NLC: Cold call irritation

[tut]

Had one today where she told me I had won a free luxury Caribbean cruise for two.

Told her I was definately interested if she came with me.

Unfortunately she then lost interest.

tut

[campbell]

Funnily enough, I had a call from somebody at what I think was AWG finance but could have been just about anything.

AWG - "Not selling anything today, just a couple of marketing questions" [yeah right] "Are you the homeowner?"
me - "one of them, yes"
AWG - "do you have a mortgage?"
me - "yes"
AWG - "are you interested in saving money on your mortgage?"
me - "I'm very happy with my mortgage deal and not interested in changing it right now thanks"
AWG - "would it be OK to arrange one call back to talk to you about saving money on your mortgage?"
me - "no, as I said, I'm happy with my current provider thanks"
AWG - "would it be OK to arrange one call back to talk to you about saving money on your mortgage, it will be just one call and if you are not interested there will be no further calls?"
me - "no, as I said, I'm happy with my current provider thanks, and I'm not interested in a call back"
AWG - "it will be just one call and if you are not interested there will be no further calls?"
me - "I'm not interested now so please don't arrange to call back"
AWG - "would it be OK to arrange one call back to talk to you about saving money on your mortgage, it will be just one call and if you are not interested there will be no further calls?"
me - "I'm not interested in a call back, thanks, bye"


AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!

I know you can just hang up but that seems rude.

[mac]

I had a company claiming to be o2 asking me when my mobile contract was up.

me - your with o2?
him - I work with o2
me - so you'll know when my contract is up then?
him - not exactly - sometime soon though?
me - but your o2, that's who I'm with, so you'll know exactly when my contract is up
him - no - I work with o2
me - so you mean your a independant selling o2 products?
him - yes
me - bye!


talk about playing on words!!!

[thinfourth]

someone who supplies the data used to "cold call" people

Okay just before we stone you to death and throw you in a vat of vinger with some sharks swimming in it

If we PM you our number can you a quick search and remove it from the database

If so we might feed the sharks before we throw you in

[Lazydonkey]

unfortunately in my current role i could only stop you getting research calls from a well known sat television company.......and they are in tiny volumes anyway.

however if you go ex-directory, and join TPS then this will stop most calls. many companies even screen their "customer service calls" against TPS lists as it means their agents dont get as much abuse.

[jason]

Okay just before we stone you to death and throw you in a vat of vinger with some sharks swimming in it

I have some vinegar...

however if you go ex-directory, and join TPS then this will stop most calls. many companies even screen their "customer service calls" against TPS lists as it means their agents dont get as much abuse.

Martin, I've been TPS registered for donkey's (pun! ) years... but I still get calls. They're just dressed as market research or 'customer support' which seems to keep them inline with the law?* We have even had evening calls on our landline where the caller refuses to say a company name so you can't report them

* TPS - what is the law anyway? Does registering on TPS render it illegal to call you?

[graeme]

On a similar topic, I sometimes feel like wandering from church to church on a Sunday, interrupting services with a loud knock on the door, and asking the congregation if they've ever considered atheism?

[tonyg]

Registering with TPS is a little bit of help but not a lot.

TPS is a voluntary organisation and you have to join,it has no legal force even against it's own members.So the real sc@m don't join anyway.

I guy i know used to have a great technique for winding these a@@eholes up -

He would answer the phone, and as soon as he had sussed it was one of this bunch he would say he was really interested and start pretending to listen,after a few seconds he would claim that the doorbell had rung "Please hang on and i'll get back to you" - He would then leave the phone sitting for a few minutes and then pick it up and after a short time again he would claim something else (cooker needed attention,kids crying whatever) - repeat until they lose interest - kept one hanging on for nearly 40 minutes once

[Lazydonkey]

Registering with TPS is a little bit of help but not a lot.

TPS is a voluntary organisation and you have to join,it has no legal force even against it's own members.So the real sc@m don't join anyway.

Ummmmmm not totally true. TPS is run by the dma which is runs its own code of conduct regarding direct mail - which isnt enforeable. however tps is legally binding, and in theory a serious offence for a company if they dont take any action. likewise it isnt a club that companies join - it affects all UK based companies.

thing is only 2 companies have been prosecuted so far, and they give you loads of chances so its not the most terrifying company tbh.

the customer service angle really p*sses me off though as its just cheeky. when i used to pull data for campaigns i would always recommend screening tps customers to give the agents an easier time. Basically to get round the law they should be offering you a saving / advising you of a way you could save money - however if you take sky as an example they will call all tv customers and try to sign them up for broadband and phone.....which may not always save you money. thus cheeky.

as i said before the only way around the customer service scam is to ask them to change your marketing / data protection permissions to avoid such calls. they must give you that option. likewise a company cant contact you if they dont have your number - and if u have to supply one i find 0800 80 10 80 or 07973 100123 get round most web form authentication - they are orange customer service numbers btw Finally always check the workding of the "please check here" boxes when u are signing up for things.

[jason]

...lots of stuff about TPS and DMA....

Thanks for the clarification, Martin. I feel much better informed now

[Rich H]

I get quite rude with them I'm afraid. Having been an (Inbound!) call center worker they don't get any slack at all.

My experience of picking up the bits of their crappy deals that they con people into has somewhat reduced my tolerance of their tactics. Basically they get no sympathy at all!!

We are however signed up to Nielson research, we have to press a button on another remote every time we watch TV so say who is watching and we get paid for it... about £10 a month which isn't bad