Ways to stop overseas sales calls discussion

mchorley

If you have some time to spare, when you get a call pretend to be slightly deaf and elderly.
Misquote back to the caller some word they have used and then go off at a tangent.
E.g:
We'd like you to take part in a survey.
Scurvy! I haven't got scurvy.
No. No. Survey.
I take vitamin C so I don't get scurvy.
No. SURVEY.
Sevy? I'm not called Sevy?
No. We want to ask you some questions.
Sum questions? I'm no good at maths. When I went to school we had slates and chalk - (Tell them all about your schooldays)
We're a marketing firm and want to find out what you think of various everyday products.
Pardon?
We're a marketing firm and want to find out what you think of some everyday products.
Ducts? What sort of ducts?
PROD UCTS!!
Prod what?
PROD UCTS!!!!!!!!!
This won't take much of your time.
Thyme. Thyme.. Isn't that a herb? I think it is.
(Take the 'phone a little way from your mouth and pretend to have a conversation with someone out of earshot)
Gladys. Isn't thyme some sort of a herb? Yes. Yes. I thought so.
(Back to the caller)
Gladys agrees with me, Thyme is a herb. It's like rosemary, except it's not. You can have rosemary with lamb Etc Etc

When you get tired of this, pretend that you can't hear them.
Say, with pauses: Hello. - Hello. - Have you gone? - Hello. - Hello.
Then put the phone down.
It's great fun.
See how long you can keep them on line and have competitions with friends.

jenblackrod

Just dont answer numbers I dont recognise. If they want me and know me, they'll leave a message or ring my mobile. I have signed up for the TPS but in the past I have just stopped the seller mid sentence said, loudly, 'sorry Im not interested' and put the phone down. I just delete unwanted texts, but they do annoy me. Grrrr!

wanttosave

The best reply i have given a cold caller on the phone is .... you should have call up 5 mins ago you would have got him/her alive . harsh but what can they say to that lol

SavvyStudentSaver

I used to have patience with these people. Until they told me they knew who I was, and were present at my birth. That got creepy. (This started because I said I was living with my parents, and as such was not responsible for the house, at which point he said he knew my dad).

Told the guy that I wans't going to answer any of his questions, and to leave me alone, otherwise it was harassment, and hung up. So he rang straight back, and asked why I'd hung up on him, and said he was going to keep calling until I answered his questions.

I stopped answering the phone for a few hours- partly to dissuade him from that method, but also because it really freaked me out.

Which is an example of the biggest failure I ever had with one of these calls.

Best method I remember was getting excited about money back from PPI, and asking when we'd get it, how much etc (because they said "Our records say you're owed money"), and then when they asked about when PPI was taken out, saying we'd never done so, and getting angry that they weren't goin to give us the money they'd promised.

alst68

I get a ppi company ring me on a regular basis and I have been very polite asked to be removed from their call list and not to contact me again. The number comes up so I know its the same company, I have reported to TPS and still get the calls one year after reporting . So now I ring them back as it is a UK national number and play them some music its a lovely piece called VoiceMail by Charlotte Church this blocks their line as I can hear them trying to free it and I let the whole 3 min song play before I hang up. They can not follow simple instructions they can have some cold calling from me. I know what people are going to say they are only doing their job true but not correctly as l still get the calls they are not doing their job. so it gives me a little pleasure to do this . My number is ex-directory and number is with held and I am very careful who I give my number too.

vikingaero

This site is about consumer revenge..... so next time you fill in a survey, need to enter a phone number online etc.... just put in the number of the PPI company that calls you all the time.

Justamum

vikingaero wrote: »

This site is about consumer revenge..... so next time you fill in a survey, need to enter a phone number online etc.... just put in the number of the PPI company that calls you all the time.

I never thought of that before - I'll do that next time. Last time I filled in something online which asked for a phone number I just made one up. :rotfl:

fishydave_2

If you have time and are feeling mischevious, play them at their own game! When you realise its an unwanted cold call, just say "oh I'm a visitor to this house, just hang on a moment and I will get the householder". after about 15 seconds or so then say "my friend is just out the back, what was it you wanted?" let them tell you and say "hang on a minute, I'll just tell my my friend". Let it pause another half minute or so then say "actually my friend is interested in your product/ service, can you just hang on a minute and he will be with you shortly, he's in the little room, but is coming" leave it another minute or two (each time, make the gap longer and longer), then come back and say "are you still there? sorry to keep you, my friend really does want to talk to you......and no you can't ring back later as we are going out - please he really won't be long, just hang on". Keep this up as long as you can with platitudes, eventually, the caller will start to get stroppy and on many occasions I have then been accused of wasting their time, to which my obvious reply is then don't waste my time in future - I don't seem to get repeat calls from them! My best one lasted 3/4 hour!

You can have hours of fun with this, but you do need to be on free evening and weekend call tarriff with your phone company!

NonGeographicalMan

fishydave wrote: »

You can have hours of fun with this, but you do need to be on free evening and weekend call tarriff with your phone company!

Can you explain why exactly you need to be on this call tariff?

Surely all of these callers will always call you and not vica versa. So the calls don't cost you anything at all other than your wasted time (assuming you are not ever hood winked in to ever buying any of their products and don't ever fall for any of their scams).

ADM34

My partner asks the caller for their credit card or bank account number, as his hourly rate is expensive, and if they insist on using his time he will charge them for it !!

There is usually a pause, followed by a reply along the lines of "I am not giving you that information", followed by a click as the line goes dead !! :j
This works in all situations, telephone surveys, cold call selling etc.:T