The Kitchen Scrappage/Recycling Scheme (cold call scam)

They’re at it again – cold-calling households (or numbers they think are households) with recorded messages from abroad. If you hang up they are pretending this means you would like to hear more, and call back from the UK (judging by the accent) but withholding their CLI. They do this to avoid prosecution  under the  Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. They’re also not prepared to give any contact details when asked. They are obviously working a con.

Their choice of name suggests they’re connected with official government initiatives such as the widely publicised boiler and car scrappage schemes, but there’s no such scheme in reality.

So what’s their con? Are they trying to pressure sell dodgy kitchens? Or obtain personal details for sale for marketing purposes? This is what the Information Commissioner’s Office think. Certainly, if they were trying to sell kitchens they’d be able to at least tell you which company they were calling from. I’ve just tied the low-life calling me in knots on that one. “Contact details?”, “No, but are you interested in a new kitchen.”, “I might be, but I can’t buy one from anyone without contact details, can I?”, “Er….”

Previously I’d listened longer to the spiel, and they were asking details about your existing kitchen, and then moving on to household income and other dodgy stuff. I had to lie to keep them talking, as they were calling the office and we don’t have that kind of kitchen.

These people are not complying with the TPS block-lists, and going to some trouble to avoid prosecution for cold-calling. I doubt they’re legitimate in any way, but the foregoing is enough to demonstrate that you can’t trust them. The ICO doesn’t have a number trace to go on, but complain anyway (on this link) and leave them to do the leg-work with better resources.