Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Beware cold-calling solicitors (or anyone else that cold-calls!)
Jasmine Birtles
10th Feb 2020
Cold-callers should be a red flag to anyone. If you don’t think it could happen to you, think again!
Read about Jasmine’s experience.
Who called – and why?
I have just received a cold-call from someone who said she was from a firm of solicitors called Goldsmith Williams.
Apparently the purpose of the cold-call was to remind me that they once did some conveyancing work for me. However it turns out this was for a mortgage I took out several few years ago. No wonder I didn’t remember them.
This, allegedly, gives them the right to cold-call me, as I am technically a customer of theirs. Despite the fact that I once ticked a box to opt out of their marketing campaigns, including a future cold-call such as this one.
They said they could help me get back money from mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) or any other dodgy activities my bank may have indulged in. I felt that this was somewhat ironic.
What I did
During the call I was firm but polite with them, assuring them I didn’t want to hear from them again, and that I’d appreciate it if they would take my number off their directory.
I also contacted my mortgage brokers to tell them about it. They said that they had cut contact with this firm a few years. Complaints related to cold-calls was one of the reasons why.
They told me that; “they (the firm) insisted on cold-calling my clients for wills even though they had not requested a call, in some cases they called even when they were already informed in their initial client questionnaire that they already had a will.”
I had a look online to see if anyone else had complained about them. They have. See what is said about them on the Review Centre here.
How to handle cold-callers
I will be informing TPS (Telephone Preference Service) about them, but I suspect there is not much they can do as I have had dealings with this company in the past. Although since the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, there are now laws in place against this sort of thing. Now, they’ll need to honour my request and remove me from their database. If not then the company in question is technically breaking the law.
To learn more about GDPR and what it means for you and your rights to privacy, Direct Gov has the details. It’s essentially means companies can no longer cold-call us without permission. You’re right to opt out is something every company needs to respect.
But certainly, if you get a cold-call from a company you have done business with in the past you can tell them to take your number off their list. Most will do so just because you asked, and others simply won’t want to get a fine.
Finally, if you ever need a solicitor, check the reviews online before you hiring them. I know I will from now on.
I never answer a call if the number is unknown to me if they really want something they can put it in writing
Had a lovely phone call with goldsmith williams ppi they insisted that they had sent a ppi claim back pack to me I told them I had never heard of them and they were time wasters well he didn’t like that and responded back to me by raising his voice at me so I raised my voice x10 told them were to go very desperate company cold calling people for business shame on you
if you phone them back after a missed call they do not reply
I was cold called too. I was freaked out that a a solicitor had got in touch with me. You immediately assume it is something negative like a lawsuit or a car accident etc. I called them back after I received an answerphone message and no one got back in touch. That makes you even more paranoid.
They’re awful. Of course if it was real they would have rung you again. the more we can fight against these scammers the better!