Mobile phone number tracing?

[Amaury Architectural]

If I give a mobile phone number to the police after receiving nasty calls (to my daughter) will they be able to trace who owns it?

 

[Fergus]

I think it will depends on whether it is a contract number or not...if PAYG then probably unlikely -Unless they registered the sim .

I definatley think it,s worth trying to see what the police say , you could also contact the network the number comes from and see what they have to say about this- I assume they must have some polices in place.

 

[Dizzydiza]

Also contact your daughter network provider. Im sure they can record calls for a length of time. The police will need a record of these phone calls if they are to bring any case against the person.
For a while there my niece was getting malicious calls and texts from a jealous girl friend...sad thing is she had no interest in the girls boyfriend. Im sure she was advised by the police to contact her network provider but in the end she just decided to change her mobile phone and number and gave out her number to only people she really trusted.

 

[PI Guy]

Although you can report this to the police and they could (if they felt like it) trace the number to the owner (as long as they used a credit card to top off), TBH the police will not use their resources to do so.

You can contact (as other people here have said) the network provider but the easiest thing is to just change fone number.

 

[DeeDrigar]

As others have pointed out, it makes a big difference whether or not the phone number in question is pay as you go or monthly.

If the number is pay as you go with no details registered to it, it will be very difficult for anyone (the police included) to track down.

There are companies out there like Phone Search Central (www . phonesearchcentral . co . uk) that employ private investigators who specialize in locating the subscriber details (name and address) of mobile and landline numbers in the UK.

Dtec Investigations is another such company. (www . dtec-investigations . co . uk)

The companies listed above, although pricey, offer "no-hit/no-fee" guarantees, which stipulates that if they cannot find information due to the number being pay as you go with no details, you will receive a full refund.

If you were to obtain the registered name and address of the mobile number that is sending harassing calls/texts, and then provided that information to the police, I would venture to guess that they would have a much easier time being persuaded to look into the matter.

Another useful resource is:
www . ukphoneinfo . com/section/tci/locator . shtml

This website will not give you subscriber details, but it will tell you what network may own the number in question. (ie: Vodafone, O2, Orange, 3 Mobile, Carphone Warehouse, etc.) I say *may* because due to the advent of number portability, a number may have been ported to an alternate carrier.

I do hope some of that information may assist you, and I apologize for the strange layout of the listed URLs, you may have to type them into your browser manually. For some reason it wouldn't let me post the URLs normally.

 

[Pudding]

There are companies out there like Phone Search Central (www . phonesearchcentral . co . uk) that employ private investigators who specialize in locating the subscriber details (name and address) of mobile and landline numbers in the UK.

Well, having dealt with this company, let me offer some friendly advice: STEER WELL CLEAR!!

I can partially blame myself in a way - normally I keep well clear of companies that have a cheaply made web site, but I was doing a favour for a very good friend and these appear to be the only company doing lookups for UK numbers, so I paid my £125 (discounted offer!) and waited... and waited! They give themselves seven days in extreme cases to resolve a number or offer a full refund.

After 10 days I requested a refund from them. They replied full of apologies and said they would get back to me in no more than 3 days... after 5 days, I repeated my request for a refund. They replied rather snottily, telling me they were doing me a favour looking up this number, and the request was now on hold. Hmmmm... OK, one last chance then - I told them to proceed. Another 7 days went by without any kind of news or progress report, so I sent yet another email asking the status of the lookup. They apologised profusely and said it would be resolved within 24 hours. Three days went by and I sent another email asking what was going on, to which they replied that they could not find the number and would refund the money.

I am still to receive my refund, in fact since my final request for a refund forthwith they have told me they will make the transfer "when they are ready and not before".

Further enquiries into this sort of investigation have uncovered the fact that if a number cannot be traced within 5 days by such companies, then it will not be possible. This leads me to believe that they are simply holding on to the money for as long as they can, or even worse do not intend to refund me at all.

So please think at least twice before paying any money to this company that offers no service as far as I am concerned; the last email from them was derogatory, bordering on abusive.

