Was I rude... Well yes I was, but was it deserved?

[PizzaPower]

It’s a WIBU rather than AIBU: I know I was rude (the 3rd time), but was it deserved, let me explain.
Mobile rang this afternoon, asking for DW, said unfortunately unavailable and could I help? It was about her accident and they could help with the claim. (Haven’t had an accident and certainly no claim to be made). Explained not interested as hadn’t had accident etc, hung up and blocked number.

Phone rings 5 min later, apparently it was the man who I had been speaking too’s supervisor and I had been rude to his member of staff!! Told him to go listen to the recording and he might draw a different conclusion, and no I wasn’t interested in their services. Hung up and blocked this number.

Five minutes later, another supervisor. I’d had enough at this point and summoned Mumsnet and told him to fuck off to the far side of fuck and when he got there fuck off some more (my God, I love that phrase), but never used in anger until today. He tried to get a few more words in at this point but I just laughed and hung up.

So yes I was rude, but will the Mumsnet jury forgive me?

Oh and if you’re on here call centre bod, no matter what the result, I may remain unrepentant so until I tell you other wise, you can stay fucked off!

I thought you could do it the same way for a landline - but it's been so long since I registered (possibly pre-internet?) that I can't remember.

www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/number_type.html

TPS does reduce the number of nuisance calls, but isn't enforceable for overseas calls. I do get a few unsolicited calls from the UK; they usually apologise when I point out they should not be calling me because I'm on TPS, and offer to take me off their list (wonder how I even got on their list), but it's beside the point. I don't need a reason to terminate a call. I don't want to be disturbed by the phone in the first place. (Not that there's any law that says I have to answer it, but you know, could be an emergency or work or something.)

The DC sneakily told me that XH got caught by one of those Microsoft scams once. Amusing, given that he always accused me of being naive and gullible. But also annoying because the buggers shouldn't get away with it.

Thanks everyone. It’s funny how we can all be taken in even just a little bit.

While I had no time for the original call, I never though that it was likely to be the same person, or just his mates on a wind up!

Actually on a serious note, as someone said above, we do need to keep talking about these scammers. The more people who are aware the better.

My Mum is another ‘funny’ one with Microsoft. She warns them it might take some time. Just as they are getting warmed up, she then goes on to say it’s not because she’s slow on a computer, but she needs to go and buy one first which might take a little time. I still worry one day though! She has been drilled that all calls selling etc need to be dealt with by myself of my DB. Hopefully we can keep her safe.

(Despite that we did find out a couple of years ago she had three maintenance contracts on the go for her sky box!). Soon put a stop to them, but still cost he a few £ in the mean time.

DS's favoured technique was answering unknown phone numbers with:

"Rick's Morgue. You stab 'em; we slab 'em. Eightball speaking."

Now, we just have a call defender system which makes unknown numbers state their name before you let them through. Dull, but effective.

We did register with the TPS, but for some reason it seems to have lapsed. The number of calls went down for a while but then started up again. My DH deals with the account but he's not too bothered about this as he's not the one at home during the day.

I feel better now about the times when I've been rude to the cold callers.

My dad just to tell them to hang on as there was someone at the door and leave them waiting 😂

I have had loads. Really annoying as our phone is slightly difficult to get to in dining room. Microsoft ones I have varied from listening (2) to putting phone down immediately. The best was when I was off ill. I had spoken to a human for three days so decided I would play along I was the dithery old lady and as I had asthma at the time it worked a treat. Kept saying " what did you say I had to do now?" I made my self a cup of tea and sat happily to hear him getting more and more frustrated. Kept him going for about 20 mins then said it wasn't doing what he said then told him " it is a Mac computer would that make a difference!" He was not happy. I told him we used to have a different computer with Microsoft and I had forgotten. He he! It was fun!
Accident ones I ask which accident then reel them off then they want the last in which I deliberately drove my car off the road to avoid causing major accident as I had hit a long stretch of ice and I was heading for two cars at a crossroads. They were impressed.
I often tell them I am the cleaner😁 that works. Or the nanny as I am a Nursery Nurse.

"summoned Mumsnet and told him to fuck off to the far side of fuck and when he got there fuck off some more"

😂😂😂

I prolly would have told someone to F off at that point as well.

We’ve had lots of scams lately where someone rings you but the charges end up on your mobile bill. Double check that none of the numbers that called you are on the watch list

I've had a robot voice one telling me it was the local casualty department, someone had been admitted after an accident and could I please ring this ......no. to speak to the crash team. Very early in the morning too. I suspected a scam and wouldn't ring the number, so DH rang the hospital direct and they confirmed they would never contact anyone in such a manner.

I've had quite a few successes in getting the cold caller to hang up before I do - those that come from call centres far, far away. They usually start by saying 'my name is David' or Mary or whatever. I just ask what their surname is... Strangely they never seem to know.

