Unwanted phone calls Options

[owainsutton]

Does anyone else get the "This is an urgent message regarding your PPI" calls? I don't even have any PPI / finance!

About twice a week. Scam.

[Pixie*Porsche]

Does anyone else get the "This is an urgent message regarding your PPI" calls? I don't even have any PPI / finance!

About twice a week. Scam.

We get them about twice a day!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

[Swell Box]

Some are just sales, others though are scams, so best thing is to not get involved with the call at all.

If it's a scam, you can always tie up their time by pretending to be a combination of oblivious, gullible, and hard-of-hearing. Every minute spent failing to scam you is a minute they're not using to scam somebody else...

I interrupt them by saying "could you hold on a minute.." then laying the phone down without hanging up and go and do something else. After about ten minutes of waiting they've usually gone and don't call back.

The other thing I do is ask them to repeat everything they say. Boring but effective (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

If it's a UK company, such as double-glazing, I ask to speak to the supervisor and then calmly lose my temper. I was at my elderly parent's house one day during a dramatic family crisis and they called at 4.30pm on a SUNDAY asking about new windows!!! I was given a grovelling apology and promised they would never call again.. and they never did.

We're registered with TPS and don't get these calls at all now here at home. But I rarely answer the phone anyway unless it's my OH (we have caller display).

We don't have caller display.
I was very cross to find out that when I bought a phone with this facility it didn't mean I could use it!!
Can't ignore the foreign based calls without knowing that they are....

For the ones who start by asking if you are the house owner the quickest way to get rid of them is to tell them it's a council house.

I tell them that Mrs sbhoa isn't in and I don't know when she'll be home.

I always tell callers, including doorstep salespeople, that the house is rented, and that the Landlord lives abroad. They soon loose interest. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Mind you, we had a visit from the Jehovah's Witnesses one Sunday lunchtime shortly after we had come home from church.

Their opening line was "when did you last read your Bible?" I looked at may watch, and said "oh, about an hour ago; I'm on the Reader's rota". For once they couldn't think of anything to say (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)


SB

[BerkshireMum]

Does anyone else get the "This is an urgent message regarding your PPI" calls? I don't even have any PPI / finance!

Yes, and it drives me potty! Also the ones about the government grants available for loft and cavity wall insulation. Not many people use our landline now, but with elderly relatives living some distance away, I daren't not answer the phone in case it's urgent.

We used to get a lot of double glazing people, but they are easy to get rid of - I just tell them that I'm currently unemployed, and they lose interest. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Yoshifumu]

We get them about twice a day!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

Same here. Just signed up to TPS and hope it works.

I do remember once getting a call from a man telling me that I had had a car crash and could claim compensation. When I told him I didn't own a car and had never been in a crash the man just told me that I was mistaken and had been in a crash (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) .



The worst thing is that recently they called OH on her mobile.

I don't know if TPS covers that...

[LizzieT]

Does anyone else get the "This is an urgent message regarding your PPI" calls? I don't even have any PPI / finance!

About twice a week. Scam.

I get calls about claiming for my recent accident (which I didn't have).

[Crotchetymum]

Does anyone else get the "This is an urgent message regarding your PPI" calls? I don't even have any PPI / finance!

About twice a week. Scam.

I get calls about claiming for my recent accident (which I didn't have).

I get texts about this. Once I've claimed the thousands owed to me for my PPI and my recent accident I'm going to be able to afford my cavity wall insulation and my new windows (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

As for the phone calls, I like Lottie's idea of simply leaving them on the line - costing them time and money. But with any luck I won't need to do it as I haven't had a call for a while - I know we're signed up with TPS, but we've had no international calls either.

My sister was getting regular calls about the problems detected with Microsoft on her computer. She used to let them get so far, pretending she was doing what they asked, right up to the point where it was about to cost money, and then tell them she had Apple (or even, at one point, that she had no computer at all). They were very cross with her and haven't called her for a long time now. She does miss them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Arundodonuts]

Then there are the nuisance calls from your energy suppliers....

I was "a bit" abrupt with mine when they called me on my mobile at work in a meeting with some new offer. I suggested they put it in a letter so I could read it at my leisure.

[Czerny]

I get texts about this. Once I've claimed the thousands owed to me for my PPI and my recent accident I'm going to be able to afford my cavity wall insulation and my new windows (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

As for the phone calls, I like Lottie's idea of simply leaving them on the line - costing them time and money. But with any luck I won't need to do it as I haven't had a call for a while - I know we're signed up with TPS, but we've had no international calls either.

I do this sometimes; I find it really irritating to pick up the phone and find no-one at the other end.

My sister was getting regular calls about the problems detected with Microsoft on her computer. She used to let them get so far, pretending she was doing what they asked, right up to the point where it was about to cost money, and then tell them she had Apple (or even, at one point, that she had no computer at all). They were very cross with her and haven't called her for a long time now. She does miss them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Seeing as they can apparently detect problems remotely I sometimes ask them if they can tell me which programmes I have open at that time.

[Arundodonuts]

We don't have caller display.

Nor do we. But we have an answerphone and we use it.

[PianissiMole]

I turn the call round, and try to sell them a garden building! The poor overseas folk are totally off guard, can't get back on script, and it actually counts against them because they have targets to complete phone calls in a certain way, and in a certain time, and they have no chance as I patiently explain to them that I can offer 30% off a sectional concrete garage before the end of the month! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

A friend of mine managed to keep a double glazing firm on the phone for nearly half an hour - discussing all the conservatories they could build supply and build for her, before they asked her address - which is on the 7th floor of a tower block! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[lottie]

I suggested they put it in a letter so I could read it at my leisure.

Yes, that's another thing.. if I get 'genuine' calls from service providers such as TalkTalk (who we are with) or the fuel companies I ask them immediately to put everything in writing... I'll interrupt their 'script' for this too.

They never do (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[Pixie*Porsche]

Does anyone else get the "This is an urgent message regarding your PPI" calls? I don't even have any PPI / finance!

Yes, and it drives me potty! Also the ones about the government grants available for loft and cavity wall insulation. Not many people use our landline now, but with elderly relatives living some distance away, I daren't not answer the phone in case it's urgent.

We used to get a lot of double glazing people, but they are easy to get rid of - I just tell them that I'm currently unemployed, and they lose interest. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I use and give out my landline so get quite a few calls on it everyday. My parents purely have a landline for internet access and use their mobiles - think that is getting more common.

We don't very often get double glazing but I do live in an area where we still get the "rag and bone man" every Tuesday morning without fail. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[corenfa]

My previous flat's phone number was one digit off the local takeaway. I used to just not bother to answer, after a while, as anyone who really needed me used my mobile and the landline was only for internet.

[sbhoa]

My sister was getting regular calls about the problems detected with Microsoft on her computer. She used to let them get so far, pretending she was doing what they asked, right up to the point where it was about to cost money, and then tell them she had Apple (or even, at one point, that she had no computer at all). They were very cross with her and haven't called her for a long time now. She does miss them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Seeing as they can apparently detect problems remotely I sometimes ask them if they can tell me which programmes I have open at that time.

I get these too. I tell them I don't have a computer....that's when i bother to speak before putting the phone down.
Is this one a new way of hacking into your computer? Seems that way to me.