Telephone annoyances...
- 31 March 2010 09:0645223There seem to be an increasing number of these. Not so much from sales cold calls, TPS registration has put paid to these on my home line if not the office phone.
Recorded messages, often public service - I just put the phone down right away.
Then there is my pet hate, auto-calling phone centres so when you answer there is no-one immediately on the end of the phone. You pick up the phone and get a couple of seconds of nothing - here I just give them an earful about not speaking to someone who is rude enough to not actually be on the phone when I answer.
Then there are text messages that come through the land-line. I often find them unintelligable particularly when picked up on the answerphone. My dentist has an appointment confirming system using text now and that is annoying.
Whinge for the day over....
Is it just me being a grumpy old man? - 31 March 2010 09:4545225No Barry! My wife wanted to change her mobile phone contract with 3 Network. A simple enough task to accomplish you'd think, but we were bombarded with calls, up to 3 a day, trying to understand what she wanted to do and talk her out of it. In the end she cancelled the contract and they have lost a customer. Serves them right and good riddance to persistent and fairly arrogant calls from an overseas call centre.
Hazel also tried to find out what our credit rating was and somehow we ended up on the call list for a company called Galaxy Finance. They too bombard us with calls from overseas, 3 or 5 per day. We tried to tell them we are not interested in Government schemes or any other schemes for that matter, and certainly don't wish to borrow money, but still they persist. Their website has been clsoed down, not a good sign, and, as we now recognise their calling number we just put the phone on the desk and let them talk to themselves. Eventually they will get the message.
I also made the mistake of registering with www.who-remembers-me.com. Part of the registration process is to agree to receive pertinent advertorial emails from selected and appropriate suppliers. This also led to an influx of unwanted messages. Luckily they go into my Spam folder and aren't a problem. However, trying to de-register from WRM.com is a major challenge. I followed their online process to the letter, but without success. I emailed their Help Centre AND got a reply; sadly telling me to do what I had already tried. I'm now waiting for a response to my second email.
Lastly, (draws breath), I seem to be getting strange results from Google when selecting a searched for website. I now seem to be directed to Facebook or the website of a product I am not expecting or interested in. A second click on the wanted URL gets me to the site I wanted in the first place. I've scanned my PC and it's clean, so no obvious virus/trojan driving me mad.
Maybe we are 2 GOM? - 31 March 2010 10:4845228A lady in Canada I sold something to a while back insisted on absolute privacy and that her details be withdrawn from my computer records immediately after her payment (made in cash!) had been received. Of course I complied with her wishes, but I did ask why she wanted this, and her reply read very much like Barry's and Sid's posts. Her wish is to be "unGoogleable", surprisingly difficult in this modern age. What price privacy?True friends stab you in the front.
- 31 March 2010 11:0145231One of the worst offenders I ever had was some company called Toucan Telecom who seemed to based in India. I received up to five calls a day from them, it was a nightmare to be woken up after a night shift and offered a product for the thirtieth time that week. I told them again and again that I wasn't interested and eventually emailed them threatening them with legal action claiming the sleep disturbance was damaging my health. The calls then finally stopped after they had the audacity to reply recommending I use the Telephone Preference Service! Cheeky sods.
TPS has stopped most of the spam. I still get odd ones from companies offering me products on behalf of BT, even though they claim to be working for BT they ask very basic questions that they should know. All a marketing scam I'm sure. - 31 March 2010 12:5445239TPS is not adhered to outside of Europe, so Indian call centers can get away with cold calling. There are also ways of blocking calls where the incoming number (CLID) is withheld.Phil West
If at first you don't succeed, use a BIGGER hammer!! - 31 March 2010 15:0945252We`ve been on TPS for some years, and we also have a call blocker on the phone so anyone not leaving a number can`t get through. If calls do annoy you though, just start talking back babyish or something, ie goo goo goo, and keep on so they think a child has picked the phone up and get pi...d off, and you can have a good laugh in the process.Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
- 31 March 2010 17:2045283My team is currently re registering us with TPS and cutting out unwanted e-mail addresses as we are getting an unwarranted amount of spam.
When i get automated calls i leave the phone off the hook for 15 mins - I hope that slows them up.
d - Terry Nunn
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,321
5 April 2010 11:4846121Interesting call I had at 7pm on Good Friday. Out of habit I don't speak until I'm sure that there is someone there. After nearly half a minute a voice said hello. I responded and without asking who I was the voice told me that he was calling on behalf of my bank and that I owed them over £1K. They wanted the sum paid off immediately and needed details of my credit card. When I asked who he was he simply repeated that he was calling on "behalf of my bank".
He got a bit stroppy and and said that there would be consequences if I didn't pay.
I daresay some will be taken in by it though.
What really surprised me was the fact that a number was displayed on my phone - 01789 456 123. Google it and see what you get. Just to check I dialled 1471 and got the "We do not know the number" message, not the withheld one you may note. Dialling that number you are told that it is "not recognised".
I can't get my head around the technicalities of that and I thought that I knew about telecoms. These people are obviously very savvy.
TerryQuis custodiet ipsos custodes?