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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask a caller to hold, and then leave the phone in a drawer?

68 replies

ElizaPickford · 01/05/2015 12:40

It's one of these fuckers calling from India to tell me that my computer is broken and they'd like to fix it. I get about 8 of these a day and it's really starting to piss me off, I'm so bored of breaking off what I'm doing to find it's these bastard scammers.

So I played along for 5 mins, asked her to hold and then left her in the kitchen drawer. About 3 hours ago. It has stopped any other idiots phoning in the last 3 hours.

I guess what I want to know, is will this be causing them a huge inconvenience, me leaving the line open? I like to think of her desperately trying to get an outside line to defraud some gullible old lady, but still hearing my kitchen drawer, but I'm not sure if phone lines still work that way?

OP posts:

textfan · 06/05/2015 01:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AnulTheMagnificent · 06/05/2015 01:55

I pretend not to hear/understand and make them repeat everything over and over again.

sashh · 06/05/2015 06:27

I was receiving up to 20 calls a day saying I was due compensation from an accident.

If the company existed I sent them an invoice for my time, asked who their data protection officer was, usually with the reply,"We don't have one" or occasionally insist on my right to speak to someone in Welsh (even though I don't speak it I still have a right to a call in Welsh).

I did a lot of, "Sorry she is no longer with us", they would always ask for a contact number and I would ask if they knew a medium.

Most of these calls came from Liverpool.

I took one one day, said I wasn't interested and when asked why said,"I'm sick of scousers calling me 20 times a day" the woman said,"how dare you? I'm from Manchester" and hung up - not had a call since.

My mother once told one she had no electricity supply but I'm loving some of these.

StayGoldPonyBoy · 06/05/2015 06:37

My favourite was one of the claims ones telling me I'd been miss sold PPI in 2001.
I replied,

'I was 11 years old in 2001'

And they STILL tried telling me their records really did indicate it and was I sure I hadn't ever taken a loan out in 2001?

At 11?

BallsforEarrings · 06/05/2015 08:43

My husband is suffering with the 'car accident' call they just called and called his phone until he just stopped answering his phone.

They don't call as much now but why should her not answer his own phone it's got ridiculous!

RyanAirVeteran · 06/05/2015 08:52

I am calling about an accident you had.....

Long pause my end...... My best Mummy voice....

Now both you know and I know that that is a lie, what do we say about lying ?

It is not good now is it ??

Haven't heard from them since.

cherrytree63 · 06/05/2015 08:55

Loved my friend's response to the "calling about an accident you were involved in" . She replied " oh that's all water under the bridge now, the accident is 18 years old and away at uni".

Bluetrews25 · 06/05/2015 09:19

'You're calling about the accident? Oooooh noooooo! I've been veeeeery baaaaad again haven't I? You won't tell the police will you? They'll come and take me away again won't they? Noooooooo pleeeeeeeease don't tell the police! I don't want to go back to the hospital, it's terrible there' blah blah......have fun with the acting.......they won't want to phone the unhinged woman again.
Got me a from my son, though!

Reginafalangie · 06/05/2015 09:28

"Hello Mrs Falangie we see from our records you were in a car accident recently"

"Can you help me?? Please I am trapped in this house, they have had me chained up for years. They murdered and ate my boyfriend after they asked us round for dinner. Please call the police I need help it is the grandmothers birthday today and I am her special birthday supper"
"Hello?"
"Hello?"

"Hello Mrs Falangie we see from our records you were in a car accident recently"

"Was I? I don't remember! OMG do you think I suffered memory loss, is that why I cannot remember? Oh thank you so much for calling I was wondering why my leg is in plaster. So where was my accident? How badly was I hurt? It is still 1989 isn't it?

This is my favourite day off work pass time

ninetynineonehundred · 06/05/2015 11:02

Ryan that's made me laugh out loud.

I'll be using that from now on because I get loads of the accident or ppi calls.

sparechange · 06/05/2015 11:05

Shamelessly stolen from Twop Twips:
"PARENTS. Get rid of PPI cold callers by handing the phone to your toddler and telling them it's Santa."

liquidstatebacktowork · 06/05/2015 11:31

I take inspiration from father ted and sing ave Maria down the phone. Please note I cannot sing.

TwoLeftSocks · 06/05/2015 11:59

I do like these, I normally just leave the phone and make a cup of tea but DS1's recently been perfecting his armpit farts and I'm sure he'd like an audience.

DH normally just answers with his only Serbo-Croat, asking for two beers and warning 'danger mines'. He has the same tactic for chuggers and touts when we're abroad.

Snozberry · 06/05/2015 12:16

Ha I love all these

I give the phone to my 2yo who says hiya! and yep...yep...yep... when she is on the phone so I imagine they are giving her the spiel and thinking she is answering. She loves the phone so spam calls are a good thing here.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 06/05/2015 12:17

I used to hand the phone to ds1, so he could tell them about trains - he knew a lot about trains, and could tell you facts about them until your eyes glazed over. Sadly he is nearly 22 and about to graduate university, so that option has not been available to me for some time!

I did do the thing of putting the phone down beside me, and just getting on with what I wanted to do, when the cold caller was insisting that he needed my postcode before he could cross me off his list - yeah, right. He gave up after talking to thin air, but rang back a few moments later, so I spoke to him in French. He must have known it was me - I didn't change my voice - but he couldn't get me to speak to him in English. That time, he gave up and didn't bother ringing back.

Usually I am reasonably polite to cold callers - I do accept that it is a soul-destroying job, and they don't deserve lots of abuse or threats (some of the things that people say to them are unforgivable, in my opinion - I've seen accounts on here, from people who work at call centres, or know people who do, talking about getting death threats, or people hoping they will get cancer - that is beyond the pale) - but if they are rude and persistant, I get less polite.

0x530x610x750x630x79 · 06/05/2015 12:23

for the microsoft ones, i ask them if they mind that their job is illegal fraud?

slug · 06/05/2015 12:42

TwoLeftSocks It's one of my DH's few claims to fame that he can say two beers please in many languages including Serbo-Croat.

TwoLeftSocks · 06/05/2015 13:12

Always a useful phrase, slug.

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