20 replies to this topic

[Saint Billinge]

A sales person from an insulation company has just called regarding government grants. I explained that this was the fifteenth call on the matter and that I didn't have cavity walls and that... It's here I received a fair amount of swearing calling me a liar. On asking to speak to a manager, the swearing just continued, with me just slamming the phone down. Unfortunately I didn't catch the name of the firm. This is certainly a new sales patter!

I did register with the preference service but it seems not to be working.

Edited by Saint Billinge, 12 September 2012 - 08:16 PM.

[Li0nhead]

Also on the Preference service and in the last month or so calls have started again from so called survey companies that are really sales.

Edited by Li0nhead, 12 September 2012 - 08:09 PM.

[Padge]

Next door to me paid for cavity wall insulation following a survey from a reputable company a couple of years ago, government backed etc.

I turned down the offers from the same company.

This year I had a door moved at the back of the house, as the builder set about his business there was loads of 'white stuff' coming out of the wall as he cut through it and he also had a large sheet of 'white stuff' with his other building materials.

When asked about the 'white stuff', he said its the cavity wall insulation which was coming out and that he would have to put some back in to avoid a cold spot where the old doorway had been.

Next door had been done, they already had cavity wall insulation, the houses had been built with it originally. My builder reckoned they were just ripping off the system and the householders.

[Saint Billinge]

Next door to me paid for cavity wall insulation following a survey from a reputable company a couple of years ago, government backed etc.

I turned down the offers from the same company.

This year I had a door moved at the back of the house, as the builder set about his business there was loads of 'white stuff' coming out of the wall as he cut through it and he also had a large sheet of 'white stuff' with his other building materials.

When asked about the 'white stuff', he said its the cavity wall insulation which was coming out and that he would have to put some back in to avoid a cold spot where the old doorway had been.

Next door had been done, they already had cavity wall insulation, the houses had been built with it originally. My builder reckoned they were just ripping off the system and the householders.

Unfortunately there are rogue companies out for a quick kill. It is similar to the PPI claims. I was recently subjected to a claim on a "mis-sold" bond, which was my first in over 30 years. The company only targeted one product as well as saying that the client was risk averse. In all, the client had taken out 17 risk products over 11 years and had made decent returns including doubling her money on one product. The case was soon dropped by the client on receiving a copy of my letter of complaint.

Unlike the thorough investigations that financial advisers go through, my complaint about the company was a waste of time, having wrote to my MP and the company's regulator.

[gazza77]

A sales person from an insulation company has just called regarding government grants. I explained that this was the fifteenth call on the matter and that I didn't have cavity walls and that... It's here I received a fair amount of swearing calling me a liar. On asking to speak to a manager, the swearing just continued, with me just slamming the phone down. Unfortunately I didn't catch the name of the firm. This is certainly a new sales patter!

I did register with the preference service but it seems not to be working.

Start wasting their time. Get them to come round to look at it, but make appointments for when you won't be in, etc.

[Johnoco]

On the rare occasion I get caught out by scamming phone calls, I pretend to be Jim McDonald from Coronation St (So I do).

They soon hang up for some reason. ...Aye...what of it?

[Trojan]

The last time I had an unsolicited call, I said to the caller, I'm a little busy at the moment but if you give me your number and the most inconvenient time to call, I ring you. It seemed to work.

[ckn]

A lot of these calls come from the dodgier companies selling on your details. A good number of years ago I started signing up to their things using my cat's name, for example if Dixons want you to fill in their warranty form.

If I get a call these days asking if they can speak to Oliver, I simply tell them he's busy. If they ask when he's free, I tell them I'm not sure as he's underneath the table licking his balls and he does tend to take his time about that these days. For some reason they don't hang around on the phone for long afterwards.

[Severus]

If a caller begins using a phrase such as 'how are you today' and being overly friendly I hang up. Although I've noticed none of my mates seem to call nowadays

[Northern Sol]

Someone once told me that overseas call centres that do this kind of thing aren't allowed to put down the phone and actually have a mechanism preventing them from hanging up. He recommended leaving the phone off the hook for a few hours next to a loud radio.

[marklaspalmas]

Someone once told me that overseas call centres that do this kind of thing aren't allowed to put down the phone and actually have a mechanism preventing them from hanging up. He recommended leaving the phone off the hook for a few hours next to a loud radio.

Ive done that without the radio. It works. They can't get off the line.

[l'angelo mysterioso]

I feel sorry for them really
you must be desperate to get a gig like that.

[Severus]

I feel sorry for them really
you must be desperate to get a gig like that.

I feel sorry for anyone doing call centre work. My missus did a stint on the phones helping people with family tax credit inquiries. She got sworn at and call all manner of names on a daily basis. One of the reasons why I'm always pleasant to people on the phone (where I want the call), they're only doing a job.

[hindle xiii]

Our house gets a lot of PPI recorded calls, and now a few about holidays. With a smattering of just silent calls. Give me a useless person on the end of the phone any day.

[Futtocks]

Our house gets a lot of PPI recorded calls

We've been getting a load of those at work recently. At least with a human on the other end of the line, you can tell them you're subscibed to the telephone preference service.

[Johnoco]

I like the ones from India where the guy says (heavy Indian accent trying to sound English) 'Hello, I am Mr John Smith...did you see Coronation St this week...what about that Elsie Tanner eh?' etc

[Saint Billinge]

Some classic advice in which to fight back. I used to knock on doors to drum up business and was never anything but polite, even when receiving verbal abuse. Today, knocking on doors isn't carried out as much due to it getting over saturated. I do get the lads round selling cloths and the like, but far more expensive than the supermarket.

[T-Dub]

I always wish cold callers good luck with the next one, must be a miserable job but guess a pretty sought after one for many in the sub continent

[shrek]

Start wasting their time. Get them to come round to look at it, but make appointments for when you won't be in, etc.

The problem with that is I guess the guys that get sent around will either be on no basic plus commission or be in diddly squat plus promotion, sadly your not wasting the time of the driving force behind the whole thing.

That said, after receiving a spate of "you've got a virus" cold calls, one Indian lad either went off script or had a bad script and told me I had a virus in the house, not on the computer. I managed to convince him that my next call was for an ambulance because I had two small kids who'd been exposed to the virus, poor lad panicked and before you know it another voice is on the line telling me its a computer virus, told him I didn't have a computer but I was panicking over my infected kids.

Sadly don't get them any more, its all PPI and injuries at work despite being on the TPS and they just hang up as soon as you try and wind them up!

[Bleep1673]

Start wasting their time. Get them to come round to look at it, but make appointments for when you won't be in, etc.

I've done, "What?" "What?" "What?" "What?" at everything they say, then they get upset & start shouting down the phone then I put CBeebies on & leave the phone next to the speaker & go out for a while.