Catalogue company demanding info on the phone

purple.sarah

minimoneysaver wrote: »

I usually put on a really somber voice and say...."oh, no...(cue fake crying), she died yesterday!" That gets rid of them really quickly!

That's pathetic. You're not talking about a robot here, you're talking about a human being just trying to earn a living. They have feelings and will feel bad if you blub that someone's just died. Are you really so desperate for attention you have to fake your own death? You're not even talking about cold calling but about calls the customer agreed to when signing up for a catalogue account. If you ever wanted to order from them again in the future it might be awkward if you were marked down as dead!

purple.sarah

It's not cold calling, you signed up for it when you signed up for a catalogue account. They might be ringing to update you on the latest offers, ask if you still want your catalogue delivered if you've not been using it recently etc. Obviously they need to verify you are the account holder first or they could be talking to anyone who could then make decisions on your account. Also I've heard of an employee talking to the clients mother before, who then gave her an earful about ordering on credit! Companies verify your identity simply to make sure they are only talking to you about your account. I've worked in customer service for catalogue companies before and they do this, it's not some kind of conspiracy! DoB and first line of address are standard security questions, obviously never give out bank account details or anything of that nature. They can't stop calling if you won't verify your identity because as far as the system is concerned they haven't reached you yet. If you want to close your account ring them or write to them and request that. This would also be an option to change your contact settings as the employee on the phone can't make changes to your account without knowing it's you requesting it.

neverdespairgirl

You could try asking them if they've accepted Jesus as their personal saviour?

MarilynMonroe_2

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

You could try asking them if they've accepted Jesus as their personal saviour?

:rotfl:thats cracked me up

Savvy_Sue

purple.sarah wrote: »

It's not cold calling, you signed up for it when you signed up for a catalogue account. They might be ringing to update you on the latest offers, ask if you still want your catalogue delivered if you've not been using it recently etc. Obviously they need to verify you are the account holder first or they could be talking to anyone who could then make decisions on your account. Also I've heard of an employee talking to the clients mother before, who then gave her an earful about ordering on credit! Companies verify your identity simply to make sure they are only talking to you about your account. I've worked in customer service for catalogue companies before and they do this, it's not some kind of conspiracy! DoB and first line of address are standard security questions, obviously never give out bank account details or anything of that nature. They can't stop calling if you won't verify your identity because as far as the system is concerned they haven't reached you yet. If you want to close your account ring them or write to them and request that. This would also be an option to change your contact settings as the employee on the phone can't make changes to your account without knowing it's you requesting it.

but surely the common sense solution, if the customer will NOT confirm their identity, is to write to them? Or write to all customers explaining why they phone? The company is NOT going to get the information by phoning, so why are they a) wasting their time and money and b) alienating the customer? I would close my account and NEVER order from them EVER AGAIN if this happened to me.

zaksmum

purple.sarah wrote: »

It's not cold calling, you signed up for it when you signed up for a catalogue account. They might be ringing to update you on the latest offers, ask if you still want your catalogue delivered if you've not been using it recently etc. Obviously they need to verify you are the account holder first or they could be talking to anyone who could then make decisions on your account. Also I've heard of an employee talking to the clients mother before, who then gave her an earful about ordering on credit! Companies verify your identity simply to make sure they are only talking to you about your account. I've worked in customer service for catalogue companies before and they do this, it's not some kind of conspiracy! DoB and first line of address are standard security questions, obviously never give out bank account details or anything of that nature. They can't stop calling if you won't verify your identity because as far as the system is concerned they haven't reached you yet. If you want to close your account ring them or write to them and request that. This would also be an option to change your contact settings as the employee on the phone can't make changes to your account without knowing it's you requesting it.

Yes but if I'm not interested in ordering, why should I confirm my identity to them?

Melonade

They shouldn't be asking you for personal details even if you are registered with them. They should already know some of these details anyway. They can't have lost them yet kept your phone number

I'd just tell them that they can keep ringing all day everyday and that you still won't be handing the details over. Try and get a name and make a note of the time and let them know you'll be reporting them. Ask them for their date of birth and see if they like it.

Or you could do what I do when I get these kind of calls...

Me "does your phone do this?" (put down phone)
Caller is left listening to the click of you hanging up on them

the_cat

Tell them that due to being unable to verify unsolicited callers ID, you only deal with companies via post. And hang up.

adamantine

sorry but it sounds to me like there is an outstanding amount on the account which is why they keep on calling you. you can send them a letter asking for everything to be done in writing and send it recorded but i have never ever heard of companies calling you to ask if you still want a catalogue or offer you the latest deals. only ever to ask for payment for outstanding amounts.

DVardysShadow

purple.sarah wrote: »

It's not cold calling, you signed up for it when you signed up for a catalogue account. They might be ringing to update you on the latest offers, ask if you still want your catalogue delivered if you've not been using it recently etc. Obviously they need to verify you are the account holder first or they could be talking to anyone who could then make decisions on your account. Also I've heard of an employee talking to the clients mother before, who then gave her an earful about ordering on credit! Companies verify your identity simply to make sure they are only talking to you about your account. I've worked in customer service for catalogue companies before and they do this, it's not some kind of conspiracy! DoB and first line of address are standard security questions, obviously never give out bank account details or anything of that nature. They can't stop calling if you won't verify your identity because as far as the system is concerned they haven't reached you yet. If you want to close your account ring them or write to them and request that. This would also be an option to change your contact settings as the employee on the phone can't make changes to your account without knowing it's you requesting it.

I bought your line of reasoning until that point.

If they ring someone and they don't want to prove their ID, then that should be the end of it. Just because some demented machine says it has not got the answers it wants, it is no reason to continue for ever harassing someone who does not want to prove their ID. I can't believe that anyone would be so limited in out look that they think this would be reasonable