Cold calling again ...

shillelagh · 18-03-2010, 13:50

Phone rang all of 10 mins ago ..

me: hello? (no reply) hello?
an asian voice replied .. hello .. can i speak to Mrs ****** (my mum)
me: Sorry you cant speak to her ..
voice: are you the householder Mrs *****
me: Im sorry but if you want to speak to Mrs ***** then you will have to try Grave 531 at St Johns Stonefold Churchyard ..
(me just waiting to see what i get back .. its normally a ooo im so sorry

)
voice: Mrs Jennifer *****
me: im sorry but im miss .. not Mrs ..
voice: Im sorry Miss ***** im ringing to see about government grants for loft insulation and cavity wall insulation if you qualify and to make sure you get your grant ..
me: Can i just interrupt .. i signed up for the telephone preference service .. you shouldnt be cold calling me ..
voice: But im not selling anything telephone preference service only covers sellers im just ringing to make sure you get your grant do you have cavity wall insulation and loft insulation ..
me: Yes i do have cavity wall insulation and loft insulation
voice: When was it last done miss *****
me: 6 years ago .. i dont need it ..
voice: im sorry to have bothered you miss *****
and the phone was put down.

The thing that bothered me most .. i am registered with the telephone preference service .. and have been for a long long time .. but he said because he wasnt selling anything that the telephone preference service didnt cover him ...

Is this the latest scam .. to get around the law because theyre not 'selling' anything .. if i had said that the cavity wall insulation had been done 10 years ago he'd probably have said that it needed topping up .. and that the grant would cover this .. and go on to try and get me to sign up for his company to do it .. but what about if it had been someone else ... maybe a pensioner or a mentally disabled person .. who didnt have all their wits about them .. and didnt need a grant etc ..

This isnt the first one ive had .. i had one last week that asked to speak to Mr ***** but i was lucky .. the leccy went off before i got the chance to go into the grave number bit .. and i got cut off ..

LYNX1 · 18-03-2010, 13:53

They always find a way Jen..........we'll never win

shillelagh · 18-03-2010, 13:58

I was looking forward to that one last week though .. my dad died 24 years ago ... and i was just gearing up .. when the leccy went off .. and i thought typical .. because i could have had a real go at that one!!!

And before anyone says im cruel heartless whatever .. the company should get their facts straight before making any calls .. it could be someone going through a bereavement or a divorce ...

LYNX1 · 18-03-2010, 14:03

And that's a bad thing?.............why?????????????

LYNX1 · 18-03-2010, 14:04

Of course I meant the divorce bit ........

jaysay · 18-03-2010, 14:32

I had the same chap on last week Jen, and I asked him the same question about preferred calling and got the exact same answer, must have crib sheets pinned above their computers

Margaret Pilkington · 18-03-2010, 18:42

I have had a few 'selling' phone calls recently.....they always ring at a meal time and are always hard to understand because of their accents.......and how many asian men do you know who are called 'Robin'.
Yesterday i had one of these calls......the chap launched into this lengthy spiel, or I should say that he tried to.
I stopped him and asked if he had my permission to call me........(knowing full well that he hadn't) he paused for a moment and said he didn't know, but he would check.
I told him that he need not bother, because he didn't have my permission, and that as I subscribed to the TPS his call was illegal.......I asked the name of the company he worked for....he would not divluge this info. I told him that as the call was illegal I was going to get in touch with the Information Commisioners Office and let them know about the call he had made illegally.......and that they might just be taking legal action against the company very soon.
His attitude changed, and he said he would remove my number from their calling list.
I thanked him for that....but I'm not holding my breath.

My husband says I am naaaaasty, that they are only doing a job.(I should note here that HE never answers these calls)
I tell him that surely they know they are going to get some flak from time to time, and that if they don't like it then they should change their job.

claytonender · 18-03-2010, 20:08

I have had a few calls recently from a company telling me about the government scheme to clear my debts, even saying they were calling on behalf of the government. I asked where they got my number as I am registered on the TPS, also which government department they were calling from and saying they were being disingenuous saying they were ringing on behalf of the government. I threatened to report them to Trading Standards for not explaining that their company would be charging quite large fees, over several years to write my debts off.

