worthwhile cause to society. Oh and by the way I spoke to John ( General Manager so he says) I believe that you lot call him the Fat Controller don’t you? So much for working in a great place ha.

Oh by the way, maybe you should go back to school, like pre school, due to the fact that your grammer and spelling is totally appalling.

I have placed this on another website but for those who use this site - and from what I have read that seems to be Dockland’s employees as well - you will find this information useful. It was put on a website by Deborah who was a Customer Services Manager for those loathsome creatures at Docklands. It includes all the typos as in the original format. Do enjoy, and yes that means you too MISS uneducated, foul mouthed UNKNOWN!

I am a former employee of docklands telecom centre and have just read all the information on this company.

when working for docklands telecom we was not told anything in regards to tcp. also docklands telecom has only just got a dialler, which means that all the time they have quoted that we do not hanging up on customers in fact they do. I found that on a number of occasions we (the sales people) we told to lie about a number of things - including where we were calling from, who we were, our address,

why we were calling etc. At the moment docklands telecom are mostly doing upgrades for existing orange customers, (which seems to be good) how ever there not giving away handset upgrades there just upgrading the customers tariff, so we (sales) were being told to tell the customers that orange are not upgrading there handsets until next year (which is a lie). the information on here made me laugh as i know that the information that the directers are leaving is mostly incorrect and they them selfs are lieing. as for the customer service line, there wasnt one most of the time

• we were told to give over this number 0870424433 and tell the customer to keep on trying. also the reason that customers can not get through to any of the directers is because the number 01708 383202 is a different department all together.

I registered with the Telephone Preference Service a while ago and found that it did have a good effect on cutting down unwanted calls, I just wish I knew about it sooner.

i worked for docklands telecom for a period of time both as a sales person and after a period of time as a supervisor as well, i would not agree with any of the points that some of you say you didnt know who docklands telecom were when you recieved your paper work and that you thought you were dealing direct with orange! all upgrades are accompanied with a second call back from a supervisor like myself at the time or a member of management confirming all details. the confirmation phone call is a recorded call which quite clearly will tell you just how many times you are told who you are speaking to and all of the details in your new contract including price plan and lenght of contract, everything is explained to you.

secondly, the people who i worked for and with, both the management and sales staff and quite easilly some of the best people i have worked with and are in fact very good at their jobs. i agree it can be a high pressure environment at times but then which challenging job isnt.

if you dont have time to talk to the sales steff then its simple - dont answer your mobile, nobodys forcing you to do anything, if you dont want an upgrade then simply say no instead of saying yes and then slaging people off afterwoods.

keep up the good work guys!!

originally posted by Frazzled

Well done Dave that was totally brilliant and I concur with the point that she is wasting tax payers money by going to Uni. We have all complained to Orange about Dockland’s behaviour Miss Unknown and yes we do hate you, so why don’t you go and get yourself a REAL job, like actually working and HELPING the public instead of harassing them. Are you aware of something called the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act? No maybe not but I suggest that you type this into the web and read up on it, there is also the Telecommunications Act of 1984 which Docklands/Direct Telecom all fall foul of. Your former employer breaks these laws and yet continues to harass and pester people despite them registering their telephones with the TPS. Why should we change our phone numbers because mindless bimbos like you have to harass us, go and get yourself a worthwhile job like cleaning in Barnett Hospital for instance with a bit of luck you’ll catch MRSA and then we can all cheer that this time it has attacked a mindless human being with no worthwhile cause to society. Oh and by the way I spoke to John ( General Manager so he says) I believe that you lot call him the Fat Controller don’t you? So much for working in a great place ha.

Oh by the way, maybe you should go back to school, like pre school, due to the fact that your grammer and spelling is totally appalling.

Clearly if you read the notice properly I didn’t actually say I was paying for uni. I wrote that in sheer anger of people’s small mindedness and I agree did go too far but only because if you saw what our wages went and go towards you would just target the company’s morals and not the employees. I am currently studying in one of the top universities in France and all due to Docklands Telecom. While doing so I was also able to provide for myself (when pregnant) with my now three year old son… and all due to Docklands Telecom, in my opinion. If you understood the support and morale you receive in that cantre you would understand why we do our job. BTW I didn’t actually use your tax money to go to uni you have DTC to thank for that. P.S Reading alll these comments are demeaning to those who felt they couldn’t accomplish anything and found they could sell. For every hundred customers that could complain I can vouch DTC gain an extra thousand with the soul and passion to sell in that office. No matter what you all reply with I truly know that company has helped and motivated enough people in their existence.

