Weird phonecalls

27 Apr 2004

I guess we're all familiar with the "phenomenum" where the phone rings at around dinner-time, you pick it up and there's no-one there (because a telemarketer's rung a bunch of numbers at once). Well, I had my first run-in with a new variation of that tonight - I picked the phone up, a recorded message said "We have an important message for you, please wait 2 seconds" - I counted to five and caller rang off.
So it's just the same as ringing off immediately, except it wastes an additional 10 seconds of your life. Great. mad

27 Apr 2004

What no heavy breathing in those 5 seconds to make it worth while. Couldnt have been a call from SH then wink

27 Apr 2004

i had a call the other day, sounded like a real person saying hello so i said hello back! (felt stupidh shortly afterwards) any way the message said i had won a telly it still sounded real then this bad computer voice came in :S
am i the only person who thinks these calls are on the increase? its all spam and telemarketing these days!
grrr!

27 Apr 2004

it is possible to have these sort of phone calls blocked...although you will miss out on the breathless anticipation of just what if it is that special someone!!!
Mirth

27 Apr 2004

I got my Grandparents on the do-not-call list a few months ago and while it hasn't stopped them entirely, it has cut down on the volume!
Maybe I should start considering that myself...

27 Apr 2004

A lot of these calls come from withheld numbers and there is a system in place with can block withheld numbers from calling your phone.

27 Apr 2004

I had one today (obviously overseas call, and a sort of American accent) from the car loan company that say 'Yes' (you've seen the adverts). I said "No thank you" and hung up! Well it made me feel good lol biggrin

27 Apr 2004

If they do get through the various barriers I just love to make sure that they know that they are acting illegally... an insinuate that I may well report them for severe bollocking...
got to get some fun from the web etc
Mirth

27 Apr 2004

Quote by BlueEyes
A lot of these calls come from withheld numbers and there is a system in place with can block withheld numbers from calling your phone.

I have said system, so people cannot ring me if they deliberately withhold their number. Unfortunately, it doesn't block every call of this kind, as they often come from abroad and somehow these get through.
Funnily enough I've had an automated call tonight telling me I've won either "A Â£2000 holiday or..." didn't hear what the alternative was as I hung up then rolleyes

27 Apr 2004

Its so damn annoying, especially if they phone right at the time you are trying to cook/feed cats and hamster/open mail all at one time. Why do they always choose such annoying times to phone?
I had one the other day asking if would like to take part in a 5 minute survey so I did...and was on the phone for over 20 minutes.
Next time I am just going to put the phone down.

27 Apr 2004

I've no idea of the legal standing in this country but when cold calling went mad in the US an enterprising guy found a good idea that dropped it by a good few percent - I know this is genuine as I'd seen an interview with him.
1) If you get cold called make a note of the company on a pad by the phone and politely decline - make the point that you do not wish to be called again and make a note of the time/date/names etc.
2) If you get a second call from the same company/plan/scheme advise them clearly and politely that you have already asked them to stop calling you on their previous call (quote the time/date if need be). Make very clear that if they call you again you will invoice them for your time (especially valid if you do indeed work from home). Again ensure names/times/dates are taken.
3) If they call again then AND you have the guts to do it explain the lead up two calls and ask to speak to their accounts department to get an invoice address for your charges.
They may give you the details and then it's up to you if you take that side of it any further but one thing is for sure - you'll be ripped from their database faster than a rabbit up a stepladder !! Nothing ensures compliance more than cost !!!!
After one of the company's took the guy to court they ruled that he'd warned them enough times for the ball to have been in the cold calling company's court and his charges were allowed to stand.
I just think this is a great example of an individual taking a stand in an intelligent, non-abusive way.........
Carpathian

27 Apr 2004

I once answered a call (breathless from the run up the stairs) to a bloke who said he was from BT.
"Yes" says me
"Can you clarify your postcode for me" - BT bloke
"Why?" says me, "Which bit isn't clear to you?"
"Can you just clarify your postcode madam?" - BT bloke sounding annoyed
"Which bit of it?" says me, even more annoyed than BT bloke. "The first three components or the second three components?"
"It's just to clarify that you're who you say you are!" - BT bloke losing it
"You fucking phoned me you moron" - me not losing it but now enjoying myself.
"I'm not a burglar cos burglars don't answer the phone!" - me, right into the flurry now!
"AND you mean 'confirm' the postcode, not clarify it" - me enjoying myself enormously by now!!!
Sharp end of conversation and me feeling chuffed for the rest of the evening.
lol

:lol: :lol:
PS - no more phone calls from BT marketing section - ever!