It was quite amusing because they kept loosing their place on the script and saying they did not understand me. Next time )and I sure there will be a next time) I receive a call I will ask them to send me the details of the company by post so I can send the info to Trading Standards.

esteemedjuju · 18-03-2010, 20:13

We have now got an answer phone and don't answer until we know who it is everybody who knows us just tell us to pick up the phone and anyone else can leave a message I do answer sometimes if i'm in the mood and then they wish I hadn't

Taggy · 18-03-2010, 20:37

Ive had loads of these calls...i just deal with them with two words now...and the last one's "Off".....and i dont give a damn if it upsets them, they invade my privacy with their calls!

Best Regards - Taggy

Tealeaf · 18-03-2010, 22:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I have had a few 'selling' phone calls recently.....they always ring at a meal time and are always hard to understand because of their accents.......and how many asian men do you know who are called 'Robin'.

I had one of 'em on the phone the other week....her name was Charlotte and true to form she had a pretty posh accent. A posh West Bengal accent, that is. She asked for my name and I told her - Rupert.

'Hello Rupert,' she said. 'How would you like to save fifty quid on your annual gas bill?'

'Very much so,' I hastily replied..'that's good money I can otherwise spend on beer. But there is one thing before we go any further.'

'What is that?' she asked, sensing a sale.

'You must address me by my full title'

'Sir?'

'No...I am Rupert, third Earl of Accrington and the second baronet of Church. When you address me, you call me My Lord. If I like your attitude, you can then call me master'.

The stupid cow rang off. Shame. I could have had a bit of fun with that.

Ken Moss · 19-03-2010, 06:42

I long ago developed a terribly efficient technique for dealing with cold callers and it amuses me every time.

'I'll be with you in two seconds, there's just somebody at the door. Hold on.....'

They usually wait around a minute before ringing off but it's satisfying to know that I'm wasting thier time as much as they're wasting mine.

K.S.H · 19-03-2010, 07:15

You have got to be ready for them,
answer phone with hello - hello - hello, I'm not here really, you are talking to an answer machine but you can contact me on my mobile which is "say a number very quickly" so they can't catch it then hang up.
They usually ring back, answer with, My automated telephone system has detected you have already phoned this week and I have give you my number once, your calls will now be blocked for 7 days, they don't ring back a 3rd time

jaysay · 19-03-2010, 09:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by claytonender

I have had a few calls recently from a company telling me about the government scheme to clear my debts, even saying they were calling on behalf of the government. I asked where they got my number as I am registered on the TPS, also which government department they were calling from and saying they were being disingenuous saying they were ringing on behalf of the government. I threatened to report them to Trading Standards for not explaining that their company would be charging quite large fees, over several years to write my debts off.

It was quite amusing because they kept loosing their place on the script and saying they did not understand me. Next time )and I sure there will be a next time) I receive a call I will ask them to send me the details of the company by post so I can send the info to Trading Standards.

Best of luck Claytonender, getting them to send detail throught the post, think they are quite aware what they are doing is taboo

jaysay · 19-03-2010, 09:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

I had one of 'em on the phone the other week....her name was Charlotte and true to form she had a pretty posh accent. A posh West Bengal accent, that is. She asked for my name and I told her - Rupert.

'Hello Rupert,' she said. 'How would you like to save fifty quid on your annual gas bill?'

'Very much so,' I hastily replied..'that's good money I can otherwise spend on beer. But there is one thing before we go any further.'

'What is that?' she asked, sensing a sale.

'You must address me by my full title'

'Sir?'

'No...I am Rupert, third Earl of Accrington and the second baronet of Church. When you address me, you call me My Lord. If I like your attitude, you can then call me master'.

The stupid cow rang off. Shame. I could have had a bit of fun with that.

Your incorrigible Tealeaf

Or should I say your Lordship