Really upset with one of those annoying cold callers

[emily05]

This guy just came around from 'Eastern Electric'. He had a badge and a Eastern electric jacket on. He started giving me all this flannel about I had been identified as a premier customer, blah blah, he could now put me on an excellent tarrif.

I said "I am not with you, I am with Powergen", he says "I wont change your company just tarrif" then goes on and on trying to blind me with science and really pushy. I told him I didnt want to change suppliers and he said this little classic
"you wont change companies, you will just be a different logo on your bills!!"

He must have thought I was a muppet!! Anyway I told him to come back when dh was home later. In the meantime I phoned my gas company to ask them - and they said he definantly wants to change you we dont work with Eastern elecric they are another company"

Anyway - I went out just now and he was on my street and I said to him "I am sorry but I have spoken to DH and we dont want to change suppliers" and he had a right go at me! Saying we wouldnt be and it was just a different logo, he was really shouting at me! So I said I was going to phone his company up and he started haveing a go saying that I had it all wrong and I didnt know what I was talking about and started giving me a lecture about how gas comes down pipes!!!

I feel really cheesed off and think I am going to complain. I know it sounds silly, but he wasx quite threatening. Excuse any spelling errors I am cheesed off!

[jampots]

We had Scottish Power stalking us last week literally hanging around at the end of the drive until we had finished our dinner (dining room in the front). As soon as we finished I chivied everyone together and got in the car and drove off!


HOwever I am plagued by calls from 3G mobile phones and someone trying to pedal cheap calls for BT Lines

[Bugsy2]

Phone up and complain. This man had no right to shout at you. How dare he!!!! Feel angry on your behalf.

[TrophyWife]

i would complain if i were you.
what a rude person.

[starshaker]

i has npower a while ago come round i told them i wasnt interested and he was fine he then asked me to sign something saying he had been (it was suposedly a new thing cos people were saying they had been places and hadnt) stupid me signed it and i then got a letter telling me i had changed so i phoned up and went right through them cheeky bas*ds

[WideWebWitch]

Complain, it's outrageous mis selling.

[pinkmama]

That horrid emily05. I had one once who came into the house under false pretenses, told me he was here to read the meter, then once in house tried the hard sell. Like you, he treated me like an idiot. I did complain to the company. They seemed to take it quite serious, but I guess I will never know. I would give his company a ring.

[pinkmama]

Of course that should have read 'thats horrid emily', not 'that horrid emily'!

[littlerach]

I would complain.

A friend of mine was sucked in by this a few years ago, it was only when her bf came home and reda all the stuff that she relised the man had basically lied to get her to take out their copntract. He hadn't really given her a choice.
They did call the company and broke the contract but only after a fuss.

I think you can register with a company that stops all the telephone cold calling.

[Mosschops30]

Message withdrawn

[SleepyJess]

We had a horrid pushy one round here the other week..! He wasn't aggressive but quite offensive . He came out with all the same rubbish as you described Emily.. and I couldn't follow it, possibly because we are not supposed to 'understand' what they are going on about.. but merely sign to make them go away! I said I would call DH (mainly because I couldn't be arsed to stand there anymore listening to it) and he said facetiously.. 'yes.. I do think that it would be best now, don't you?' I said, "for your information I am not a stupid person, in fact I would probably be grossly over qualifed to do your job.. ! (which is possibly a lie.. or maybe not.. I doubt you need a university education to spout b*llox on doorsteps!). So Dh came along, and HE shut the door on him!

I made a sign at my old house which said 'We are NOT interested in changing any aspect of our Gas/Electricity account.. We will happily pay more if necessary in order to avoid the hassle of you calling.. so please don't!' And they didn't! Must make another one..

SJ x

[lemonice]

They often claim to be not cnanging company nothing will cjange except the logo. Now i just say I like the logo I have, and then when they say but you would like to pay less for your bills I just reply no I tend to go for the most expensive tariffs etc.

I had a call the other day about business mobiles

Caller : Can I speak to the person in charge of business mobiles?

Me: That's me

Caller: How many mobiles does your company have

Me: None

Caller: How can you be in charge of them then?

Me: I'm in charge of not having any..


He did have a bit of a laugh..they find it hard work if you take them off script..

[Surfermum]

LOL lemonice! I love it if you get them on the back foot and off script. I was once phoned and told:

Them: We can save you money on your internet bill.
Me: go on
Them: How much do you spend at the moment?
Me: I don't know, it's pay as you go.
Them: Ummm, approximately?
Me: I don't know I've never looked.
Them: Well we can save you money on that.
Me: How?
Them: Well tell us how much you spend at the moment.
Me: You're from NTL you tell me how much I'm spending at the moment.
Them: We don't have access to that
(By this time I was enjoying it )
Me: So how can you say I'll save money?
Them: How much do you spend at the moment?
Me: I don't know.
Them: We can save you money though.
Me: How?
Them: Silence

and so it went on until I put her out of her misery and hung up. Of course if I'd been pre-menstrual I would have ripped her head off down the phone line.

