Hounded by nuisance callers?

I think the Call Guardian’s effectiveness is due to the vetting which goes on before the phone call ensues. if it’s the first time then the caller is introduced to you by a female robovoice and they have to identify themselves before you take the call. Naturally you will ban the caller if you are not interested and the call is never connected. So it amounts to a complete waste of time for the caller who will give up knowing that you will reject the call anyway. Once rejected the calling number is placed on the banned list and if they try again your phone won’t even ring as the call is never connected.

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Here is an item I posted in April 2017. "I recommend you get a Telstra "Guardian"cordless phone set. I got one in November last year and since then I have not received one scam call.

Calls to numbers on your call list (capacity 2000) go through as normal.

If not on your contact list, caller is asked to identify themselves. If they don’t the call is immediately terminated.(you are not even aware of a call). If they do announce themselves the phone rings and displays caller details as provided by caller. You have the option of accepting call once, always, or blocking number.

We love it!

As at December 2018 the number of scam calls received remains at ZERO.

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Your post is put much better than mine. I feel Telstra should promote this phone a lot more as it seems to be the answer to many of the issues raised in this topic and there doesn’t seem to be an equivalent elsewhere.

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Can anybody tell me why the Choice review of cordless phones from December did not include the Telstra “Guardian”?

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How does this handset-service:-

  • work with NBN as a VoIP handset?
  • manage incoming calls that have no/suppressed Caller ID information

We have several friends who have Caller ID set to “none” permanently, we have asked them to adjust this or even make an exception for us (for example prefix our number with the code to “show Caller ID for just this call”. If dialling from a Telstra mobile the prefix is #31#, if dialling from VoIP phone the prefix is *67 - it is easy to put a prefix in as first part of phone number in contacts). But to no avail.

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Yet another issue - no consistency even within a single company on how anything works across their products. #31# or *67. How many other carriers use those codes? Optus wants 1832 or *32.

Why not lobby for them to all use the same codes and make life easier for those who use functions?

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I’m showing my ignorance here but we are on NBN (which I thought was all VoIP) and it works perfectly. For your second query the second part of your post and the one from The BBG is probably the only solution. Otherwise I assume your friends would have to go through the vetting process each time, which is a hassle for them. Then it becomes a question of compromise.

Hi All, Suggest you have a look at this review site regarding regarding the Telstra Guardian phone for landlines. I just don’t understand why people persevere with scam calls when they don’t have to.

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We’ve just bought the Telstra Call Guardian and it is certainly working. It’s been operational for five days and no nuisance calls. Bliss.

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I am beginning to worry about blocking phone numbers. If callers are scamming the numbers from which they are calling, am I blocking numbers that may actually have some relevance to me at some point in the far distant future?

Yes, the chances of anything coming from Mars (I mean, a valid caller) are a million to one - but still, they come!

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Our mobiles display the name of the incoming caller if they are in our contacts list. Pretty much the same outcome. You can just hang up or fwd to message bank?

Some of the online reviews of the Telstra Call Guardian raise concerns about the incoming call vetting process. The suggestions are the guardian service has poor voice quality, does not provide sufficient time for callers to respond, and does not consistently forward callers who respond with their name.

Perhaps it works too well?

P.S.
Similar to,
For mobile phones my father had the perfect solution. As needed he removed his mobile from his pocket, held down the on button, waited then dialled, spoke, then turned the phone off. Never an unwanted or scam call!

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I can only speak for myself but I’ve been using the TCG for about 3 years now and have not had any of the issues you describe.

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Also has the benefit of not being trackable except when he makes phone calls. A mobile phone is a mobile tracking device - it is continually trying to connect to the closest cell tower.

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Not sure about exact timing but all the nuisance calls on the landline seem to have stopped, maybe since about March. Anyone else noticed this?

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No, they come and go in waves. You can get a respite for a few weeks and then they return - like aphids in the spring. If you invent electronic pyrethrum a fortune will be yours.

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Yes I have. Not one nuisance call during Stage 3 restrictions.
A few calls have started again since the easing of restrictions.
Call centres back in action?

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We have been the same but took this as moving interstate and having a new number…thought that hadn’t caught up with us yet.

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Maybe. Do they have lockdown in Dhaka, Mumbai or Manilla? Do the jesters who run these places care about such petty matters as the health of their staff or complying with regulations?

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I’ve had a dozen NBN calls in the last week to my landline. In the end, I waited until a person was on the line, then I blew a very loud whistle. Waiting to see if they have stopped now.

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They have no corporate memory, they will keep calling over and over regardless of the chance of success or how you treat them. Absurd I know but that’s how it goes.

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