Nice comments Jason - NOT! Alot of people have been ripped off by Docklands. You state you are calling from Orange (or what other company you happen to assume that the potential customer is using) and tailor this to suit your call. In all dealings including that of the ‘fat controller’ John who I have to say is probably the biggest arse I have ever encountered, Docklands is a totally unprofessional company not committed to ethics or codes of conduct laid down by Ofcom or any other regulatory body, including contacting customers who are on the TPS. I also understand that Docklands does not sign up to these codes of conduct either. Many, many people have been ripped off by Docklands, I myself NEVER received any paperwork from them whatsoever nor answered any of your shitty calls and yet somehow I was signed up to a contract without my knowing. This has happened to numerous and countless people all with the same, or similar, story of being ripped off, then we move onto the phones that you have issued to customers but do not work only for the poor unsuspecting customer to find out that they get penalised for being on a premium rate number and still nothing is solved at the end of it. Frankly Docklands or Direct Telecom as they now like to be known is a disgrace. You come on here giving your side of the story when in fact Docklands and its employees have ripped consumers off to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds to line your own pockets, yes that is fraud and you are part of it. I do not like using the word Scum but I think its a fair comment to direct to Docklands/Direct Telecom, you are the lowest of the low. The very fact you come on here and attempt to justify your actions simply beggars belief. It seems that DT also employ people with little knowledge of spelling as yours is quite simply appalling. You also fail to understand the point that calling people in the manner that you do - sometimes six times per day - is against the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act. You have FAILED to recognise this and yet you seem to think that what you are doing is justified, have you read the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act? I think probably not. Your company continues to call people even when they have been abusive towards you - you carry on calling! Is this so you can continue to reap financial rewards and hope that you can screw somebody fraudulently? There is no good work - you are totally deluded man, not to mention an idiot who cannot spell either!

Now to Miss Unknown, your grammar still has not improved has it! Well, well, well so you as well gained massive financial gains from ripping off the unsuspecting public to land you with a new venture in France. Is that the new spelling for CENTRE is it ? Good grief I really do doubt that you have achieved what you maintain, I really cannot see it for one moment. In conclusion
ME THINKS THE LADY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH!

originally posted by Helen

[…]

Now to Miss Unknown, your grammar still has not improved has it! Well, well, well so you as well gained massive financial gains from ripping off the unsuspecting public to land you with a new venture in France. Is that the new spelling for CENTRE is it ? Good grief I really do doubt that you have achieved what you maintain, I really cannot see it for one moment. In conclusion
ME THINKS THE LADY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH!

Can someone please explain to me why everyone protesting against DT staff old and new are so pedantic about their spelling? If you’re going to demean them do it through the reason you’re on this now- attacking their spelling skills actually sounds quite juvenile. People can make grammar mistakes especially in the heat of anger reading such things. People try to earn money and the way DT advertise originally for the job they do not know what they have entered until at the end of the week when training is finished.And by then you’re enticed by your colleagues and your compatibility with them. I have a personal and very apparent disfigurement and where most people in previous jobs made me feel extremely uncomfortable DT was the exact opposite. They welcomed me and made me feel like family immediately. For this I’m eternally grateful.Stereotyping everyone there as heartless and cold and stupid I feel is typical of today’s society.

N.B attacking miss unknown for spelling centre with an A was clearly a spelling error and I feel that was extremely silly to bring up the ONLY spelling mistake she made in that paragraph.Not everyone specifically evaluates their opinion for spelling misatkes so I hereby do not apologize should I have made a mistake. I’m only human.

originally posted by Catherine Hankins

Can someone please explain to me why everyone protesting against DT staff old and new are so pedantic about their spelling? If you’re going to demean them do it through the reason you’re on this now- attacking their spelling skills actually sounds quite juvenile.

The problem is that none of the people that work, or have worked for DT that have responded here has sympathised at all with the people that obviously feel DT has wronged them. Yes DT may be a lovely place to work, and that is nice, but is a completely irrelevant point to make here.

