Now I’m usually against any ban as I would prefer people to decide for themselves, rather than governments producing blanket bans, which often, have unintended consequences.
I would however, like some restriction on cold calling over the phone. I myself couldn’t care less being cold called as I sometimes like to play games with them. I do like pretending that I’ve heard the grand child crying and have to see to him. Of course I’ve got to put the phone down for a moment. I then make a cup of tea and go and sit in the garden for a while. Funnily enough when I pick up the phone again they’ve rung off.
What really gets me though is they seem to especially target the older generation, who were brought up in an era of trusting a person’s word. That generation was brought up in a world that had no telephone or internet distance selling, and bought almost everything on a face to face basis.
The elderly have been outflanked by these hard sell tactics. They cannot believe that the cold callers are just trying to meet targets set by their company and couldn’t care less how they do it.
Case one:
My mother in law (Bless her) was conned into a twice yearly subscription to a magazine for £79.99 per annum. Luxury yacht hire FFS. (Luckily I managed to find out in time and get it cancelled. I was somewhat rude to the company on the phone.)
Case two:
My aged aunt has just been sold a telephone call blocker device. Yes it will work, but she’s paid four times the price you can buy it on Amazon.
It’s a huge problem that needs to be addressed. even all the major charities are involved in pressurising to give to them via telemarketing.
“Just pledge £3 and you can save tiger/child/raccoon/penguin/*insert your choice*/etc”.
Anyone else had this problem?
I am elderly (76) and am being subjected to calls about replacing my boiler for free.All I do now is put the phone down at side of the rest and walk away.I put the phone back when next I pass that way.
ReplyDeleteAgree 100% - a telephone is fast becoming a millstone around your neck. It doesn't matter whether it's landline or mobile, the fuckers will still get you. Longrider will doubtless say we should all get a Truecall unit (hopefully not paying over the odds, as per your example). But why the hell should we have to? Time was when the TPS was reasonably effective, but hardly any cold calling firms pay attention to their list now. The overseas call centre trick is the most common way round this, but the new tactic of "spoofing" the Calling Line Identity is another way to try and get you to speak to them.
ReplyDeleteIf I had nothing better to do I suppose I would wind them up, but they always ring at an inconvenient time. All ISP's employ spam filters - otherwise their networks would be swamped. I don't see why phone companies can't do something similar. There's no shortage of websites listing the numbers of well known scammers and telepests. I appreciate that going after overseas companies isn't practical, but plenty of the mobile and text spam I get comes from UK firms who clearly couldn't give a flying fuck. Hit them with a 6 figure fine and block all their numbers, and things might change...
I seem to get little else on my landline.
ReplyDeleteMy late mother - who was certainly not either stupid or senile - often used to say "well, they might just be genuine, so I'll hear them out", so it's easy to imagine how some old folk end up being duped.
Landline went four years ago. What's a mobile?
ReplyDeleteYes. I get 4/5 a day. The latest cold call was from an outfit who say they will stop cold calls. Oh the irony.
ReplyDeleteSolution.
ReplyDelete"I'm sorry I no longer make any purchasing decisions based on an unsolicited telephone call. I really don't want to waste any more of your time."
Repeat as necessary.
Oh and by the way, our number has been ex-directory for at least fifteen years. But we still get calls from people by the name of 'John' at Indian call centres.
ReplyDeleteMy wife has a good one for those cold callers wanting to claim insurance for 'your accident'.
ReplyDeleteShe plays along by starting to ask how they knew she had been in an accident to string them along a bit and get them interested (not that she had been - just to be clear). She then gets all 'emotional' and lets them know that both her children died in said accident and that she herself was left in a wheelchair. She then tries to elicit some sympathy, and normally gets it, and keeps them on the line for as long as possible with tales of how gifted her children were, and would one day rule the world, save mankind etc, and how bad her current solicitors are dragging their feet and seem to be siding with the insurance company and/or the uninsured driver that was the cause of the 'accident'. Most of the callers have a lot of difficulty extracting themselves from the conversation and some of these calls have lasted well over an hour.
Buy a very shrill whistle, when they call blast it down the phone at them,works wonders!
ReplyDeleteAsking intimate questions about their sex life gets them to Han up on you.
ReplyDeleteJoe , I too do this, if female, " bet you have lovely breasts" or male,'how big is your penis , I bet its a big one , you have areally masculine voice"
ReplyDeleteThese comments are all made in my sleaziest tone I can manufacture.
I do not have a telephone.
ReplyDeleteEasy way to deal with cold calls.
As to spam on the adding machine, I have not had any for a good two or three years, after I changed my provider.
Pitty really, I used to enjoy winding up Nigerians.