Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how you deal with cold callers.

186 replies

Missrubyring · 18/02/2015 11:13

Hi, I'm new to MN and just wanted to post something light hearted to start me off so ....

How do you deal with cold callers. Both at the door and on the phone.
I once had one ring who was trying to sell me something, I didn't have time (I never do) and so simply said 'I can't talk right now, I'm driving.' To which he simply said 'okay, sorry, bye.' Not realising the number he had called was a landline. (Not the funniest i know)

So has anyone else got any funny/ creative ways to deal with cold callers, whether they've been put into practice or not??

OP posts:
AmyElliotDunne · 18/02/2015 13:18

We did have a giggle when a caller asked for my dad initially to be told that he'd died 5 years ago, then said "Oh is Mrs xx there then?" er no, she died this morning. It was sadly true, the worst timed cold call ever?!

MrsDeVere · 18/02/2015 13:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

OnlyLovers · 18/02/2015 13:19

This is boring but I don't try to say funny things to cold callers. Partly I think I've lost my sense of humour about it over the years, and partly because I think it's a shitty job and they don't need smartarses making it worse.

So I just say a polite 'I'm not interested; can you please remove my number from your records and not call again? Thank you.' Normally they sound fine, if resigned. One cheeky one recently said 'Can I ask why?' and I said 'No, I'm hanging up now.'

People who come to the door: we have an intercom so I normally just say 'I'm working (usually true) and I can't spare any time, but thanks'. If they actually come and knock at the door so I open it, I just say the same thing, slowly closing the door as I do so.

Trufflethewuffle · 18/02/2015 13:26

I don't see the point in being rude, they are doing a job and I can do without the stress which seems to come if I try to come up with a witty put down.

I did have one persistent caller a few years ago, would not go away and kept calling repeatedly. My mum was seriously ill at the time and I was expecting calls from the hospital at any time so I had to keep answering. He didn't stop even when I told him why.

These days I just stick with the stock lines of "No thank you, we are not interested" or sometimes "I don't take part in market research" and just put the phone down without waiting for a response.

SoonToBeMrsB · 18/02/2015 13:32

I've been getting very strange calls actually, and the company can't explain how they got my number. Twice I've had someone call my mobile and ask for my dad regarding double glazing that he and my mum had fitted ten years ago. I asked them the second time how they got my number and they said that it was the number given at the time, and was I Mrs Dad'sName? I said no, I'm Miss Dad'sName and I've only had this mobile number for five years, so could she please answer truthfully how they got it? Lots of umm-ing and ahh-ing later, she agreed to take me off the database and promptly hung up Confused

Trufflethewuffle · 18/02/2015 13:38

When we moved here back in September we got a new phone number.

The next day I got a call from one of these accident companies saying someone at this address had an accident in the last 12 months. They had my name and (new) address! Funnily, they weren't able to give me any details of this accident.

SomewhereIBelong · 18/02/2015 13:43

I was 17 when I did cold calling - I used to sit and cry quietly in the toilets when people were regularly nasty, just so I didn't take it home with me.

I was not tough enough for for that job.

Bramshott · 18/02/2015 13:43

I'm afraid I just hang up. I know its a crap job, and someone's got to do it, but I don't have time to be faffing around getting rid of them politely.

At the door, just cut them off with "no thank you" and shut it.

MrsDeVere · 18/02/2015 13:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

treaclesoda · 18/02/2015 13:44

I don't go out of my way to be rude, but I'm registered with TPS and they shouldn't be calling me at all, so I don't exactly feel the need to be polite to them either. Yes, it must be a horrible job to have to do, but they are legally obliged to follow TPS rules and not phone me, and if they can't be arsed to check my name off against their list before ringing, why should I be super polite to them? And asking them to take your number off their database usually gets met with 'I've just done that now, no one will ring you again' only for them to ring again a fortnight later. I have one company that I have been playing that game with for several years. I email their managing director every time they ring, his PA emails back a grovelling apology and says it will never happen again. Then they ring back, and I reply to their email telling them I have had another call. They email again and apologise and promise it won't happen again, then it does. So I email them again, referring them to their previous promises. And repeat. It is such fun Wink

Sleepyfergus · 18/02/2015 13:46

When the fake Microsoft calls we're doing the rounds, I used to play along, pretend I wasn't very PC savvy, switching on the PC, waiting for it to fire up, making lots of "ooh really" and "I didn't realise" noises whilst they were explaining the risks I was under, then I'd say "oh it asking for my password now" then spell out loud the password like "I'm just doing my password now, B U L L S H I T, is that right do you think?"

Sometimes they would hang up, other times they were quite quite arsey and then is lay into them for being com artists and running scams before hanging up. Used to make me feel better.

For international calls, I sometimes I answer as "Joes pizza, whatta you after? I do a nice Haiwaiian? Or maybe you a wanna some nicea lasagne?"

Or sometimes I answer as "Ritas massage and escort services? How can I help YOU today? Purrrrr"

But when we moved house, our land line changed and we decided kit to give it to anyone except family. So we get very very few calls now which is great, so I have to make my fun at my parents house when I'm there and they get an international call.

