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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

received a cold caller and left the phone off the hook

116 replies

crystalglasses · 03/03/2012 16:50

We have registered not to have cold calls but one company just keeps calling - from India by the sound of the accents and I've receved a about half a dozen calls this week - wanting to know if I've had a road accident and need their assistance. I usually just say no sorry I'm busy and hang up. Last time I asked for his phone number so I could call back and he hung up. Today I decided enough is enough and I just walked away from the phone, leaving the caller to talk into empty space. I think this is going to be my tactic in future . I wonder how many more calls I get from this company? What do others think and how tdo you deal with these callers?

OP posts:

TotemPole · 03/03/2012 19:44

I love this wind up on a cold caller :

TalkinPeace2 · 03/03/2012 19:47

Lilac
All of these companies swap details.
As they call you they are hitting buttons to say if you are good prospect (sucker lists) or a Ferkin nightmare (like me)
and I have learned that if I TELL them to red flag my number or I reserve to scream profanities at the next of their colleagues who call me
the staff at these centres support each other - the flag goes on in an instant.

A possible self outing BUT
I made it into the national press for giving one of the overseas companies SUCH a hard time a few years back that they stopped calling the UK

ItsOkItsJustMyBreath · 03/03/2012 19:49

Where I used to work the receptionist and I had a great game with cold callers. WHen one phoned we would say we would put them through to the relevant person and put them on hold then wait 5 mins and the other person would pick up and say the same thing. We repeated this until they hung up We kept a record of the longest time it would take and one caller lasted well over 20 mins!!!! Obviously we were working very hard at the same time....

Avoc · 03/03/2012 19:54

I tend to use one of the three following strategies:

Hello. I am calling to speak to Mrs Avoc
Who's speaking?
I am Reechard from Computer Department of Windows. You have virus on your PC.
Really? What kind of virus?
Malware, bad stuff and junk?
Oh really, tell me more about it?
I am from Computer Department. That is technical department.
Oh.
Are you in front of your computer?
I don't have a computer. I live in a cave?
What?
I live in a cave. You know, it's a sort of rock with a hole in it.
Can you go to your computer?
I live in a cave. No running water, no electricity, no wifi. A cave.
Do you have a computer?
I live in a cave.

Hello Mrs Avoc, I'm doing a survey for dodgy.com. Can you confirm your details for me? What's your address?
Um, why are you asking?
I need to check you're Mrs Avoc. You could win an all expenses paid holiday.
Um, if you have my details can you tell me how you comply with the data protection act?
It's a survey, for dodgy.com. You could be the lucky winner.
I know, but I really care about my personal information. Can you tell me how dodgy.com ensures it complies with the data protection act?

Hello Mrs Avoc, I have some financial advice for you.
Fantastic. But let me tell you the good news about your horoscope
Pardon?
I feel mysterious forces. The planets are in alignment.
This is dodgy boiler room. I have some duff financial advice for you, Mrs Avoc
Mars is entering Leo. Saturn has rings. The light is coming...

LittleBarnOwl · 03/03/2012 19:55

I got a horrible scammer the other day, saying they were from Microsoft, then when I said I wasn't interested the guy went mad, calling me a bitch and all sorts, really horrible stuff. When I tried to hang up they wouldn't get off the line and just kept the call open saying what they were going to do to me.

Really not nice, my teeth were chattering with fright when I eventually managed to unplug the line to get rid of them.

TotemPole · 03/03/2012 20:05

I've had quite a few of the windows scammers.

inmylife, on occasion I've done what you did. They insisted they aren't scamming and are trying to help. I don't know if some of them genuinely believe what they are saying.

Other times I've strung them along and gone through the process of checking my computer and, after they've been on the phone for a while, pointed out that what they are showing me aren't viruses.

Once I said not interested straight away and hung up. They phoned back and ask me why I'd hung up. I hung up again. The phone went again immediately, I didn't answer it.

breatheslowly · 03/03/2012 20:09

Putting the phone next to a screaming baby seems to work quite well. DD is not of a screaming age any more and I am not inclined to pinch her for the sake of pissing off a cold-caller so I might invest in a whistle.

