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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that 'blasting' a whistle, down the phone, into the ear of someone in a call centre is abusive?

211 replies

twinklingfairy · 14/06/2012 20:08

An old school friend has delightedly put this as her status. That her husband had the whistle ready and BLAST = call centre caller with tinitus, lol ??
How is that funny!?
My DH had someone scream into his ear, as a teenager, and has tinitus to this day. That's over 20yrs later!
I wrote a reply giving this story but omitting that it was my DH and was told to , calm down. She has been putting up with the abuse of the constant call for months etc. And that she had suffered it herself, after a rock concert.
hmm not quite the same, I think, as having a high pitch put straight into your ear that could abuse Long Term damage.
But it would seem I am a kill joy Hmm
DH says leave it, but I can't help feeling very angry on his behalf. Not to mention the poor soul, though I don't deny the calls are annoying, no one deserves abuse like that when it could cause lasting problems.

OP posts:
fryingpantoface · 03/09/2013 22:42

Just saw it was a Zombie thread. Whoops

grumpyoldbat · 03/09/2013 23:38

I just want to point out it hurts a lot when someone blasts a whistle down the phone at you. In my defence I wasn't a cold caller, I just answered the phone at work and someone seemed to think it was really funny. I couldn't sleep that night because my ear was still ringing.

DollyClothespeg · 04/09/2013 00:01

Anyone who whistles down a phone is a *** idiot. That's a person on the other end doing their job. However annoying they may be. It's not their fault. This coming from someone who hates cold callers with a vengeance and am pig sick of them lately!
(Aware this is a zombie thread. Don't care. Grin ) Never understand why it's deemed unacceptable on here to comment on a thread if it's a few weeks old or whatever, and you get people coming on shouting, "Zombieeeee, zombieeee, Confused
I've only just seen the thread and have an opinion on something still relevant, so what difference does it make?

GagaJanet · 29/01/2017 13:11

I have tried being polite but I am getting the same call over and over again from someone stating they are from Microsoft. I have told them politely that I was not interested and asked them to take me off their calling list. Despite this I am still getting these calls up to 5 times a day and starting at 8am on the dot. I am disabled and also have another condition that can be made worse with stress. These calls are effectively making me ill so I consider I am the one being abused. I have considered blowing a whistle down the phone because these people are scammers and not your average call centre advisors. But instead I have had to pay to take out call screening. On disability benefit this is one cost I could do without but I have had no alternative. These scammers should be ashamed of themselves because they are making genuine call centre advisors jobs even harder.

Rootytooty · 29/01/2017 15:50

Zombie thread

GagaJanet · 29/01/2017 16:13

It may be a zombie thread but it's the first time I've come across it and was interested in the discussion. Have you got nothing better to do than post a message which states something so blatantly obvious just so you can try to make people look stupid??? How sad!!!

AnitaPallenbergsKnees · 29/01/2017 16:16

How bloody rude!
A poster makes a salient point about something that affects a lot of people and that's all you can think to write.
Get a ducking life

Elphame · 29/01/2017 16:23

I wish TPS worked
I wish being ex directory worked

Redglitter · 29/01/2017 16:26

Get a BT Call Guardian phone. 100% success rate in stopping them. Wish I'd got mine ages ago

And I realise it's a zombie thread butility thought I'd post anyway Smile

EmpressOfTheSpartacusOceans · 29/01/2017 17:01

I got through the first couple of pages and realised it was a zombie when I saw Honeydragon in her lederhosen.

I agree the whistle is not on, I can't believe anyone would work in cold calling if they didn't have to.

namechanging99 · 29/01/2017 18:23

Yanbu I have tinnitus and at times it feels like it's ruined my life.

To deliberately do that to another human being is deplorable

ShowMePotatoSalad · 29/01/2017 19:04

That's absolutely vile.

What's equally vile is people who think that cold callers deserve the abuse they get. To those people: you might think you're above it but if you had no other choice you would work in a call centre cold calling too. So get over yourselves.

It's very easy to say "no thank you" and end the call. There is absolutely no need for abuse at all. Despicable.

EmpressOfTheSpartacusOceans · 29/01/2017 19:12

Nobody deserves tinnitus. The only cold callers who do deserve abuse are the scammers.

GagaJanet · 29/01/2017 19:23

It's not call centre workers that are causing me problems but the scammers who are calling constantly at all times of day from 8am to 9pm. They say they are calling from Microsoft and that I need to log into my computer immediately as hackers are accessing all my personal information including passwords etc.I am an elderly lady and this caused me great concern until I realised it was a scam. I have told them repeatedly that I'm not interested, that I know they are not calling from Microsoft, to take me off their 'list' because I will not do as they are asking. But I'm still getting the calls. I've just spoken to BT and they are setting up something that will hopefully stop these callers getting through. They are making me even more ill than I already am. Where are these people's morals?????

IrianOfW · 29/01/2017 19:39

Don't answer the phone then. If you think it might be someone you want to talk to, dial 1471 afterwards.

