Top Tips for Handling Telemarketers

stuzhunter

This came in an email to me. Hope this is useful but not too sure whether this is the right place to post it.

Three Little Words That Work !
(1)The three little words are: "Hold On please..."


Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.

Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep" tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.

These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.



(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?

This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.

This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a "real" sales person to call back and get someone at home.

What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible This confuses the machine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer !!!

(3) Junk Mail Help:
When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.

When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.

Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them more than the regular 24p postage "IF" and when they receive them back.

It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 29p before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in their postage-paid return envelopes.

For example; send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back!
If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them. You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 24p.

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice!

Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea ?

If enough people follow these tips, it will work !

foxybabe

excellent...gonna do this.

liz545

stuzhunter wrote:

When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.
For example; send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back!
[/I]

Aside from the time that this involves (I prefer not to stuff envelopes unless I'm being paid ) and the fact that some poorly paid unfortunate at the recipient has to deal with your passive-agressive protest, wouldn't it be better to recycle your junk mail, rather than posting it to the junk mailers who'll probably bin it?

Skiduck

liz545 wrote:

Aside from the time that this involves (I prefer not to stuff envelopes unless I'm being paid ) and the fact that some poorly paid unfortunate at the recipient has to deal with your passive-agressive protest, wouldn't it be better to recycle your junk mail, rather than posting it to the junk mailers who'll probably bin it?

then the cycle goes on, ad infinitum. I can see your point though, a letter to your regular companies that do it may suffice.

savvy

stuzhunter wrote:

Three Little Words That Work !
(1)The three little words are: "Hold On please..."

LOL I usually say "Erm can you tell me where got this phone number from?? You DO know it is ex directory don't you?" they then apologise and leave!

The best was the other day, a lady from Egg rang to remind of my anniversary offer, BT for 5 months at 0%, with only a 2.5% fee....................and I wet myself laughing at her, I told her I was insulted by my 'offer', and that I if I wanted to I could get 12 months at 0% and NO fee! After she came to, she left pretty sharply! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

stuzhunter

liz545 wrote:

'passive-agressive protest?'

what about active-aggressive telemarking!..such as Credit card offers from both AMEX & Vanquis 3 times a week

Horasio

stuzhunter wrote:

This came in an email to me. Hope this is useful but not too sure whether this is the right place to post it.

Three Little Words That Work !
(1)The three little words are: "Hold On please..."


Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.

Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep" tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.

These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.



(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?

This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.

This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a "real" sales person to call back and get someone at home.

What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible This confuses the machine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer !!!

(3) Junk Mail Help:
When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.

When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.

Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them more than the regular 24p postage "IF" and when they receive them back.

It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 29p before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in their postage-paid return envelopes.

For example; send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back!
If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them. You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 24p.

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice!

Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea ?

If enough people follow these tips, it will work !

Excellent - for some reason it really made me laugh:D

Llyllyll

You could also try:

"Sorry I'm busy at the moment, but if you give me your name, home number, address, mortgage details, inside leg measurement etc I'll ring you back at my convenience".

Not had any one take me up on this offer yet .

Anastacia

I just registered with the telphone preference service. Did the trick. I think the children also registered with BT so that we dont accept calls from phones that dont leave a number (we do not have the callers number to return the call) and I tried to phone home from one yesterday & couldnt!

We still get junk mail but very unusual to get a hone call.

Skiduck

Anastacia wrote:

I just registered with the telphone preference service. Did the trick. I think the children also registered with BT so that we dont accept calls from phones that dont leave a number (we do not have the callers number to return the call) and I tried to phone home from one yesterday & couldnt!

We still get junk mail but very unusual to get a hone call.

did you just ask BT not to allow calls from with held numbers?

Also, does anyone know if you can block incoming international calls?

liz545

stuzhunter wrote:

what about active-aggressive telemarking!..such as Credit card offers from both AMEX & Vanquis 3 times a week

There's no need to stoop to their level, though. Register with the mail & telephone preference service, call-screen, and throw away unsolicited mail unopened - it's easily identified by the gaudy envelopes.
My top tip is just to say "No, thank you" and hang up. Don't get drawn into debate, just be polite and move on. Works on chuggers and free newspaper people as well. It's good for your blood pressure too!