Spill the beans...on which firms ignore your 'no cold callers sign'

hippey

I don't mind brochures being put through the door and I will leave them out on collection day but don't collect them and they go in the bin.

But I am sick of charity collectors being rude when knocking on the door at tea time and then being rude when told to go.

Patr100

I often get not one empty plastic collection bag possibly for a legit charity but often for these dubious pseudo charitable businesses, but several over a few weeks, some within the same week.
I turn the bags inside out and reuse them for household rubbish etc.
There are plenty charity shops near me so I take items etc myself.

katejo

Tropez wrote: »

Avon, Kleeneze, various people reporting to be from various charities, various energy companies, Safestyle and probably a few others have all ignored signs that expressly state I'm not interested in their services.

And just to add to the annoyance, almost all of these seem to have an aversion to closing the damn gate.

I got fed up with an Avon (or similar) rep leaving their catalogue. I left it out with a notice which said something like "If you leave this again, it will go straight in the bin". i never got one again. In my view "No cold callers" means absolutely that. No cold callers of any type or description. I don't have such a notice up because I think that most would ignore it anyway.
My doorbell doesn't work anymore but I haven't bothered about replacing it. If I am expecting someone, I warn them to knock hard!

Abbafan1972

I don't mind the Betterware catalogues, as they just drop through the letterbox and I can leave them outside on the wall for them to collect. Kleeneze got on my nerves though and at one stage there were 3 different reps delivering to me and I had to tell them all to please stop!

Avon got me a few years ago, I gave her a piddly order for £8. Got the goods and then every 2 weeks or so another new book was dropping through my door! I was on maternity leave at the time and didn't have a lot of money to spend on Avon products! The girl only lived a couple of streets away, so I dropped the book back with a note attached saying that I was on Maternity leave and ordering Avon was not on my list of priorities! I never got any more after that.

Charity bags go in the bin. I don't answer the door to Jehovas Witnesses, anybody holding a clipboard etc. Last week though, hubby was just putting the recycling in the porch when someone dropped a leaflet through the door about windows/flat roofs or something like that. Hubby said he "might" be interested in such and such, within 20 mins someone else knocked the door to do a quote! They really pee me off!

Patr100

I generally don't open the door unless expecting so what really annoys me are the meter readers who turn up randomly without any warning and don't even leave a card but are spotted across the road later. I know they have to read it every so often but why can't they just make an an appt like anyone else?

blossomhill_2

If it is two people in smart coats I make it obvious we are in by shouting "don't answer the door, it is only the JWs!" and go about our business as normal - they stand there forever!

Betterware should have a system in place to ensure their staff know who their "non-customers" are - I told them 10 years ago we wouldn't return any catalogues yet they still put them through and keep coming back to collect them long after we have binned them - I won't leave them out as they make the house look untidy and are nothing to do with us - we are not their customers, they are not our suppliers

I had Battersea the other day, I made the mistake of answering the door with a cat in my arms, poor bloke tried hard to sign me up by cooing at the cat but I said "she wants me to shut the door now" and did!

I have started playing with cold phone callers by telling them they have just rung me - it confuses them no end and it's proving a really quick way to get rid - "is that Mr/Mrs/Miss ******" "oh hi, you rang me just now" "did I?" "yes, I recognise your voice" "oh sorry" ... brrr

ScottHeron

A memorable experience

Guy from E-On at the door
Guy: Sir, can I ask what electricity provider are you with
Me: Sorry pal, i don't use electricity
Guy: ...

LOL you shoulda seen the look on his face

I also love playing with cold callers...

jwil

Anglia Windows - ignored two signs - one visible from the road, and one on the door itself. The rep also told me my sign 'didn't matter as their offer was too good'.

Funnily enough, I am in the market for new windows, but they've just ensured I will NEVER go to them.