Causing physical suffering to some poor sap that is only trying to make end's meet is just horrible behaviour.

pooh2 · 29/01/2017 19:47

Ugh, they sound awful. I bet they delight in being rude to bar staff, food servers and other workers who won't be able to argue back as well. Pathetic bullies Angry

mambono5 · 29/01/2017 20:09

where's the emoj for zombie

Hold on, people should have the right to have a landline and left in peace in their own home. They should not be harassed by unwanted calls, waking them up, causing stress and upset, despite trying to keep their phone number as hidden as possible.

I don't condone assault against anyone, but this is self-defense. Have you tried to tell a cold caller to be removed from their list? They swear at you and hung up. It's not acceptable to tolerate harassing behaviour because it's "someone's job". What's next? Defending drug dealers who are trying to earn a few bucks?

You can work in call center without harassing the public.

HelenaGWells · 29/01/2017 20:14

It's just one if the downsides to the job. Most jobs have them.

Don't be a twat of course it isn't to be expected. It is vile behaviour that could leave someone with a temporary or even permanent health issue. If you really think that people deserve to take physical abuse For doing their job then I'd hate to work for
You. It's the phone equivalent of punching a cold caller in the face.

YADNBU op. It's disgusting and vile behaviour. There are lots of none abusive ways to deal with cold callers.

It baffles me how many calls some people get though.

My number is ex directory, I opted
Out of the edited electoral roll (as that's where a lot of companies pull info from) and I'm registered with tps. I never put my phone number on anything that isn't important. The only companies who have it are ones I am happy to deal with e.g. My bank, the kids school etc.

I think the edited electoral roll/ex directory combo is key. Since we did that we've barely had any. We used to get a lot then when we moved we did the above and I think I've had about 5 calls in the last 5 years and they were all connected to companies we use e.g. Sky trying to sell us an upgrade.

smirched · 29/01/2017 20:24

Gaga the Microsoft scammers targeted my aunt a couple of years ago and took £15000 out of her account (she fell for it and did why they said, let then install software on her computer etc) it affected her very badly and she ended up with severe depression and agoraphobia, although she did get most of the money back from her bank. so I think you should be more forceful with these criminals, not less.

Can you change your number? or get a mobile phone and stop using the landline. You can also report it to Microsoft themselves and they may offer some more support. I would just ignore the phone or slam it down staright away, don't engage with them. ask your friends and family to do one short ring and ring off before they call you so you know it's them. anyone else can leave a message or send a text.

GagaJanet · 29/01/2017 20:33

I agree with you. For someone to say don't answer the phone is ridiculous. That's what the phone is for, to let your family and friends contact you.
I too am ex-directory and I have opted out of the edited electoral roll and the only people who have my landline number are my family and a few close friends. So where do these people get my details from when I have never given my landline number out! I do not get calls from call centers or cold callers at all, only from these 'Microsoft' scammers!!

GagaJanet · 29/01/2017 20:43

Thank you smirched.
I'm sorry to hear about your Aunt. It must have been terrible for her. The first time they called me I almost fell for it too but was unable to get to my laptop at the time. When I told him this he got really angry and started shouting at me and then he said right I'll call back in 10 minutes so go get your laptop. I was absolutely shaking and burst into tears when I hung up.
He did ring back again and again but I unplugged my phone for the rest of the day.
When he called back the next day I was more composed and told him that I knew he was not who he said he was and that if he called me back again I would contact the police. Then hung up. It still hasn't stopped the calls.
I did contact Microsoft by email to let them know and filled out a form.

Elphame · 29/01/2017 20:45

I think the edited electoral roll/ex directory combo is the key

Makes no difference to me. I'm on the redacted roll and still get them. I give fake telephone numbers on line ( usually the site/companies own one) and still I get them - all brute force auto- diallers I assume.

Fluffyglitterbum · 30/01/2017 19:38

This makes me feel really sad,

When I was 18 I moved in with my boyfriend 240 miles away from home, it was incredibly hard leaving the family home but something that I felt I may regret if I didn't,

Having no friends or family near by I quickly became very lonely and isolated, the relationship became unhappy but I stayed none the less, I was determined to find some work, we were in financial difficulty and I applied for a job in a call centre, which was successful,
Being very shy and reserved, I struggled from the beginning, I was awful at it and constantly in trouble for not hitting targets etc. I dreaded going to work and spent every morning on the bus crying to my mum over the phone. I hated it and lost count of the amount of times i came off the phone crying because someone had called me a stupid bitch and everything else they could think of, I didn't want to be there, I had to be and being hung up on was one of the nicer calls I would have
I'm sure not everyone who works in call centres feels/ felt the same, I know plenty of people who really enjoyed it, but for me it was awful And I think blowing a whistle down the phone at someone is completely horrible Sad

pamish · 30/01/2017 19:44

There's a difference between ordinary call centre workers who are just spamming, and those who are thieves. The ones who set out to scam people, to get access to their computers so they can blackmail them, or to their bank accounts, know exactly what they are doing. No punishment is enough for them.

haveacupoftea · 30/01/2017 20:20

Whistle blowing is an old fashioned thing, women used to do it to heavy breathers. You never really hear tell of heavy breathers anymore.

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