I used to get these a lot until I finally agreed with them that yes, I had had a car accident and in fact, I was killed in it. They promptly hung up and are yet to call back!

I hate the car accident scam calls. I get at least two a week and I always block the numbers afterwards.

I like to find different ways of stringing them along for as long as possible before telling them that I died in the accident. I've pretended to be a ghost, I've told them that I deserve more compensation as my head lives separate from my body now and lots of people don't like looking at the soggy end of my neck, I've even pretended to be a pornstar at work and made sex noises while talking about my accident (the guy stayed on the phone for ages trying to get his sale .

I think what they do is awful and could really stress out an elderly or vulnerable person.

Oh, totally forgiven. The first person is just doing their job and trying to earn, but the second and third people should never have called you.

I'm actually astonished that they a) thought it worth doing and b) had the time to phone you.

They were harassing you and being a nuisance so you did the right thing. But you should have said you would be reporting them for nuisance phone calls.

I would put money on neither of those calls being from a supervisor and that they were dicking around. May even have been the same person maybe, or just his mates..

I regularly used to get a man phoning asking for my DH. It was always the same approach:
Can I speak to Mr UpSide?

• Who's speaking please? J Smith from ABC. He's expecting my call.
• What's the call regarding please? He's expecting my call.
• I need to know what the call is about before I put you through. I left a meeting to make this call - he is expecting me, so just put me through.
• I still need to know what the call is about before I put you through. You are being very rude. I need to speak to your manager.
• That's not going to happen.
  I cant believe how rude you are . I hang up. He phones back and continues abuse. I hang up again. He phones back and I just leave the phone of the hook.

It used to brighten my otherwise dull day. Happened every few months for a few years. I'd love to know what they were trying to sell.

I have a policy of never being rude to someone in a shit job where everyone is probably rude to them but yeah, you get a pass on this one.

Who calls back to complain about the response to unsolicited junk? Who has the time and what on Earth are they hoping for?

Years ago my landline was in my married name. I got divorced but didn't change the name on the phone directory.

Therefore I knew that anyone asking to speak to Mrs Flumbedump had just picked my name out of the directory and it was a sales call. Anyone who actually knew me or had interacted with me would know that I was Ms ZaphodsOtherHead.

So as soon as I heard 'Hello, is that Mrs Flumbedump?' I just put the phone down.

Harder now, of course...

A few years ago I kept getting calls from a call centre in Egypt where people apparently called "Rachel", "Peter" or "John" kept asking me in very bad broken English to complete a quick survey. I very politely declined every single time. I asked them to remove my number from their system. I asked for managers. I told them I would never answer any survey so it was pointless calling me. I shouted. I swore. I blew whistles. I left them on the line while I did housework and I gave the phone to my toddler. Nothing worked. They called and called.

We couldn't afford the new phone and extra cost on the phone bill for caller ID so I was stuck either unplugging my phone or answering up to TWENTY calls a day. It was the same number each time.

After a while of this I realised I could have just googled the number as it turned out to be a British Company in Herefordshire who outsourced calls to Egypt to avoid the UK's no cold calling laws. I emailed them outlining the sheer harassment I was getting listing the times their call centre employees had been quite rude and nasty and if they didn't desist calling me I would report them. They sent a curt unapologetic email telling me my number would be removed from their system.

Within two days I was getting dozens more calls from every British Company going. Turns out they had sold on information I had never actually given to all the companies they were gathering info for. Every one had been informed that I wished to be contacted by them to discuss my accident, PPI, electricity supply, gas supply, TV, internet, car insurance, contents insurance, buildings insurance, life insurance, double glazing, conservatory and everything else you can imagine.

I was so happy when we moved and the phone company had to give us a whole new number.

He phoned you back to tell you off for being rude?! What a jobs worth! What did he expect from you?

When they do the phone cold call aboutbthe " recent accident you had " ( I didn't ) I always tell them that I died in the accident.
That stumps them 😂

I have just added the talktalk thing where they screen calls. Seems to be working so far.
I was getting up to 20 calls a day too. Mainly from aparent 02 numbers, mainly from people who can barely speak English and have a very strong almost impenetrable accent.
The last one got very abusive. They asked to speak to Mrs Husbands Last Name (I don't have his name, nor did MiL or even her Mil. We all had our own last names) so I told them they could if they hired a medium or could speak to the dead. "Philip", then started shouting at me telling me he didn't talk to Indian ladies, how dare I be Indian, it was disgusting that I was Indian and I should go hang myself for being so rude as to talk to him. I'm very white and live in the wilds with no one of anything other than white British heritage anywhere near. I long for a bit of ethnic diversity.

When asked if I've been in an accident that wasn't my fault, I reply "nope it was definitely my fault...I should have looked where I was going". Usually renders them silent before they hang up on me!

DH had one of the accident ones the other day. He asked for their full name, three times, they hung up. Its a bloody nuisance.