Great 'Best Cold Caller Rebukes' Hunt

mik2204

One company called day and night and upset my wife. I recorded a call and tried to get company details from the guy on the other end. I was on the call for a good 20 minutes without success. Another time when they rang again I put the phone on speaker and played back the earlier call from tape. We had the cold caller talking to me and the previous cold caller at the same time. It was telephony chaos and very entertaining. It made my wife laugh anyway. This quickly became the standard routine for cold callers in our home.

NeverInDebt

I don't agree with being rude although I believe it is justified in some occasions when they dont stop calling you nor whistle down the line etc

That said, it not always possible to ignore the phone, you might be expecting a important phone call, what if you ill or housebound then get up only to find a silent call or someone trying to flog you something you dont need.

jgriggle wrote: »

I hate marketing calls, but rarely get any thanks to TPS. I'm never rude to the person calling, as they are just given a list of numbers to call.

I just say "not interested - sorry" and hang up. Simple.

If I'm busy, I simply don't answer the phone. They can leave a message, or if urgent, call my mobile.

All these little games people on here are talking about are just childish and passive aggressive. A way of trying to make yourself feel superior. No-one enjoys cold calling, but if you have a family to feed and it's the only thing available then you have to do it. It's amazing how brave people can be when protected by the anonymity of being on the end of a phone.

As for blowing a whistle down the phone, that's completely unacceptable. At best you could cause someone pain, at worst hearing damage. It would be the equivalent of punching a door-to-door salesman in the face. You'd be prosecuted and rightfully so.

PS, I've never worked in telesales myself.

Annie_Other

Do a couple of over exagerated sneezes and then apologise, "Im terribly sorry about that it must be the cold from the cold call." "aaaaaaaaaaachoo!!" :eek::eek::eek:

Hooda_Thunkit

savemoney wrote: »

Whilst I dont accept abuse should be given, your post does not address the fact that some of these calls no one is actually there to pick up the phone when there system rings you

Nor does it address that sometimes you get called umpteen times even though you tell them not to

It is against the law to misuse telephone network that can be sending high pitched tones to people on other end, but can equally apply to ringing someone and not answering all time ie silent calls

Sorry I didn't take in every eventuality you may ever face in my first post. The point is that if you quickly hang up, you can return to your interests quickly, rather than going through some abusive or annoying pantomime in an attempt to reciprocate the annoyance caused by the caller; after all it is all pretty pointless, isn't it?
Re silent calls, I believe most of them to be foreign and caused by an autodialler calling a bunch of numbers simutaneously, and it is the poor sucker who lifts the phone first that gets the spiel. So perhaps taking your time in answering will give you peace?
Re the repeated calling; yes, very annoying, but as neither you nor I have a solution to the problem, I still believe the best way is to say NO THANKS and hang up. If I was in one of these call centres, I'd soon get sick of your refusals and stop calling you back.
Unless governments stop these calls by introducing new legislation, the only thing to do in the meantime is to handle them in a simple and stress-free a way as possible IMHO

savemoney

Talk talk use silent calls, this company is misusing the telephone network illegally and or obtaining my details without my consent

I believe for any misuse company should be fined. I currently have a complaint with TPS who can confirm today I been with since 2002 about the illegal practices talk talk are doing

I tried several ways to avoid calls

1. avoid picking phone up and enter number into my Panasonic phone and allocate ring tone (see picture)

They just keep trying

2. Ask to be removed

They still keep doing it



In my case any threat is meaningless, I think a fine is long over due this company does not take no for an answer

Hooda_Thunkit

Forgot to say how I deal with personal callers. I am lucky enough to be a large and slightly intimidating looking guy; when they make their play, I simply say "sorry, not interested".
But when they try to persist I simply say "I've just told you I'm not interested, so please don't make me be rude to you"
Without fail this makes them shut up and leave; and the best thing is, I'm just a big !!!!! cat who wouldn't hurt a fly!

princessnadi

brandedcentaur wrote: »

What is the point of being rude to some poor wage slave who is just trying to earn a living? YES, we all hate receiving these calls and NO they should not be allowed.

I hate them as much as anybody else, but I always remember that, at the other end of the line, there is someone who has had the guts to go out and find a job (ANY job!) rather than sit in the house or pub, moaning about there not being any work!

Either say "No thank you, sorry" or buy a trueCall. There is no need to be rude or waste their time. Those people are paid commission and you are just breaking their will to work at all.

well said.... of course it's annoying but if its a quick survery then i do my best to answer and get them earning some money. At the end of the day eveyone has bills to pay however they can and so this is another job -if someone on here or who getsa annoyed by cold callers had to get a anyone got a job of a cold caller and people hung up on them, then they'd know exactly how it feels to be taken for a ride/hung upon or spoken to rudely.:eek: as i said it is annoying and inconvenient but it's someone out there trying to make a living.

DVardysShadow

sporedude wrote: »

CharlieBilly wrote: »

typos1, klarapie and other nuisance call makers

You have no right to intrude in our private lives by ringing us up at home unless invited to do so.

Really, Get a life. Telling people to find a better job? What if its the only job available to them? Didnt think about that did you? Nah didnt think so.

I think the reason for asking to be left alone is in order to have a life.

If it is the only job available to them, then it is better that they don't do a job. It is like graffiti 'artists' - if that is the only outlet for their artistic talents, it would be better to cut their hands off.

plimsoll

wildthing01 wrote: »

i'm afraid with a young baby and toddler to look after, i'm just too busy usually to play games with them - although i wish i wasn't!!! as soon as they say 'is that Mrs W?', i ask if it's a sales call, and if they say yes, i just give a short sharp 'not interested thanks' and hang up before they have a chance to launch their spiel.

i don't mind the phone calls so much, it's the door-knockers - they're so thick-skinned - i had one once knock when i was painting the lounge, baby asleep upstairs - i answered door with wet paintbrush in hand, in my painting clothes, and what's more, the baby had just started crying (woken up by their ridiculously loud knock), very obviously i was busy, and they paid no attention to all that -just started with their spiel. i told them it wasn't a good time and shut the door in their face.

I had a charity doorknocker once tell me that surely my baby's dirty nappy could wait, grrr!!! Only answered cos was actually expecting someone, otherwise wouldn't have with nappy needing changing!

MothballsWallet

NevMetson wrote: »

As far as the "ethos" goes, TRUECALL is ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) "Secured by Design" and many many Police Forces are buying them to 'loan' to victims to prevent them becoming repeat victims

And how much, if anything, does the ACPO get as a "thank you" from the makers of Truecall for their backing/permission to slap a logo on it?

This does not solve the problem: the only way it could is if it included an electric shock generator controlled by a user-operable button that caused the caller to get a nasty (non-fatal) shock.

Or for all call centre managers' names, employers and home phone numbers to be published by the ITU-T (which is part of the UN, not UK Gov) so they can be reported if we get harassed, and the ITU-T sends in its own special forces to destroy the call centre.