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AIBU?

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Original poster

I just got a call...

207 replies

mmzz · 22/09/2017 09:52

BT from India... problem with my broadband. I laughed. he asked why? I said its a well known scam.
He asked do I have a bank account with at least £10k?
I asked why, even if he was from BT, would he think that's any of his business?
he said so that i could send it to him in India.
I asked if he'd like it converted into rupees first.
He said that would be good.
I asked for his bank account details. he said no, it needs to be moneygram.
I asked if that was because the police would catch him if I had his bank account? He said yes it was.
I confirmed that would be because he was a fraudster and I'd be his victim.

At this point, i think he knows that its not going to happen. But a minute later he ask me to get on with it. He asks if I think he is stupid.
I say no, i don't think he's stupid because I believe he knows that there is no way on Earth that I'll be sendinghim any money at all.
Then he just politely thanks me and hangs up!

OP posts:
gillybeanz · 22/09/2017 21:17

We were told we could prosecute people blowing whistles down the phone, we just have to keep their number.
It hasn't happened to me yet, but I'd prosecute if my hearing received any loss.
A colleague is going through a claim now, strangely enough it was through a call, have you lost your hearing in the workplace Grin
Please tell your loved ones not to do this, they could lose alot of their money.
There does need to be work carried out to distinguish between unwanted calls and scams though.
It's not right that people are conned out of money, nor that others can't work in their legitimate call centres.

Dumdedumdum · 22/09/2017 21:23

It's not right that people are conned out of money, nor that others can't work in their legitimate call centres
It's not right that people are conned out of money, nor that people are pestered by unwanted calls in the privacy of their own homes.
There, fixed that for you Gilly.

Dumdedumdum · 22/09/2017 21:24

(Would never advocate the whistle thing though)

Veronicat · 22/09/2017 21:32

I like the Windows one.
I always tell them yes I have a problem, my curtains don't match. Cue confused silence and hang ups.

gillybeanz · 22/09/2017 21:34

Dumbed

Then you should complain to all the major organisations who cut corners and don't employ staff to make essential calls to their customers.
Tell them you refuse to do business with them because they outsource this work to specialist companies to work on their behalf.
So many people think they are actually talking to the company they have signed up to for various products, it's scary really.
Scams are the least of your problems.
Every day I list several top companies in my calls to their customers, although we say "on behalf of" it's amazing how many people will tell the account holder it's "name of the company calling"
When in fact we have no contact or nothing to do with said company.
I counted 20 companies one night, their customers including lots on here, haven't got a clue.

Dumdedumdum · 22/09/2017 21:39

I don't understand your post. If a company A outsources some kind of work to your company, B, then you are indeed able to say you are calling on behalf of A. But if you have no contact with A or no authorisation from A then you are not calling on their behalf and are lying through your teeth.

FinallyDecidedOnUserName · 22/09/2017 21:46

I just leave the phone connected and right next to the radio/TV and wait for them to hang up.

gillybeanz · 22/09/2017 21:51

Dum
It's the former, but it makes no difference if people don't want us to call, it's still a nuisance call.

My point is people need to be aware who they are talking to and that most companies outsource their work to smaller companies rather than employ people themselves.
There is a huge difference between a call you don't want/ nuisance and a scam set up to steal money from unsuspecting people.

Original poster
mmzz · 22/09/2017 22:15

There is a huge difference between a call you don't want/ nuisance and a scam set up to steal money from unsuspecting people.
That's true.

It doesn't mean that one is ok though. Both are a nuisance, just with different levels of selfishness.

OP posts:
QuitMoaning · 22/09/2017 22:15

I had the computer one from Microsoft and they asked me to open Windows. I put the phone to one side for a few minutes then went back and breathlessly said "Ok, I have opened Windows, all of them, even the bathroom one that gets a bit stuck. I hope this doesn't take long as it is raining and rain is coming in". They then think I am stupid and hang up.

Also done the dead one before which amuses me.

jakscrakers · 22/09/2017 22:45

I got myself a whistle for this type of call, i answer my landline which no one every really rings, let them hang thereself and if and only if it is a scam do they get a long blast from my whistle, I thought this may stop them but it seems to have made them try even harder guess they like having there ears blasted hahaha

Slippersandacuppa · 22/09/2017 23:02

I'm usually polite with all calls (except for the one I reported to Barclays) but have given the phone to my very chatty five year old on the odd occasion...

acatcalledjohn · 22/09/2017 23:10

I mostly get the accident claim ones now. I go through the call as normally as possible, but gradually my answers get worse.

One of the accidents I had at St Peter's Gate. Caller didn't twig at all upon hearing that address. In the most recent accident I was ferrying 72 people in my car.