And a quick word if you are wanting to look up a number in the U.S. - do a quick Google search and save yourself $40, as you can do a free lookup on quite a few sites.

In closing, all I want to say finally is that I am posting this so that others do not suffer what I have been through.

phonesearchcentral.co.uk / phonesearchcentral.com - 0 out of 10!

 

[albany]

I I really just wanted to share my experience with this company. Yesterday afternoon at just after 2pm I purchased the phone search and throughout the day had pretty regular email updates from this company. They did explain that they were busy, and the data that they were trying to verify was initially confusing. Anyway I got my definitive answer just after midnight and it was spot on. I certainly cant fault them on their work ethic!

Anyway I only came across this forum post because I googled phonesearchcentral to see what was on the internet about them immediately after purchasing from them. I am sorry that the previous posters experience was different from mine however they have been in business for over ten years and have a paypal account. As someone who buys and sells with paypal myself, I know for a fact that anyone who is in the slightest bit dodgy will have their account with paypal frozen and any unsatisfied customers will be refunded.
They are very much on the side of the buyer.

This is my first post here and I hope that as someone venturing into the murky world of ecommerce, I will meet and share with lots of like minded people.

cheers

 

[Parthelan]

Anyway I only came across this forum post because I googled phonesearchcentral to see what was on the internet about them immediately after purchasing from them.

You decided to check the company out AFTER you bought their service, not before :|
Your whole post reads as a fake to counteract the negative experience to the one above.
And someone in business for 10 years with a paypal account?? Hardly a deal breaker is it!!

 

[albany]

Now that's what I call a warm and kindly welcome! My first post on this forum and I am accused of being a fake and a liar. Thanks for that!

I was having a look about online to satisfy my curiosity. I am quite happy to go with my instincts regarding these people which consequently turned out to be quite correct.

Interesting isnt it that the motives of someone tearing a reputation down are not called into question, but anyone who dares say anything positive is.

As for paypal. I have dealt with them for years now as a buyer and as a seller and I know that when it comes to customer complaints they come down very hard on the slightest whiff if scamming.

Words are very cheap and it is not particularly brave of any man to hide behind his computer and make snidey comments about my motives.

I have my own online business which I am keen to improve on and expand and I plan to be around to learn and to share with other users on this forum. I would like to think that there is room here for people who want to share positive experiences as well as the negative ones.

Well I live in hope anyway.

 

[Parthelan]

I have my own online business which I am keen to improve on and expand

Wouldnt be phonecentral would it?

Welcome

I still think your post is a fake.

There's some really class acts posting on here and some really good patient helpful people. You'll learn plenty Im sure.

Looking forward to you sharing as well

(just using up my 8 icon allowance)

 

[albany]

Very good Lol. Well If I could charge £125 a pop for what I do, then I probably would be too busy finding ways to spend my money to bother with self improvement, so there's probably a good karmic reason why I am still "getting there".

Anyway thanks for half believing me......I think!!!

A.

 

[Pudding]

Back again,

Since my original post the matter has in fact been satisfactorily resolved mutually. I have been looking for some way to edit or even delete the post but I can't find any such function.

Any way, although it did take almost a month I did get a full refund for the record.

 

[josejones]

Under no circumstances whatsoever use Phone Search Central UK. In a moment of weakness I used it in an attempt to trace some tennants, what a mistake, after 5 days of waiting I contacted then and they replied that the search was out with an investigator and due back soon. Well Iam still waiting and they are not replying to my e-mails. I'am afraid that it looks increasingly like I will have to retrieve my money the hard way. Do not use phone search central UK. Please make sure that you pass this information onto anyone who may be considering using the service.

You live and learn.

 

[josejones]

Wish I could delete my previous e-mail. They came up with the goods eventualy. It would appear they do offer an excellent service but not within the timescales suggested and the communication could do with a revamp. However they did supply the info I requested and I know its accurate now so thanks phone search central and sorry for the previous post.