As far as I'm concerned - Avon, Betterware, Kleeneze etc are all cold calling too - I don't want your catalogues as I didn't ask you to send me one. For the person putting slips in - I need to look at the catalogue to see them, so that makes no difference whatsoever as I'm not interested and they just get chucked away. Anyone who has no consideration about my wishes gets no consideration from me about whether it costs them money or time to lose a catalogue.

jockosjungle

Charities seem to be the worst for us, many may see the sign and not bother coming I don't know, but we probably get about 2 a month.

I do get others, dodgy guy trying to sell me a new porch cover, and talktalk or SKY offering me free calls and broadband who have been very rude in some instances. The SKY rep called me a moron for turning down free stuff. Talktalk just signed me up anyway when I told them I wasn't interested.

I worry about the SKY and Talktalk ones because its normally three large looking lads going around together, which I imagine could be intimidating to some.

However the chuggers is my main concern as it happens a lot and the opening line is always the same.

"Sorry mate, I knocked and then I saw your sign"

Every single time, or words to that effect, they then try and tell me about the charity. It is as if its what they've been trained to say, yes I saw your sign but too late, and then they can talk about it.

"My sign is home made, it goes along the lines of

No Cold Callers Please, if you are unsure whether you are a cold caller or not, please assume that you are.

Cold Calling Includes
Charities
Selling of any kind
Surveys
Broadband, TV or Phonecalls
Religion

We do not buy and sell or give information at this door, there are no exceptions to this. Your time would be wasted trying knocking on this door."

Its pretty explicit and when the chugger normally makes the only just seen the sign speech, I just can say well you know we're not interested and close the door.

From personal experience, when you see someone at your door who isn't a parcel man or someone you know, instead of trying to engage them in conversation or argument about the sign. Just say "sorry I;m not interested" and close the door.

Decent salesmen knock on doors for a living and it must work, it shocks me people saying they wouldn't go for 20 minutes, etc. Just don't give them the starting point.

Nobody is just doing a survey in your area.

R


I think the chuggers is the most im

gregg1

lynneinjapan wrote: »

We had two blokes (Npower, I think, but not sure) come to the door and when I answered the conversation went something like this:
Them: Good evening, are you the homeowner?
Me: Yes, are you literate? [pointing at "no cold callers" sign right in front of them]
Them: Er, no, that's why we knock doors for a living... [as I shut the door on them]

To be fair I actually get very few cold callers since the sign went up. And under the bit that says "We don't need free advice" I've added in "OR RELIGION!" and we haven't had the Jehovah's Witnesses since then either.

Re catalogues, I agree with the Kleeneze rep who posted. (I'm not a rep myself.) The Avon/Kleeneze/Betterware distributors are individuals who (I believe) pay the company for every catalogue, and each one will get used several times if they can manage to recover it. They don't make a lot of money doing this - hence the high turnover! It's not their fault if they've just taken on a new territory and nobody has told them which addresses don't want catalogues - and anyway, the same people might not be living at those addresses now. If you don't want catalogues then put a note up to tell them so; if they still put one through the door then it's fine to put it in the recycling.
I don't think leaving the catalogue outside is a security risk - it's just an indication that you've finished with it. If you don't want the rep to knock on the door to collect it then just leave it outside for them. It helps if they supply a poly bag for this purpose though!

We get roughly one mailshot every week or two from Virgin Media, who don't even know our name. We've sent several back to them saying things like "NOT INTERESTED - STOP SENDING US THIS STUFF" but they keep doing it.

As far as I am concerned it is fine to bin it as soon as it drops through my letterbox and that is exactly what I will do. I have a sign up saying no cold callers and that I do not buy from door sellers - that includes people sellling at the door via a catalogue. I don't see why I should have to plaster my front door with different notices for different companies just to deter them from hassling me to buy stuff from them.

And I disagree. Of course it can be security risk if a catalogue is just flung onto a step or left poking out of a letterbox indicating that in all probability the house is empty!