You really are having a bad day....here have a  and a ...

Just had bloody "Talk Talk" pair at the front door.Total pain.

Are you having your man time of the month today?

I have to agree I hate cold calls, I usually hang up on them.

I keep having calls asking me if I want to get out of debt. I int in debt

I turn into the nastiest person in Britain when I get a cold call - about 2 a day, usually.

I've noticed that I have a lot of calls asking about whether I've had an accident from Indian call centres.

I guess it's because I'm with the TPS and this gets around it as the call doesn't originate in the UK

But I thought it was illegal to cold call someone in this country?

Had a similar boiler attempted interrogation. Cheek is the operative word.

I had Bupa on today asking if I wanted to book another Bupa medical because they have a special off of upto £100 off if I book today.  It's a fecking medical!  I'm not being sold double glazing or foreign holidays.

When these financial ones start to ask me how much I am paying on my mortgage, I really let rip.
I've now started to be facetious - with answers ranging from £1 to £7000 a  month.

i keep getting phoned up to make a will

...

I always tell them 'I live in a rented house' that normally sends them packing.. and if it's insurance of any type I always say its due the month before whatever month you are in... so they say they will phone next year... lol ...

Of course what made us think hard is, if Lloyds don't think that they can 'phone up then why do SE 'phone up?

I got one of those recently. I have an unlisted telephone number and I`m registered with a Telephone Preference Service, so I`d love to know who gave them my number.

wouldn't mind so much but i'm only 27...do they know something i dont

Surely the obvious retort is: "If you don't stopping ringing me then you'd better make a bloody will" and slam the phone down? 

To be honest, I think once you have kids you should really make a will.

We ended up making a will due to those phone calls.  Fun evening!

I never hang up.  I just walk away and leave them to talk to thin air.

I have caller ID at home, so l tend not answer calls where l don't recognise the phone number. So yesterday l walked into the office to hear a colleague saying oh hold on a minute she's just walked into the office. Since we deal sometimes with the public l took the call, to have some random insurance company attempt some hard sell to me.(My home insurance is due)  After l barked he was calling a police station, and l had more urgent things to deal with, he buggered off. Gawd knows where he got my work number from, very few companies l deal with have that number, it must have been sold on.

yes but i dont wish to be hounded with phonecalls several times a week for it.
i have made plans though

besides i'm registered with TPS which is meant to make it illegal for a company in the UK to ring me but they keep doing it

Yeah I am too, but I still get calls. Grrrrrr

I can't think of a single useful thing to say.
I really can't.

Things I do to cold callers....


If they try to sell me something I try to sell them a haircut
I say "can I put you on hold?" then go off to watch telly
If it's anything to do with the house I tell them I still live with my parents and they are on holiday
Anything to do with cars and I tell them I'm only 16 and can't drive yet

I had an annoying 'cold call' a week or so ago.

 

This young man called; my OH answered, and he asked who he was speaking to; she told him, and he asked for me, by name.

So I came to the phone, and the conversation went like this;

 

Me; Hello, this is <my real name>.

Him; Oh, no, I'm sorry, I need to speak to <my real name>.

Me; Yes, speaking, I'm <my real name>.

Him: Sorry, could you spell your first name for me?

Me: yes it's *-*-*-*-*.

And can you tell my your middle name, please?

Me: my full name is <my full name>. What's this about, please?

Him; My name is John, I'm calling on behalf of  <clothing shop>.  I have to tell you this call is being recorded for training purposes, and I need to talk to <my real name>. It's about her account card, could I speak to <my first name> please?

Me(slightly irritated): I've already told you twice, that's me. It's my card. What about it?

Him: Well, Mr <my surname> I'd like to talk to you about identity theft...

Me; Excuse me, but I've told you my name; please don't call me 'Mr.'

Him: Oh, I'm sorry. Shall I call you <my first name>

Me: Yes, if that's easier for you. Could you please tell me what this is about, I'm in the middle of something.