28 Apr 2004

having done the telesales thing myself (B2B tho, not domestic) i have some sympathy with the poor buggers who desperately try and sell me windows and kitchens etc, even though they somehow manage to ALWAYS interrupt a private conversation in the chatroom!!! ;-) but when you get a dozen calls a day, often several from the same bloody company, cos you happen to be at the front of the phone book.......well.....telesales is the bane of the dial-up web user's life!!!

I once answered a call (breathless from the run up the stairs) to a bloke who said he was from BT.

absolutely classic resourcing technique!!! find out if "the lady of the house" is usually in at around that time, and unleash the mail shot to soften up the target for the 'real' telesales pitch at a later date!!! ashamed to say used the same approach to get MD's names and addresses myself!!! as if BT don't have DETAILED info on every single bloody house in the UK!!! what are census's and electoral roles for these days, if not to be sold on to telemarketers???
and as far as having your name removed from databases goes, or registering complaints with the teleseller, you first have to assume they actually have databases!!! i worked for a company trying to sell IT systems costing tens and hundreds of thousands of pounds, to multinational plc's, with no database whatsoever!!! and i know of companies getting upwards of a dozen calls a week from my ex-employer, with no real avenue of redress, cos the sales dept can always plead ignorance or staff training issues etc!!!
and carpathian, good advice there, and often effective with smaller companies who can't afford the suit, but the last thing we'd do is identify the company we we're calling from unless they showed an interest and took an appointment!!! management would actually train the staff to either hang up, or drop a competitors name, whenever a complaint arose!!!
know the tricks and know the pressures, so as i say i sympathise, but damn if it ain't a right pain in the @rse!
neil

28 Apr 2004

There is an easy way to reduce the great majority of both telephone calls and Junk mail.

The Telephone Preference Services and the Mailing Preference Services will register your name and number will all mailers as being one that prefers not to receive mailings or telesales calls.
It can take up to 6 months for you to see a complete drop off as people buy old lists or use out of date ones. However - everyone who is involved in direct marketing of any sort must comply with the Privacy and Electronic (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.
We do not get any junk mail and the only telesales calls we get are from companies we use and we easily stop that by advising the caller we are a member of the Telephone Preference Service and they should not be calling us and to remove our number from their database.
You can also register to stop "Silent calls" as well on the site.
Anyone who calls you in future you can just report them and tell them you are doing so.
Go to the link above and tyou can access all the services from there.
Works a treat for us!

28 Apr 2004

Thanks Fred, was going to suggest the TPS but had not been able to dig up the site. If anyone is interested there are a number of preference lists, including the mailing preference service and fax preference service.
I used to work as a db analyst for a targeted mail company (not spamming, the opposite, we were picky about who we sent to) and they took the MPS very seriously. The signup should be relativly painless and it does work.
I have only had 1 call in 5 years, that was a 'warm' one from a company whose magazine I suscribe to, and they never called back after I told them to go away and mentioned the tps.

28 Apr 2004

Quote by Jags
I once answered a call (breathless from the run up the stairs) to a bloke who said he was from BT.
"Yes" says me
"Can you clarify your postcode for me" - BT bloke
"Why?" says me, "Which bit isn't clear to you?"
"Can you just clarify your postcode madam?" - BT bloke sounding annoyed
"Which bit of it?" says me, even more annoyed than BT bloke. "The first three components or the second three components?"
"It's just to clarify that you're who you say you are!" - BT bloke losing it
"You fucking phoned me you moron" - me not losing it but now enjoying myself.
"I'm not a burglar cos burglars don't answer the phone!" - me, right into the flurry now!
"AND you mean 'confirm' the postcode, not clarify it" - me enjoying myself enormously by now!!!
Sharp end of conversation and me feeling chuffed for the rest of the evening.
:lol: :lol:
PS - no more phone calls from BT marketing section - ever!

I had similiar phone call where a woman told me off after phoning me and asking me to confirm who I was and I wouldnt. I then asked her to give me her personal details from her home address. To this she rang off :lol:

28 Apr 2004

I did the MPS thing recently (thanks to Nallers!) and it worked very quickly. My home telephone number is XD so no cold calls come through AND I have Caller ID set up so I can tell, mostly, who is ringing (my mother is surprised every time still lol

).
Mobile is all and sundry though - and I hate the messages asking me to ring a premium line to see who fancys me... they'd have to be half blind to do that and so are in need of urgent medical care :lol: :lol: :lol: