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I had been receiving phone calls from foreign places, was getting fed up.  Now I get called which start off with clicks so waiting for an operator at a call centre but as soon as I answer they say goodbye and end the call.  I am getting three or four a day.  Sometimes I get as far as asking who is calling and they end the call.

Has anyone a handle on these calls?  What are they about?

I think they phone a load of numbers at the same time, the first person that picks up gets the pleasure of talking to them. The rest just get clicks and a dead line.

You can go on the phone preference system but it does not stop them coming from other countries.

We're on TPS if the number shows up I go on a website "who's calling me"
it gives quite a bit of info and I have subsequently reported some numbers.
If I have a human caller I say "I am TPS I do not take cold calls I will report this call"
We still get some but the ones I report often don't continue.
'Love the indian voice that says "my name is Kevin" ;D ;D I do have sympathy with these guys 'just trying to make a living  :)

Oh, I had a lovely one the other week, a foreign sounding girl with some improbable English name. After she'd launched into the blah-di-blah script I stopped her, genuinely interested,  and asked her to repeat what she'd said.....she repeated blah-di-blah, and I said "no, before that, what did you say?" And so she repeated her name. "no, at the very beginning, what did you call me?"I asked. "Hi Miss" she said.

I was SO disappointed :'( - thought she'd called me Your Highness. Felt quite special for a minute ;D

isn't it sad that folk are being exploited on both sides of the phonecall  :(

Whats wrong with KEVIN!    ??? :-\ :'( ;)

If you don't know Kev... we can't tell you...  ;D

You should try being me they're not trained to understand Kiwi accents. I'm not trained to understand theirs either. It's the stupid comments about the weather that annoy me, also when there is a difference from the normal they can't comprehend what's going on (I'm now talking about the call centres when you phone them) they trot out their rehearsed stuff and if what you are asking doesn't fit the script they don't know what to do. I can tell you my queries never fit the script.

Quote from: Lishka on October 10, 2011, 23:16:04
I was SO disappointed :'( - thought she'd called me Your Highness. Felt quite special for a minute ;D

:D

These calls are a pain.............I am never rude though,have worked myself on phones years ago when no other jobs available.They are just trying to earn a living.The trick is to take control of the conversation straight away......no thankyou and away.

Calls to call centres are a joke sometimes,having two people who are having great trouble understanding each other is not good customer service...a pointless exercise.

Quote from: betula on October 11, 2011, 09:29:54
They are just trying to earn a living.

Well actually. some of them ae fruadsters and are out to scam you and steal from you.  Ergo I have no trouble being rude to them.

Quote from: cornykev on October 11, 2011, 05:24:58
Whats wrong with KEVIN!    ??? :-\ :'( ;)

Aw Kev no wish to offend  :-*
We've got a koi carp called Kevin and a handsome chap he is too  :)

My 14 year old son HATES cold callers, and his usual response when we receive one is to just give me the phone without saying anything. Fed up with this, I have been training him to have a bit of fun with them instead, no need to be rude. I reminded him that these people always want something from you, and they are invading our privacy when then cold call so he should not feel guilty or intimidated by these calls.

The other day, he answered the phone, listened for about 30 seconds, then yelled 'HURRRRAYYYYYYY! That is BRILLIANT! really loudly then hung up. I wondered what it was all about, he said 'don't worry mum, it was a call centre telling us we had won some free cavity insulation, so I thought I would show my appreciation......!"

What annoys me is they do not say who they are and what organisation they are representing.  I have long since exercised my preferance not to have sales calls but these generally come from India.

They tell me they are not selling anything.  Or just say goodbye.  What is the point of the call if all they say is goodbye.  They often want to speak to my OH and when I ask who wants him they simply hang up. 

I  have tried asking them politely to stop the calls.  So now if they wake me up from my afternoon Ziz they are told to PO or BO.

They have now also started planting recorded messages on my phone, so I suppose they do not want you to answer the call.   

Quote from: ACE on October 10, 2011, 22:39:00
I think they phone a load of numbers at the same time, the first person that picks up gets the pleasure of talking to them. The rest just get clicks and a dead line.

Same problem here and with an election coming up we'll be getting all the political calls as well.

It really bothers me (read that: blazing mad) that they can disturb our peace and quiet at home with their ringing--then give us a dead click because they've taken another answered line first. Talk about impolite!
Our friend says she gets text messages from them and has to pay for their msg! That's downright stealing.

What bugs me is the way they have found to get round the TPS by pretending that they are doing market research when actually they want you to buy a kitchen or something. I now interrupt and tell them my fee is £300 and do they have their credit card details ready. Soon gets rid of them!!

Also the charity that you contributed to pestering you with phone calls for further contributions. It just makes me not want to contribute again.

And finally - well for now anyway!! ;D ;D - I hate it when you answer the phone and get asked "how are you today?" It makes me see red!! I want to tell them "Fine till you asked me that! Now why don't you ..... off!!" >:( >:(

;)

I've just had this trouble with the AA, of all people.

My subscription was due at the end of September. Needless to say, they started sending out written reminders in June! Then, at the beginning of September, the calls to my mobile started. At first, every other day; then daily; finally 3 or 4 times a day! The mobile is my allotment one, so that anyone can phone me with problems, so I always carry it with me and always answer. Finally, I grew totally exasperated and threatened to join the RAC instead - pointing out that I had been a continuous member for 39 years and had never paid late - but still the calls continued!

I am now a member of the RAC and the possessor of an official apology from the AA!

Then this morning, they sent me a letter saying that I hadn't paid for this year!!!!

Quote from: grawrc on October 11, 2011, 12:56:50

.........Also the charity that you contributed to pestering you with phone calls for further contributions. It just makes me not want to contribute again.

A few weeks ago I donated to UNICEF and  I have since had two calls from them asking me to sign up for regular donations.  I agree, it is very off-putting.

Quote from: Trevor_D on October 11, 2011, 13:22:35
I've just had this trouble with the AA, of all people.

They are very annoying, I went to a cost comparison site online to look at the prices of house insurance, no sooner than the quotes come through the AA rang me to ask if their quote was competitive, I said yes and it was a shame he rang me as I was just about to sign up for it. ( I was telling him porkies) He realised why I said it was a shame as I told him I never buy anything from cold callers and now I will have to get it from the next lowest.

I wonder if he told his boss.

Quote from: Lishka on October 10, 2011, 23:16:04
Oh, I had a lovely one the other week, a foreign sounding girl with some improbable English name. After she'd launched into the blah-di-blah script I stopped her, genuinely interested,  and asked her to repeat what she'd said.....she repeated blah-di-blah, and I said "no, before that, what did you say?" And so she repeated her name. "no, at the very beginning, what did you call me?"I asked. "Hi Miss" she said.

I was SO disappointed :'( - thought she'd called me Your Highness. Felt quite special for a minute ;D

:D had to read that oone to my husband!