to expect cold callers to pronounce my name properly and not hang up!

[mumnosbest]

I seem to be getting so many sales calls at the moment. These are annoying at the best of times but are getting worse due to poor manners and laziness/ignorance.
Both myself and DH have unusual firstnames and surname but both are pronounced exaxctly as they are written I'm getting so tired of sales call where they say "hello, can I speak to ...erm...Mrs...erm...Ballogaskigsdfjkghrh?"
Me - "You mean Mrs Bloggs?" If they're going to disturb me at home, they could at least get my name right or even close .

Also when I politely say no thankyou, I expect a thanks for your time or at least a goodbye, not a dial tone. It's so rude to hang up and they called me!

Next, telling a company once that you're not interested should be enough, twice a little annoying but after that?

Don't even get me started on door-to-door sales and preachers I'll save that for another thread .

Sorry I realise this is not so much an AIBU (as I know I am not) as a rant but I do feel much better for it! Anyone else need a moan?

P.S. I am always polite but am considering not being.

Just register with TPS, they're brilliant.

My surname is always mispronounced yabu a bit on that.

Yanbu about rudeness and persistence. Ive started to say can you hold the line... Then i either leave the phone or give it to DS (2.7) until they hang up

The thing is, all the people who say they hand the phone to their kids/play music/blow whistles etc....

It doesn't make any difference because the chances of exactly the same person calling you again tomorrow are very small...however the chances of one of their 200 colleagues ringing you again and again are huge.

You need your number removed from their database and that's where TPS comes in.

Ooh BBisTitanium I love that idea. My mum used to blow a whistle down the phone but that's a bit mean.

My name is honestly pronounced as it's written. It would be like saying I know your name is Pam but I'm going to call you Ezmeralda!

WorraLiberty - What is TPS?

TPS = Telephone preference service

Only takes a few minutes to register

Would I be wrong in stating that TPS doesn't stop cold callers from abroad though?

sally to my knowledge it only doesn't stop the recorded messages...I think it does stop all other calls.

I very occasionally get cold calls and as soon as I tell them I'm registered with TPS and ask them to remove me from their database, they normally apologise and I don't hear from them again.

I only had to report one company (doing surveys) because they seemed to think it was ok not to remove me as they 'weren't selling anything'

Yes sallymonella you are right TPS told me that when I had a moan.

Thanks worra, ive just registered! I have a beautiful tactic for door callers too

Oh do share

They always get my surname wrong, I just say 'sorry there is no one here of that name' and they say sorry and put down the phone :)

Isn't it weird how I still say 'put down the phone', how old fashioned of me!

Hyper I still ask my DH to 'tape' films for me

Ha! Yer I think I might say that too! In fact I know I do 'let's tape this' I say as pushing the sky plus remote!

Noone ever pronounces my name correctly it's not even that unusual.

Any way cold caller types get pretty sternly told not to call again and to remove our number from their list, I am registered with the TPS, but it doesn't seem to stop all of them.

People at the door just get told I don't do business on the doorstep. I especially hate the ones who ask whether I own the house-I know I should tell them no, as they most likely only want the owner, but I just can't and I end up asking whether they own their house?

Thanks I will try TPS.

We still 'tape' and 'rewind' films too .
Tbh I still have to 'put the phone down' it's very old but I do get more satisfaction banging it down than pressing end call... when they don't hang up on me!

Mum, what about when you are on your mobile?! ( smiling at the thought of how scratched your screen is!)

TPS doesn't seem to be working. We keep getting calls for the home owner. They've been dwindling since I keep saying we're rented and the home owner doesn't live here. -that may be a huge lie-

I never answer the landline in the belief that anyone who really wants to speak to me will leave a message

My mobile is getting a little worn out

I had 7 calls in 2 days from the same company last week, each time I said 'could you give me the name of your company please?' The first three times they didn't answer and hung up, fourth and fifth they yelled "NO!" and hung up, sixth they yelled "WHY SHOULD I" and hung up, and finally, seventh "NO I WON'T, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT, HA HA HA" and hung up. They know that TPS can only help if you know the name of the company that is calling. However, if you do a 1471 and you find they haven't bothered to block their number, you can use this to complain directly to www.ico.gov.uk (the body the TPS report back to) without the company name. I don't know what ICO can do, but at least I now have an answer to 'what are you going to do about it?'...

Alternatively, when they ask for (in my case) an entirely made-up name, I say 'yes, I'll just go and get her', and leave the handset next to the radio until they hang up.

I ask for ID, that confuses them actually I just hang up or leave it on the side if its an overseas one if from Uk I say I have never heard of you and we are TPS registered so take me off your database, they go sharpish after that. TBH I don't get many uk calls at all now but the recorded messages are a pain.

I am registered with TPS but the bastards still phone!