The point, quite undeniably, is that DT is behaving in an unsociable (and possibly illegal) manner.

Consider this: If a company were to offer you a decent wage, friendly colleagues and a comfortable atmosphere to work in, in return for stealing money from people, or selling drugs to children would you take it? Using the working environment as justification for doing a job that is causing thousands of people anguish every day is quite deplorable in my opinion.

Hi i worked at DT around a year ago, it was stressful, however we did explain who we were when we called clients and only after speaking with a supervisor and confirming would you be giving a new contract, the way i see it is if you dont want a new phone or contract just say no!! Jason i remember you mate, im one of the twins who worked in daniels team with “gerry” haha, good times!

originally posted by Nathan

Hi i worked at DT around a year ago, it was stressful, however we did explain who we were when we called clients and only after speaking with a supervisor and confirming would you be giving a new contract, the way i see it is if you dont want a new phone or contract just say no!! Jason i remember you mate, im one of the twins who worked in daniels team with “gerry” haha, good times!

It’s simply amazing isn’t it that the clan of DT seem to congregate here to justify their actions and general backslapping banter. The bottom line is NATHAN that many, many people have not been afforded the luxury of having to go through a ‘process’ of having to confirm their agreement to an upgrade. There are countless people who have been upgraded without their knowldege only to find out what a vile tactic has been done to them by Docklands. I was on hoilday when my phone was upgraded something that was confirmed to Orange in writing by H M Prison Service - who I work for - and the holiday company. My partner who is a Police Officer finally sorted everything out because he set about investigating what was going on with my phone when Orange backdown quickly and allowed me out of my contract. I suspect that DT and Orange have a somewhat cosy relationship with another, how long this will continue for remains to be seen. To be honest those who work for Docklands should be locked up in one of this country’s prisons for fraud. Your actions towards the unsuspecting public that you contact is various, there is the 1997 protection from harassment Act (please do look it up as calling people 6+ more times a day is harassing by the sheer definition of what you do) upgrading telephones without first gaining the persons consent is FRAUD. You gain personally, in your salaray, for every upgrade that you do. Therefore, for every phone call that you make, for every unauthorised upgrade that you administer you are committing crimes. Someday this will come back to you, someday fat controller John and the rest of you might just be investigated by the SFO (Serious Fraud Office), people are collating information on your firm and sooner or indeed later your time will be up!

Its a shame there seems to be a very bad light on DT i do feel bad for people who seem to have been taken for a bit of a ride :( i explained to customers that we weren’t orange and that they were entering into a new contract, however it seems like some if not many didn’t explain this. I am one of those people who, if injustice has been done i dont like to turn a blind eye or defend such actions. Despite working at DT if clients are complaing i think somebody needs to listen and sort it out!!

Docklands Telecom is a wonderful company, with very nice owners and some lovely people there. They are neither liars or a scam company, they have over the many years they have been running sold me countless numbers of phones and renewed my contract each year, and I have never had even one problem with them. They are reliable and very helpful people. DOCKLANDS TELECOM CENTRE ORANGE MOBILE PHONE USER