Caller: How do you get 72 people in to a car?
Me: Simple really. You open the door and the first person gets in, followed by the second and third. You continue like that until the 72nd person, at which point you close the door and hey presto.
Caller: that is very clever. But I have other calls to make. Have a nice day ma'am.

I've also died a number of times. My favourite was this one:

Caller: Did you have any injuries?
Me: Well, yes, I died.
Caller: Sorry?
Me: I died.
Caller: You're dead? D-E-A-D? (Yes, he spelt out the word Grin)
Me: Yes.
Caller: That's not possible!
Me: I must say I'm rather impressed with the quality of the mobile signal up here in heaven.
"..."
Caller: I'm sorry, I must have the wrong number. Have a nice day.

PeterBlue · 23/09/2017 00:58

A mate of mine simply answers his landline every time with the words "Duty Officer speaking". Never has any trouble, but a lot of calls hang up without saying anything.

tigerdriverII · 23/09/2017 01:20

Why don't you all just kill the call as soon as you know it's dodgy?

KenTheTrucker · 23/09/2017 01:32

I got one of the "car accident" ambulance chasers a while ago, asking about the "accident you were recently in". I asked them if they meant the accident where I got the amnesia?
The guy was ecstatic, you could hear the excitement as he started asking me questions:
"Were there other people in the car with you? "
"I don't remember..."
"Were you seriously hurt?"
"I don't remember..."

Had to hang up on him in the end as my husband was about to piss himself

Beeziekn33ze · 23/09/2017 01:38

I was happy to string the last caller along for a bit but didn't get the chance. He said he was calling about my computer and I asked 'Which one?' He hung up, no fun at all!

Bloodybridget · 23/09/2017 03:29

Ken I love yours! I had one of the "car accident that wasn't your fault" calls yesterday; I said "when was this?" ""When was it?" "You tell me, when was it?" She hung up.

LakieLady · 23/09/2017 04:47

Not a scam, but I once listened to DP spend 20 minutes on the phone when a conservatory company rang him. He'd got to the point where they were discussing which style would be most in keeping with a large Edwardian house, and making an appointment for the company's surveyor to call.

Then DP asked the final question: how were they going to support the conservatory that was attached to his 3rd floor flat?

I actually felt quite sorry for the salesman after that.

sofato5miles · 23/09/2017 04:55

Love the Duty Officer idea.

BiscuitsWithEverythingPlease · 23/09/2017 06:40

I got a call on my mobile, sounded like an Indian call centre but the number displayed was Edinburgh. Apparently he was calling from Nationwide about my credit card. Now, I do bank with Nationwide but don't have a credit card with them, so knew it was dodgy, but my DH works in a related security field so I wanted to tell him about it so didn't hang up straight away. The conversation went like this...

Caller: good morning, BiscuitsWEP, I'm calling from Nationwide about your credit card, right?
Me: riiiight ( sounding sceptical 🤔)
Caller: you live at ...gives first line of my address , right?
Me: riiiiight
Caller: you are aged under 55, right?
Me: right (I'm not, I'm older than 55 😁)
Caller: ok, that fine.
Me: I don't have a credit card with Nationwide.
Caller: can I say that you have a lovely voice
Then he hung up!

Very, very odd. Clearly it was dodgy and he was a wrong 'un. I don't normally answer my personal mobile while I'm working as DC and DH text but for some reason I did. In the past I've had calls about the car accident and PPI, in the latest of which, John Cleese wants to talk to me😂

BuggerLumpsAnnoyed · 23/09/2017 06:48

My dad gets the computer ones all the time. He.plays the part of a gullible old man, does what they say for a bit? They talk for 10/15mins then right at the end he always says "there's only one problem....i don't have a computer"

It's amazing how these people have the cheek to get pissed off.

mathanxiety · 23/09/2017 07:16

I got a call from 'Jennifer' at "Windows' today. She called me Maam. Strong south Asian accent. I told her her there was no way her name was Jennifer and hung up.

PressPaws, I got that one too a few times, in the US.

acatcalledjohn · 23/09/2017 08:36

Why don't you all just kill the call as soon as you know it's dodgy?

  1. When I keep them talking they are not scamming someone potentially gullible.
  2. Comedy value.
Allergictoironing · 23/09/2017 08:38

@ gillybeanz I have no problem at all getting a call that is genuinely on behalf of a company who has outsourced to a call centre - as long as I have a relationship with the original company. For example many local governments outsource their service desks to companies like Capita, so a call from Capita on behalf of the local council would be fine. This isn't a cold call, as it's related to an existing relationship I have. When my water supplier went over to metered water, the door knockers and call centres were outsourced and I was very happy to talk to them.

What I do object to is a double glazing company I've never had anything to do with, calling me out of the blue trying to sell me new windows, or a genuine PPI Claims company calling me to offer a service I don't want, or an energy supplier calling me asking me to switch to them. These are what I class as cold calls.