[starshaker]

i cot a call after 12 the other night there was no1 at the other end just a voice saying please hole while we connect u i was bloody raging

[lemonice]

I should add that it's ok winding them up back when I'm in a good mood, most of the time they annoy me intensely..and I've never forgiven Staybrite windows for upsetting my mum so badly she went into hospital consequently..

briefly she had a visit form a rep who claimed she had "booked the appointment" and being mild mannered (like her daughter) she let him in.

10.00 am rep enters 11.00pm rep leaves with signed contract.

Mum was diabetic, with angina , frail and obviously elderly..she asked him to leave many times but he didn't..she couldn't even have her proper meals..

She rang me 2 days later saying she had done something terrible and had been ill since..I sorted it out for her but I despise companies who do that.

I asked them never to call her again and head office said that they wouldn't but they did even claiming that her husband had arranged for them to call (she had been widowed for for about 25 years...

Sorry that one still rankles with me, I shall get back to my cheery persona ...struggle..(back to normal!!)

[jampots]

lemonice - we had similar although not as bad when I was pregnant with ds and had tonsillitis - was feeling absolutely crap and the idiot rep stayed for about 5-6 hours!!! We signed and cancelled first thing next morning. He just wouldnt go!!!

[aaliyahsmum]

me and dp live together but are not yet married, house is in his name so when i answer the phone i get good afternoon mrs , when i say sorry i am not mrs , they say oh we need to speak to mr , i got so ped off with this i said is there anything i can help you with and they said no they could only speak to mr or mrs , i said i sort out mr affairs and as he was not home could i possilby help , they said no so i said oh well as mr * partner and controller of all money that gets spend if you can not do business with me he wont do business with you thanks for wasting my time now sod off.
i got a call back to apoligize for her behaviour ha ha

[lemonice]

My mum would have loved to hear you say that Jampots because and this I feel is one of the worst things she knew she shouldn't have let him in and felt she should have been able to get him to go but she felt weak and ashamed because she hadn't...

[lilaclotus]

oh i really get fed up of those people knocking on the door. one time i was told "some companies get their electricity from french companies and you don't want foreign stuff now do you?!" and i'm belgian. heh. i was too shy back then to put the guy in his place.
nowadays i stop opening the door if i'm not expecting anyone.

[colditz]

My God! If they won't leave just say "You have to go now." If they still won't go say you will call the police. If they still don't go, Call the police!

[colditz]

Although I understand about frail elderly people just not having the energy reserves to behave like that.

[lemonice]

I agree with you completely Colditz (and this is just a rant from me) and if she had telephoned me while he was there I would have rung the police (although she did live 20 miles from the nearest police station) but until you've experienced a skilled salesman and been alone and felt vulnerable and are not naturally assertive it's difficult to understand how hard it can be..sorry i'm hijacking here, old anger surfacing on her behalf I'm afraid..I am so annoyed it still happens like this, lots of us can deal with it (and either get angry or laugh) but many people can't...

[emily05]

Thanks for all of your replies. The man is actually going up and down my street still! I dont think that he will have the balls to call here! I am actually really nervous because dh is really angry!

I have contacted Eastern Electic who have filled in a 'complaints form' but I have also e-mailed energywatch - who regulate apparently - as I am cheesed off. Thanks for all of your comments - next time I am going to just say no thanks and shut the door I think!! Awful that they hound people like this - it is like being stalked in your home.

[SenoraPostrophe]

Oh me too.

Nothing as bad as your experience, emily, but I had a call from onetel the other day saying that they were in charge of calls for BT business customers, that I had been put on the wrong tarrif and would i like to change. when i started to protest on the grounds that I'm pretty sure they're a separate company, she hung up.

I would complain to BT if BT themselves weren't such a bunch of soul-soliciting money-grabbing f*ers (who never did pay their bill to us)

[emily05]

SenoraPostrophe - this wrong tarriff thing seems like the new sales spin! It is the way that they think you are daft that gets me. by the way agree about Bt.

[Mirage]

I'm with Powergen& if I get salespeople trying to get me to change my gas/electricity supplier,I just tell them that I work for Powergen.They usually apologise & go away immediately.I can justify lying because I HATE cold callers of any description & did work for Powergen some years ago.

I did have an almighty row once with a guy who called trying to sell use fake stone cladding!He claimed that we'd rung up & booked a quote & appointment.As if I'd buy stone cladding!!!!