helllo i have been an employee of docklands telecom! i have left now though. i left there because the sales pressure is very intense and you have got to hit sales, i am not going to argue with anyone with the points that you have made because if it has happened to you you will feel scammed. the truth is there have been people there that have said that they are from orange to try and get a sale on the board and sometimes they have got away with it but i remeber a few times when i have been noisy and listened in on conversations i have heard the sales manager and various supervisors threaten the jobs to anyone that say they are from orange so when you say that dtc or direct telecom have scammed you that is no lye but docklands telecom are allowed to sign up contracts or handsets and are allowed to say they are authorised dealers for orange and upgrade you. this is the script that i would say to a customer of orange when selling them:—- (hello there my name is steven calling from docklands telecom and were the authorised dealers for the orange mobile phone network just a quick call regarding your orange contract, basically orange have allowed us to provide you with two of there high advertised and very good promotions to try and keep you with orange, we will either give you 3000 minutes any network minutes every weekend for the remainder of your contract and all we want you to do is sign up with them for the next 18 months, you will also recieve a brand new handset which we will send out to you as soon as you sign up, all i need is your postcode then ill pop it in my system that orange have gave us and see if your legible for this, if you are ill get your brand new promotion, phone and contract running for the next 18 months for you starting straight away from when you recieve the phone). it went a litle sumthing like that. i made sure that every customer that i dealt with waz aware of this, then on top of my call my supervisor would then ring up and confirm everything with you to see if your ok with it. i hated working for docklands telecom everyone did because it waz stressing and boring and repetitive because of having to say the same thing to customers all the time. im going to get out of this point and say i am sorry for anyones scammed fone call but i waz 17 going on 18 at the time and gettin my sales training, docklands telecom is very strict to there sales floor and makes sure that everyone abides by their rules, if they didnt they more then likely got a written warning or verbal. docklands telecom are allowed to do what they do as long as they do it properly and 80 percent of the time they did but the other 20 percent were falsely lead or annoyed that they actually thought we were orange. one more point, the times that i ahave said that script word for word and people ahev turned round and said i waz saying sumthing else waz alot, ppl think that becasue i said we were sumthing to do with orange that we were orange, all your points are valid but saying to ppl that docklands telecom staff are perthetic etc is a lil harsh. ex employees that bad mouth ppl are just disrespectful and arnt very good listeneners. but i dont think i knowed them. staff there are all very young, and also we all got along better for that.

anyway i hope everyone appreciates what i have said and all of it that i have said is true!!!!!!!!!!!!

originally posted by ex employee of docklands telecom steve

For fucks sake. I have no idea what you’ve said above, but what do you expect people to think when you can’t even paragraph your text?

im not on here to bitch but say how i feel about what people have said about staff and the way they got treated and whatever from docklands telecom. If you want to start to say about paragraphs then fine but what i said is my opinion, my opinion is valid just like yours so are you on here to bitch about spelling and that the staff cant speell so they are incompetant and dumb, or are you on here to express your opinion about your experiences you have had with docklands telecom.

kind regards

originally posted by ex employee of docklands

If you want to start to say about paragraphs then fine but what i said is my opinion, my opinion is valid just like yours …

Yes it is your opinion, but if you can’t even be bothered to make it easy for others to read, what’s the point in having an opinion that will never get read?

originally posted by rob

just got a call off it 20/1/06 18:00

they’ve started calling lower numbers it seems, glad i googled it rob u must b a bit wied mate , havent u got nothing better to do with ur time . iv been there 2yrs now all my custermers r more than happy with there contracts . we call people that r on there last three months of there contract and have a tarrif about 5yrs old .we wouldent have 2 call 6 times if u anwer the first time and instead of being stuborn just b normal and we deffinetly will save u money . our new tarrifs are heavy

originally posted by worker

rob u must b a bit wied mate , havent u got nothing better to do with ur time . iv been there 2yrs now all my custermers r more than happy with there contracts . we call people that r on there last three months of there contract and have a tarrif about 5yrs old .we wouldent have 2 call 6 times if u anwer the first time and instead of being stuborn just b normal and we deffinetly will save u money . our new tarrifs are heavy

There is nothing correct about what you have said above:

• All your customers are not happy (see above);
• I was called and do not have a contract;
• I did answer the first time, and was hung up on;
• You will not save me money.

Please fuck off and die.

I recieved a handset from Docklands almost 2 years ago now after being told that the phone call was from Orange. The handset was delivered to my parents address where as at the time I was living away at University - at no point did I ask that it would be delivered to my parents address as at the time I was over 300 miles away! Days after the parcel was recieved at my parents address my phone was cut off.

After finding that the ‘upgrade’ was actually considerably a downgrade from my previous handset I contacted Orange direct as I thought I had received it through them, Orange knew nothing about it but said that a company called Docklands had arranged this and that to restore the connection to my then current handset I had to return the ‘upgrade’ and all related items to Docklands.

My Dad duely did this, via recorded mail and delivery confirmation was recieved.

On calling Orange again to ask when my service was going to be restored I was told that Docklands had not yet aknowledged receipt of the package, so I had to call Docklands to get them to confirm reciept and unlock the data Orange required. Docklands denied ever recieving the parcel - this despite having the confirmation from the Parcel Tracking service.

