Dealing with nuisance calls

[redhawk]

Over the past two years I've been getting nuisance calls from people claiming to be doing market research.

I've already told them many times I'm not interested and please don't call again but they never listen.

Me and my family are getting pretty sick and tired of it, a) they usually speak broken English, b) some can't even say my name correctly and c) our number is registered with the telephone preference service so they shouldn't be calling anyway.

 

Well just yesterday I got another phone call and I'm not entirely sure if this was a prank or a scam but it just adds more insults to injury.

This guy tells me they've been receiving many complaints about market research calls and wondered if I would like my number to be removed from the list.

Naturally I said yes, but there's a catch he said he would submit my number to this company that prevents nuisance calls but it requires a monthly subscription.

 

Like wtf I pay him to stop them calling me huh, what rotten bloody cheek???

 

I should have replied with "well why don't you pay me instead and I'll promise not to fly over and break your legs", but I'm too polite and said I wasn't interested.

 

I don't know how these people get away with it the telephone preference service is suppose to stop them from calling but they never do. I'd love to know who these creeps are because frankly they all need prosecuting for harassment.

 

Unfortunately the numbers are always withheld so I'm not sure if Virgin Media (my phone company) could help, or maybe they can??

 

Any useful advice like telling the next caller to GFY would be most appreciated.

 

Richard S.

[hazelnut]

This seems to be the Virgin response.

 

http://help.virginmedia.com/system/selfservice.controller?CONFIGURATION=1002&PARTITION_ID=1&TIMEZONE_OFFSET=&USERTYPE=&VM_CUSTOMER_TYPE=Cable&CMD=VIEW_ARTICLE&ARTICLE_ID=2180

 

I know the telephone preference does help a bit, so if you are still getting them then you and your family must have a PLAN!!!

 

I can assure you that anyone who calls me with those type of calls never calls again.

 

Depending on the nature of the calls I say one of many things..

 

''I'm sorry my husband doesn't let me talk to strangers''

 

''I'm sorry he cannot talk to you just now as he's just been arrested''

 

''I'm sorry, can you spell that please''

 

Be inventive Richard, have fun, and drive them mad.

[MikeW]

We all have to endure these type of calls. TPS is a voluntary code of practise and only large ethical companies will follow its guide lines. Most of the calls I get now are from overseas and I have not found a cure other to just put down the receiver.

[redhawk]

I was considering recording my calls and putting them on YouTube anonymously, each ending would be slightly different.

 

- Sorry my name is Lord Luken you have the wrong number.

- Pretend I can't hear the caller and just keep saying "Hello".

- Play samples of Cartman "haha oh boy that is the lamest thing I've ever heard".

- Speak Brummie or with a foreign accent i.e. German or Welsh.

- Pretend to be on hold and then play "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up" in the background.

 

any other suggestions??

 

Richard S.

[Aethec]

Put the phone somewhere and come back every fifteen minutes to say "could you please tell me more about that?".

[Winapp2.ini]

Try

next time they call

[login123]

Try

next time they call

 

I like Aethec's strategy.

I usually put the phone on speaker, keep working, and ask them to explain everything 2 or 3 times, then go over it again, then get more details....

You can drag it out for a long time, cost the owner money, and never have to be rude to the poor schmuck making those calls for a living.

Evil of me, but there it is.

[Andavari]

We kept getting calls by some bill collection agency for years looking for some woman we'd never heard of, and after telling them countless times we don't know her and she didn't live at our address, and to stop calling. They never got the picture until I finally blew up one day telling them to just F off and burn in Hell.

 

Somehow those annoying lot need put on an island with no means of escape that's filled with very hungry Komodo Dragons. There'd of course be phones available on the island of no escape to call them with bogus useless crap. An evil twist yeah but they push you to such demented thoughts.

[aqua]

have you guys read about this

With the Caller ID Manager, you decide who can call you and when...without monthly fees!

 

You determine how to handle each caller, whether local, long distance, international or cell phone calls.

 

Screening options:

 

 

Block anonymous and unidentified numbers, while allowing all others;

 

 

Block up to 175 numbers, area codes or prefixes, or;

 

 

Allow only callers you 'Invite' by name, number, or 'Wildcard' to ring your phone, and handle others as you choose.

 

With each entry you decide between:

 

 

Allowing the caller to ring your phone;

 

 

Sending the caller directly to your VoiceMail or answering device without ringing your phone;

 

 

Sending the caller directly to any extension without ringing other phones (using the optional Remotes), or;

 

 

Ignore the caller completely and go unanswered, without ringing the phone.