BalloonTwister · 03/03/2012 20:17

I had a run in with ne a few weeks ago. It went like this
Me: Hello?
Him: Is that Mrs Balloon?
Me: No, I'm sorry she's out
Him: Are you the home owner?
Me: No, I'm just the cleaner
Him: Well shouldn't you be working instead of answering the fucking phone then?
And then he hung up the rude fecker!
What if I really had been the cleaner? Thats no way to speak to my staff! I was gobsmacked

ddubsgirl · 03/03/2012 20:25

i tend to put the music player on from my mobile and stand it next to the landline lol or hand it to the kids.

breatheslowly · 03/03/2012 20:26

BalloonTwister

BigGirlInASmallWorld · 03/03/2012 20:30

I've not had this yet..as for Mrs Avoc responses -

Some of the cold callers - con artistes = are vile!

WorraLiberty · 03/03/2012 20:34

We are on the TPS but they get round it by asking for the previous owners of our phone number. This has been going on for nearly four years and if anyone has any idea how to stop those ones I would appreciate it

Tell them you are now the owner of the phone number, you're registered with TPS and you want them to remove it immediately.

If they call again after that, log on to the TPS website and report them.

AuntLucyInPeru · 03/03/2012 20:34

I don't have a landline. Dropped it 4 years ago. Prob solved.

PigletJohn · 03/03/2012 21:00

Does anybody have a good reason for not using caller display?

breatheslowly · 03/03/2012 21:09

Withheld numbers can be for calls you actually want, so caller display wouldn't necessarily be enough to weed out cold calls.

lepetitchoufleur · 03/03/2012 21:21

LittleBarnOwl that's awful! Poor you! Hugs x

Bunbaker · 03/03/2012 21:23

"Does anybody have a good reason for not using caller display?"

Because we lost it when we switched from BT. I will contact our phone service on Monday and look into it.

orienteerer · 03/03/2012 21:25

Re original post, you don't need to leave phone off the hook.......simply turn volume off or unplug (in which case phone simply 'rings' to caller).

Hollyfoot · 03/03/2012 21:27

My husband is a referree. Keep one of his whistles by the phone. They dont call back.

PigletJohn · 03/03/2012 21:50

When the caller display tells me "not available" it means Overseas, so I don't answer and let it go to the answerphone. If it says "number witheld" it means a UK caller so I might answer it, find out who it is, and if necessary have the argument about non-compliance with TPS. On one occasion I made a complaint about a company that broke TPS rules, and several months later I was very gratified to hear they had been fined.

wheredidiputit · 03/03/2012 21:54

YANBU.

I'm being plague/harassed by a company in Solihull who are looking for 'A Smith' I've tried nice/rude. But they cannot understand he does not has never lived at this address in the last 10years. Is there another word up north that means No and he dosen't live here.

dementedma · 03/03/2012 21:57

DH engages them in all sorts of stupid conversations. i find a simple," no thank you I'm not interested" and then hanging up solves the problem.
I have no sympathy for the scammers but feel a bit sorry for the call centre ones who have shit jobs, shit pay and impossible targets to reach. there's no need to be rude to them, their life is already crap doing a job like that.

ivykaty44 · 03/03/2012 22:10

Is there another word up north that means No and he dosen't live here.

try saying fook uff

they be posh in Solihull

Islandlady · 03/03/2012 23:04

Have posted this before but I had a lot of fun with one cold caller
caller - can I speak to the head of the household
me - he is busy right now
caller - when will he be available
me - well he is washing his arse in front if the fire and I dont want to disturb him
caller - sorry?
me - the head of the household is washing his arse in front of the fire and I dont want to disturb him
caller I dont understand what you mean (sounding very suprised)
me - you want to speak to the head of the household - thats the CAT and he is washing his etc etc
caller hangs up

Original poster

crystalglasses · 03/03/2012 23:07

The problem is that I've been polite and said 'not interested' but it doesn't put them off. I haven't got a phone with caller display either and if I unplug the phone I lose all the messages I've still got stored on it. I did once get lots of calls froma will writing service once and they only stopped when I said that as I was as now a widow (lie) I wasn't up to talking about wills.

OP posts:

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