SomewhereIBelong · 18/02/2015 13:51

Trouble is people DO invite people to call - by missing ONE of those T+C tiny boxes that say "if you do not consent to our partners offering you deals please tick this box" - then TPS does not count -

TPS deals only with the specific very narrow field of "unsolicited marketing calls" - by not ticking the box the call is solicited.

thehumanjam · 18/02/2015 13:54

I've stopped answering the phone as it rings constantly and it's always cold callers. At the door I ignore it if I can if they are really persistent and start knocking on the window I answer and say "sorry I don't accept cold callers" and shut the door again.

bluebell8782 · 18/02/2015 13:55

I don't mind being rude to the 'I'm calling about the accident you had' calls. They are trying to make people claim for money through deception and in turn plays a part in high car insurance.

There is always a different job you can do without losing your morals.

SomewhereIBelong · 18/02/2015 13:59

There is always a different job you can do without losing your morals

hahaha - try telling that to the job centre and still expecting to be paid JSA.

Davsmum · 18/02/2015 13:59

One cold caller told me I HAD had an accident in the last 3 years so I sais I hadn't but he said their records showed that I had, so I pretended to be horrified and asked him when it was and what happened because it must have been horrific as I had no memory of it.

OnlyLovers · 18/02/2015 14:00

MrsDeVere, fuck. Shock I boycott SKY anyway, but even if I didn't I sure as hell would now I've heard that.

treaclesoda · 18/02/2015 14:03

I am always very very careful to tick the 'no marketing' options when I fill in forms, or enter competitions.

But even on the offchance that I have accidentally missed one, once you have told the company not to ring again, they really shouldn't. Especially if they promise you they won't.

flamingtoaster · 18/02/2015 14:04

I normally just say I'm not interested and please take me off your list.

If it's a "Microsoft" call I either say I don't ever have a problem because my son builds and programs our computers (which is actually true), or I'm running Linux.

DH wants to go through all the questions with a double glazing cold caller and then ask "Do your windows keep the vampires out?" (Another end line we have heard is "And how long would it take the council to approve the money?")

There's a brilliant script somewhere (can't find it at the moment) where someone explained they were charging for each answer they were giving explaining that their company policy was to charge for their time on phonecalls, asking what credit card they would like to use to pay and upping the sum they had to pay every minute. There is also a recording on Youtube where someone replies by explaining it is a crime scene and did the cold caller know the deceased. I think this sort of thing should only be done when they repeatedly phone and won't take your number off their list.

I had one cold caller who kept phoning asking who my Gas provider was and I refused to tell him. His reply was that he would just keep phoning me until I did tell him. I replied that he would get tired of that before I would and that I would never tell him. He didn't phone back.

ElsaShmelsa · 18/02/2015 14:09

We have a sign up at our front door that says 'Unless you are making a delivery, please do not ring the doorbell as I am working from home'. It seriously works. I've had it up for 6 years and I haven't had ONE cold caller at the door!!!

However, on the phone the other day DH took a call from a call centre where the guy was claiming that we had a problem with our computer. To which DH kept him on the line arguing that we actually don't have a computer and so how can it be fixed, how did they get our number, can he speak to his Manager etc etc. In the end the guy got really arsey and hung up. Since then I'm getting several 'silent' calls a day from a withheld number... We're already logged with TPS so not sure how they're getting the number...

thehumanjam · 18/02/2015 14:09

I had a similar call flamingtoaster a couple of years ago and that's when I stopped answering the phone. I haven't got time to field marketing calls all day.

I never give out my landline to anybody and I get irritated that friends and relatives continue to use it. I have a mobile and I will ring people back if they want to save on their bill.

OnlyLovers · 18/02/2015 14:14

We have a sign up at our front door that says 'Unless you are making a delivery, please do not ring the doorbell as I am working from home'.

That sounds good! Might try it.

SomewhereIBelong · 18/02/2015 14:22

"registration with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS)"

"will not stop the receipt of abandoned and silent calls"
"will not stop pre- recorded calls. "
"will not stop calls from organisations who are conducting research"
"does not stop scam calls"

they are concerned solely with unsolicited direct marketing calls.

LurkingHusband · 18/02/2015 14:43

I had one cold caller who kept phoning asking who my Gas provider was

I had this. The caller started by asking my name and address "for security". I pointed out that he had called me, and if he wanted those details he needed to explain why. He then said he was from a certain energy supplier, but he needed those details to proceed. I suggested he tell me my name and address, to prove he was who he said he was. There was a sigh, and then another request for my name and address. Again I declined. He then hung up, but not before a very audible "wanker" had been said to me.

A minute later I was on the phone to the company, complaining. To my delight I got a supervisor who started by saying it couldn't have been anyone from their centre. Great, I said, I'll call the police instead. At which point he suddenly believed it may have been someone, but he couldn't find out who. (This kept giving and giving Smile). So I suggested he listen to the call recording, and if he couldn't find it, use mine. This prompted a very profuse apology, and promises of a written explanation etc etc. Sadly for the world of cold callers, it never arrived. Meaning if that ever happens again, I won't complain to the company, but the police. I'm no lawyer (no do I play one on TV) but Improper use of public electronic communications network - Communications Act 2003, section 127, seems a good starting point

Just for the avoidance of doubt, I had been polite and restrained in my tone and language, so there was no justification for the abuse.

Andrewofgg · 18/02/2015 14:48

"Just a moment please the kettle is boiling"

Thirty seconds later:

"I have just phoned my office on my mobile, it' the International Fraud Division of Oftel, we can have any call traced in ninety seconds whoever and wherever you are, and if you are in Britain we can close all your company's lines and if you aren't we can block all calls to Britain, do you wish to continue?"

They never do and they don't ring back.