 

He then proceeded to read his script, explaining to me what identity theft is, and how, for a small charge, he could offer me protection against someone stealing my identity, using my store card, or any of my credit cards, and running up bills that I'd be liable for. He finished his little speech with;

 

Him: So, sir, does that sound like something you'd consider?

Me: No, I don't think so.

Him: No? You don't think identity theft is a problem for you, sir?

Me (irritated again): Look, I've told you my name. I'm not a man, I've asked you not to call me 'Mr', please don't call me 'sir' either.

Him; Oh, I'm sorry, but your voice...you don't sound like...

Me: Yes, I'm painfully aware how my voice sounds on the telephone, but you called me; you have my details, I've confirmed who I am. How can you expect me to take your identity theft protection thing seriously if you don't even believe who I am when you called me?

Him: Sorry; So is this somethin you'd consider?

Me: Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't own a credit card; I have only two store cards, and the staff in both those stores know me by sight, and I'm very careful with my personal details, so No, I'm not interested. But I would like to speak to your supervisor, please.

Him: I'm sorry, we're only allowed x minutes per call, I'm going to have to hang up now.

 

Of course, these calls are all number-withheld, so I couldn't call back; so I've written to the store concerned, with the above conversation, and asked them to investigate, and get me an apology.

I'm still waiting...

 

After we have exhausted the polite response, PISS and OFF usually works. I feel so sorry for people who have been driven to work in these industries. But if they cannot get the hint then brutal works.

I have to admit, I'm more sympathetic towards these people since I've had a job in a call centre.

That's unbelievable Sarum I would have hung up before then! lol

If they are ringing about telephone services, say 'Thanks but I already have a phone you just called me on it'.  The 'thanks but I already have phone/electricity/windows' normally throws them off.

Get the kids to answer the phone. Then teach them to say things like "is this more important than Hannah Montana?"

Oh. I value your suggestion but I couldn't really say that because it might appear rude. I can't bring myself to be rude.
I try to think of reasons why I'm not always convinced that I need the service they are volunteering. It does take a lot of patience but I find it's worth the effort.

I usually pretend to be a simpleton, and they soon give up.

I would have hung up at this point. In fact, I'd have hung-up when he asked me to spell my name. He's calling you; and it's an unsolicited call. He should know who he's calling: asking for details like your middle name sound suspiciously like social engineering.

If you really want to continue the conversation, reply with something like:
"No. Why do you need me to spell my name? Don't you know who you're calling?"
If he replies "I just need to confirm your identity." or similar, reply;
"Why? You're calling me. You're not returning a call, so why are you calling me?"
At this point, he'll probably get flustered and start reading his script, which is your cue to quietly slip away and run a bath...

I got one once and asked her where she had got my number, she told me the phone book, I told her she was lying and had no right to phone my number..I have'nt had anymore since then....

Absolutely not on.  You're quite right to complain.

Again, he's calling you. He's supposedly calling for your benefit. Just because his time-limit is up is absolutely no reason for not fulfilling your request to speak to his supervisor.

As you may be able to tell from earlier posts, I used to have a whole host of similar strategies for this sort of thing.


However since joining the TPS, I just can't be bothered anymore. I merely ask for their company's name, and then warn them that they are in breach of the regulations and if they call again, I'll report them.

Yeah, boring I know...

Are you sure?  Isn't cold calling the same as knocking on the door of someone when you haven't been invited.  Now that's very rude!

IMO, it's worse than that. Unless they're working from something like the Electoral Register, knocking on someone's door is essentially random. E.g. I had some window-cleaners round earlier in the week who were going round the doors to drum-up business.
Phoning someone up means that they've already done some research to get your number in the first place - they don't just tap numbers at random. Indeed, the TPS requires that they check their register first to see if your name is on it; if it is, they shouldn't be calling you in the first place.
Doesn't always stop them, mind...