By this time the issue has dragged over a period of almost 3 weeks where I had no phone, I had been forced to purchase a pay as you go SIM to use day to day (as at the time I was job hunting and was not happy to live alone without a way to contact help should I need it), obviously this expense wasnt necessary and the cost of the phone calls to Docklands were high as I was often on hold for up to 30 minutes at a time.

Eventually Orange were able to restore service to my old SIM but Docklands maintain that they never recieved the upgrade back so my contract remianed with them, leaving me unable to upgrade my phone until this month, resulting in me using a contract handset for over 3 years in total. My number is registered with the TPS and always has been.

At various points during this time we were trying to resolve my issues we spoke to Supervisors at Docklands who promised to send out the recordings of the calls where I was ‘told categorically that they were not Orange but an Orange approved dealer’ and that I had requested delivery to the address at which I did not live and was not visiting regularly!

We contacted a Solictior and began proceedings against Docklands to recover the cost of my lost 4 weeks on my contract phone, and the accumulated cost of the PAYG, I had been forced to purchase and use, and threatened though never did take action claiming they were acting fraudulently since the recordings they claimed to have could not state what they said they must in order to have arranged the ‘upgrade’ (due to the difference in delivery addresses).

Then today Docklands called me back asking if I was happy with the service I recieved over the last 2 years and if I was ready to arrange my next upgrade! They called themselves Docklands on the phone not the new name for the company and the poor sales man was most shocked when I explained that not only was I not a Docklands customer but had been in the process of taking legal action against them less than 12 months previously, registered with the TPS, and had requested numerous times during the hassle of organising my service reconnection that my number be removed from their ‘active’ records.

hello to all,I have just found this site I sorry no I do Not Spell well I and my grammer is very bad too. I was called before chistmas 07,I was told that they were calling from orange to upgrade my accounts , two days later two phones arrived with 3g written on them. I rang orange to say they must be some kind of mistake . they said there is we hav’nt sent any phones and if they had they would not have 3g on,so I rang 3mobile they said that I hade opened two accounts with them 12/12/07 i had not ,they told me that I had to back to the dealer ,what dealer was my reply as My accounts were with orange.they said that a company called london telecom is my dealer. to cut a long story short and so you do not have to toleate my spelling and grammer any longer ,I now have baliffs ringing me saying I owe 3 moblile for an accounts that I never opened , sombody please help me as I am completley clueles to what has happend.

Dockland telecom say that if I want to have the recording of my conversation with them I have to pay £15.00 . Is that legal mind you that does not matter to them dose it ,because nothing they do is legal. because nobody will stand up to them,not Orange Not Three not even ofcom. I Will And I am I want docklands in court . Is there anybody else out there with any balls,or are you just going to take the crap they dish out. What a sad world we live in when members of dockland telecom start interfering with Clients that have complained to the company . I didnt think they were aloud to answer back without company permision.

i am a business customer and docklands have rang me on numerous occasions saying they are the only company who can upgrade my handses, this is completly underhand as i am free to go were ever i wish. DOCKLANDS=DO NOT DEAL WITH, BAD BUSINESS

Docklands Telecom Centre, Unit 9, Ashton Gate, Ashton Road, ROMFORD, Essex RM3 8UF tel 01708383208

Contact: David Curran (the Licensee) Tel: 01708 383 3202
Email: jon@docklandstelecom.co.uk

DTC used one of their salesmen to phone my partner. To cut a long story short they sold her a ‘Dongle’, a plug-in device to allow the user to access the Internet through 3 Mobile. The salesman convinced her that it would be a wonderful facility. Unfortunately, while a Dongle may be a great device for travelling businessmen or civil servants wanting a secure Internet connection at work, a retired lady who does not have a laptop computer and whose desktop computer is on a wireless network, has no use for such a device. She never has any reason to use a laptop or a desktop with a Dongle, as she always uses a laptop or a desktop that has a wireless connection. In my case I can access the Internet foremails on my 3 G phone for an extra £5 a month and do not need a Dongle! But the salesman failed to tell her this, preferring to sign her up for a Dongle which is of no practical value whatsoever in her situation! The 14 days passed, unfortunately, when we could have returned the Dongle. It’s still in its box and the SIM card has not been broken out of its casing, but we are stuck with a £15 contract for two years for a device we have no use for. My partner, who knows little about computers, was under the impression that a Dongle was something you attached to a Mobile Phone! Either the salesman was inexperienced and incompetent or he deliberately did not explain how a Dongle should be used. We contacted 3 Mobile but they referred us back to DTC as the Trader and informally suggested we sell the Dongle online or give it free to a member of our families. We did try but no one knew what a Dongle was and they weren’t interested anyway!

