I'm sure we've all suffered from cold callers at one time or another, trying to sell us products that we don't want and aren't necessary anyway. My wife and I have had so many of these (damned) nuisance calls that I've developed a few tricks I'd like to share with you:
1. Put on a foreign accent and tell them you don't speak English.
2. Tell them you've moved. ( You're Mr/Mrs Somebody)
3. Tell the caller "Just a minute" or "I'll call him/her", put the phone down and leave it off the hook for about 15 minutes. This costs the caller's firm a little more money.
4. Tell the caller to get lost - or words to that effect.
5. Leave the answer phone on, and the caller will proceed no further.
There are many other things that can be done - SEE HERE. But no amount of techniques can replace effective legislation, Nigel Waring, writing from Australia, says:
"We have a Silent Number (Ex Directory), we are also on the "Do Not Call" register, callers are often fined for ignoring this, it's so easy for the authorities to trace calls nowadays."
Sadly, no such measures exist in this country. Even though vulnerable people have been tricked and harassed by cold callers, not one cold calling firm has ever been prosecuted. The BBC Panorama programme highlighted this appalling fact recently.
Anyway, I have no sympathy for the cold callers at all, and if anyone out there has some other techniques for dealing with this problem, you are very welcome to share your ideas with us on this blog.
"Mr M", from Uxbridge has sent this gem of an idea:
"I am often a foreign painter working in the house and say that I will call the owner so hang on. You can then later tell them later that the owner is in - Leicester, Armenia or wherever".
Which opens up possibilities for those of us who speak other languages!
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I'm fed up of unsolicited phone calls, so I wasn't very patient when I said "Hello" several times and got no answer: "Stop pratting about, whoever you are!" I said and put the phone down. Curious, I dialled 1471 and my own mobile number came up. I'd put it in my pocket without locking the keyboard and had therefore been shouting at myself.
ReplyDeleteI got one of the "Government Grant" calls the other day and told him how wonderful that he'd taken the time to telephone me and tell me that we could claim for cavity wall / loft insulation. I said that I would tell my husband as soon as he got home. I thought it was really fantastic that the Government was so caring and took the trouble to let us know. I waffled on for so long in that vein and I could tell how embarrased that the poor man was getting. I then said that I mustn't keep him and I was sure that he had lots of other helpless pensioners to call, started to thank him again and laughed my socks off when he HUNG UP!
ReplyDeleteWith pleasure, Steve. As long as you're happy to follow this blog with atheists and agnostics given equal rights to free speech, you are welcome.
ReplyDeleteI choose option #3
ReplyDelete