 

 

http://www.privacycorps.com/products/?id=20

[Andavari]

have you guys read about this

With the Caller ID Manager

 

I've been thinking of getting a black box which sounds somewhat similar, it's a hardware device for phones - land line phones though.

[mjp28]

I've been thinking of getting a black box which sounds somewhat similar, it's a hardware device for phones - land line phones though.

Well to all our UK friends, we here in the States have an immensely popular and fairly successful DNC list, "Do Not Call", you sign up now for life if you want.

 

I also got a "Privacy Manager" through my phone company I pay for AND I LOVE IT! No unlisted numbers get through, it goes to the manager, most hang up right there. Our friends have our "pass-through ID number".

 

Another trick, tell them you have to run but call you back on your other number.....and give them your local police number, gets rid of many pests quick.

[mjp28]

Ways to Terrorize a Telemarketer

 

 

Tell them to talk VERY SLOWLY, because you want to write EVERY WORD down.

 

Insist that the caller is really your buddy Leon, playing a joke. "Come on Leon, cut it out! Seriously, Leon, how's your momma?"

 

Tell the telemarketer you are busy at the moment and ask them if they will give you their HOME phone number so you can call them back. When the telemarketer explains that they cannot give out their HOME number, you say "I guess you don't want anyone bothering you at home, right?" The telemarketer will agree and you say, "Now you know how I feel!"

 

After the telemarketer gives their spiel, ask him/her to marry you. When they get all flustered, tell them that you could not just give your credit card number to a complete stranger.

 

Tell the telemarketer you are on "home incarceration" and ask if they could bring you a case of beer and some chips.

 

If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy and you could sure use some money.

 

If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up for the Family and Friends plan, reply, in as SINISTER a voice as you can, "I don't have any friends... would you be my friend?"

 

Cry out in surprise, "Judy! Is that you? Oh my God! Judy, how have you been?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of pause as she tries to figure out where the hell she could know you from.

 

If they say they're John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is located. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for as long as necessary.

 

When they ask "How are you today?" Tell them! "I'm so glad you asked because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems; my arthritis is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died..."

[mjp28]

Or maybe just.....How to Make a Telemarketer Go Away

 

1. If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy and you could sure use some money. Ask, "How long can I keep it? Do I have to ever pay it back, or is it like the other money I borrowed before my bankruptcy?"

 

2. If you get one of those pushy people who won\'t shut up, just listen to their sales pitch. When they try to close the sale, tell them that you\'ll need to go get your credit card. Then, just set the phone down and go do laundry, shopping or whatever. See how long that commission based scum waits for you to get your credit card.

 

3. If they start out with, "How are you today?" say, "Why do you want to know?" Or you can say, "I\'m so glad you asked, because no one seems to care these days and I have all these problems, my sciatica is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died...." When they try to get back to the sales process, just continue on with telling about your problems.

 

4. If the person says he\'s Joe Doe from the ABC Company, ask him to spell his name, then ask him to spell the company name, then ask where it is located. Continue asking personal questions or questions about the company for as long as necessary.

 

5. This one works better if you are male: Telemarketer: "Hi, my name is Julie and I\'m with Dodger & Peck Services.... You: "Hang on a second." (few seconds pause) "Okay, (in a really husky voice) what are you wearing?"

 

6. Crying out, in well-simulated tones of pleasure and surprise, "Julie!! Is this really you? I can\'t believe it! Julie, how have you BEEN?" Hopefully, this will give Julie a few brief moments of terror as she tries to figure out where the heck she could know you from.

 

7. Say, "No," over and over. Be sure to vary the sound of each no, and keep an even tempo even as they\'re trying to speak. This is the most fun if you can keep going until they hang up.

 

8. If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up with their Family and Friends plan, reply, in as sinister a voice as you can muster, "I don\'t have any friends...would you be my friend?"

 

9. If they clean rugs: "Can you get blood out, you can? Well, how about goat blood or HUMAN blood - chicken blood too?"

 

10. Let the person go through their spiel, providing minimal but necessary feedback in the form of an occasional "Uh-huh, really, or, "That's fascinating." Finally, when they ask you to buy, ask them to marry you. They get all flustered, but just tell them you couldn't give your credit card number to someone who's a complete stranger.

 

11. Tell them you work for the same company they work for.

[Andavari]

If they don't get the meaning of "I'm not interested" and keep blabbing I'll start to speak different bits of different languages to them, it sometimes works.