By the way, someone wrote above that DTC will make recordings of Telephone sales conversations available for £15. If you have been sold a device in a way that you believe to be unfair you can obtain a transcript of the salesman’s call by paying £10 to the Information Commissioner. If you do this then the Information Commissioner has the legal power to make DTC make a transcript available. With a transcript of the sales pitch you can take DTC to court.

By the way again - both our landline and mobile phone numbers have been registered with the TPS but it doesn’t (as a few people have noted) seem to be able to stop DTC!

Got a phone through Docklands Telecom a few years ago, then had my handset ‘downgraded’ 2 years ago. Have heared nothing from them until now (Mar 2009). I am now getting up to 4 phone calls a day, for the last 3 weeks, despite being registered with the TPS and telling them that I am not interested. I spoke to an orange customer service advisor today, who said “I Wouldn’t touch Docklands Telecom with a barge pole, if you would like un upgraded handset, or would like to change your tariff, you are better off calling us direct”.

I worked for Docklands telecom for nearly 7 years, at the age of 16 I left school with good grades but due to family circumstances, I went to work instead of college. I can honestly say that Docklands Telecom made me the person I am today and it is slighly upsetting to read some of the comments people have said about the employees/employers. I have made some of my best friends there, the manager was a friend and also a great teacher of work and life for me, I have been supported by this manager and the directors through some very tough times.

I fully understand the anger of people who have been called numerous times, have felt misled or have had rude salespeople call them. But please do not tar us all with the same brush. I can honestly say I have never been rude to or hung up on a customer once in the entire time I worked there. I also never misled a customer and this was probably the main reason I became a supervisor. Like Jason, I made a second call (recorded) to confirm the order. I won’t lie, I came across customers who didn’t fully understand what they had just agreed to. But I didn’t as some of you would believe, lie to get the deal, I would explain the deal properly and then let the customer decide.

I appreciate you do get rogue salepseople but believe me they are punished and rarely last long unless they abide by the rules.

I have recently started working for Docklands Telecom Centre (DTC Direct) and I had alarm bells ringing when I stepped in the place. There’s only about 15 people on the phones, the computers are 15 years old and struggle to run internet explorer, the numbers are dialled by hand from a sheet of A4 paper - not dialled by a computer program - and we start off by saying from the script that we’re DTC Direct (sounds a bit like BT when you say it quickly over a phone…. hmmm…) and we’re looking to bring customers back to BT, when we’re trying to take them away from BT by selling them a DTC Direct Land line. The management also seem like nasty bits of work if you get on the wrong side of them, if you know what I mean… The sales tactics are like nothing I’ve seen before… bullying unsure customers into buying something they don’t want by saying they’re not doing themselves any favours by staying with BT, and telling customers ‘when you think about it, you’re being a bit STUPID paying £12.50 a month when our landlines are only £5.99 a month’…. We are told to keep calling customers back even if they say they’re not interested! I understand the place has to SELL but surely they don’t have to be that aggressive towards customers…….Peace!

Well it has been sometime since I was last here. Docklands have started ringing me again after three years of sheer bliss without them! Please note their new telephone number 0871 663 4321. This number is now in my phone under “DO NOT ANSWER DOCKLANDS”. Please all make a note of this new number as it may save you some grief!

Rob - I wish they would all “Eff Off and die” so true! I honestly did not think we would be back here having to post this but I guess that is the extent of Docklands. I have reported DT again this morning to the TPS. They will refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office because I have reported them in the past. TPS do not have the power to prosecute but the ICO does!

Just to add PLEASE DO NOT PHONE THEM BACK - 0871 numbers generate revenue for Docklands the current prices are below

From a landline telephone number 8 pence per minute From a mobile telephone number 35 pence per minute.

NEVER EVER RING THEM BACK THEY GENERATE REVENUE FROM YOU RINGING THEM!