Earlier this evening the phone rang. It was a woman with a northern accent; she asked me if I was who I am; I said 'yes, what can I do for you?' She then said she was from BT something or other. I thought: 'oops, have I paid the phone bill on time' and then remembered I paid it just recently, so said: 'oh hang on a minute, are you about to try and sell me something - because whatever it is I don't want it, thanks very much.' At this point she got very uppity and said 'Actually I was about to ask you if you could teach my daughter the violin but I won't bother now!' and slammed the phone down.

I thought: 'whaaaat???' She says she's from a company starting with the initials BT and now she says her daughter wants a violin teacher? This doesn't make sense'. So I dialled 1471 and got a northern-looking dialling code. Rang the number and got an answerphone that gave me another northern-sounding number, so I rang that and got through to a call centre. Aha! Told the guy on the other end of the line what had happened and that I was very cross about it and that obviously the woman had lied about wanting violin lessons. He wouldn't tell me what the company was so I insisted he got his supervisor, who finally came on the line.

I told her what had happened and that I was very angry at being lied to on top of being cold-called and said: 'come on, the least you can do is tell me where you are and it's up north, isn't it?' She sheepishly admitted they were in Lancashire. I said: 'OK so this woman definitely wasn't wanting violin lessons for her daughter then, was she? I live hundreds of miles from there! So how did she know I was a violin teacher, how did she get my number and what was she trying to sell me?'

The supervisor came clean finally and told me they were selling advertising and would have got my number from a music-teachers' website. I said I appreciated her being honest but that I hadn't appreciated being lied to and having the phone slammed down on me. She promised to speak to the woman concerned and get my number permamently removed from their database.

I get so sick of cold calls but this one really took the biscuit. Has anyone else had one of these?

No, not one like that...

But it makes me mad when a company I already do business with phones me and then asks me security questions to prove I'm me.
I say; "YOU PHONED ME!"
And sometimes they get upset when I refuse to confirm that I am me.

Regards, Peter.

But I have to say, your call really does take the biscuit!!!

Yes. Just this week I had a few calls from something call "Customer Street" - I think it's BT.

anyway, this woman rings up and leaves a message saying she's looking for a teacher. I ring them back - not a local number. She's looking for a music teacher and has a few pupils waiting to start. "Oh goody, give me their numbers then" - except they want 200 pounds to be included in their directory.

They/she rang back a few days later saying they had ten pupils looking for me now. "Well you managed to find me OK.", I replied.

Grrrr.

In front of the BT directory is a "Call preference" notice. You dial the number and register your details so that calls like this will be filtered. It takes 28 days to clear, but it's worth doing. My cold-calls have virtually stopped (some still get through) since I registered.

Like DaisyChain mentioned, we're on the call preference list. But a few have been getting through of late, I think we need to ring it again to make certain we're on it.

Then any that get through you just say that you're on the list and they shouldn't have your number. They ring off pretty sharp after that...

That's awful Violinia.

We're on call preference and it does sort of work, but lately we've had a spate of recorded messages calling us saying we've won a holiday or like like, the calls are number withheld - and I'm hardly going to call the premium rate number they give me to call them to complain!
We called our phone company who said the calls were actually coming from abroad and that there wasn't anything they can do to stop them except bar all calls from foreign countries.

Like others, despite having registered with the Telephone Preference Service quite a while ago, I still continued to receive nuisance calls. I found the answer was to purchase an answerphone with caller display. If the number is withheld or looks suspicious, I let the answerphone take it. Most genuine callers will start speaking. The salesmen generally won't.

If I'm feeling mischievous I will sometimes pick up the 'phone and, if they sound suspicious, I'll have a bit of fun with them by leading them on a merry-go-round, without revealing any genuine personal details.

Well done you for managing to track them down and get to the truth!

I've had this happen at work. Everyone is selling hard at the moment and some don't accept a polite no thank you.

A couple of months ago I got over 400 emails to the business address from the same company. It obviously was a company so I opened one of them and it revealed their telephone number. The excuse their ISP provider (BT) had caused the problem They didn't know what to say when I said that they had typed the email addresses in and were therefore the spammer.

I imagine as times get toughter and the little business that's out there gets faught over that the tactics will get worse.

Not music related but ...

My name which is common in English is unusual and old fashioned in French. From time to time I get cold calls from people asking me if I am over 70 (which is not the case). Once, someone refused to believe me, said that I didn't have to lie about my age to them and when I persisted suggested that I make an urgent appointment with my doctor since someone unable to remember their age was clearly suffering from dementia

Yes, it does only cover calls from someone selling so you still get the survey ones and some others.
Also where the call centre is not in the Uk you can't do anything but for cold call selling from the Uk you take the name of the firm and the caller and report them.

Well done Violinia - I do object to all these calls and won't buy anything over the phone.

I could not believe a call I had the other day from my local building society. I do have an account there. Some adviser type phoned, checked my name and asked me to confirm various details - fairly innocuous ones, like date of birth, but I wouldn't give them out, and asked his number, checked in the phone book and rang him back. Why do they do this when it's on the television anti-fraud programmes telling us all to be ultra careful and not give out details? Bah - they need to watch the TV a bit more.

Well done for following it up, and thanks for the warning - shall be aware.

Except the one who said to me, "Well, it doesn't work, does it?" before slamming the phone down!

Or the one who said, "It takes time for the number to filter through after you sign up - how long have you been on it?", to which I replied, "Only eleven years!"

Thanks for the warning. I think I would have been really upset if I'd had one of these.

They get ever more devious! Well done Violinia for your detective work.

Here's a link to the Telephone Preference Service in case anyone wants to register online.

The thing that's annoying is that while it stops cold calling, it doesn't stop anyone you have 'permitted' to phone you (e.g. if you forgot to tick the box saying 'don't phone me'). My bank used to phone me but then I would refuse to identify myself when they can't identify themselves so I think they have given up on me

I've thought the same thing. I've had calls supposedly from my bank, which seemed genuine, but how can you really know that they are who they say they are? If I'm unsure, I usually say 'please put this in writing'.

I had a feeling that you have to re-register after a number of years (5?), but maybe that's changed, or I'm just wrong!

This reminds me of something a friend of mine did to Everest double glazing.

They rang him up one evening, selling conservatories. Not having anything better to do, he discussed designs, sizes, costs and finance at great length with them for about an hour, before arranging for a surveyor to call to measure up and give a firm qoute. Just before they rang off, he asked a final question:

"I'm very impressed with your thoroughness and service, but how are you going to attach this conservatory to my first floor flat?"

The phone went down with a bang at the other end!!

Burl

I went through all the steps for a credit card when I was 15. Up until we got to date of birth, that is...

We all have access to music - I very politely ask cold callers to hold for a moment and then start playing (recorded music or live - either will do) near the phone. It's amazing how long some of them hold for

I also like the idea (originally from the TV series Friends, I think) of saying 'could you give me your private number and I'll call you back just when you're settling down for the evening'.

If we get cold calls at home I always ask them how they have the cheek to disturb people during their family time.

We're on the list that's supposed to block cold calls. However, some companies seem to use very out of date lists, so the odd few calls do still get through.

They are usually quite understanding when I politely point out that they shouldn't have my number, but on one occasion, the caller responded with a mind-bogglingly fluent stream of largely Anglo Saxon abuse, before going on to assure me that she was going to wait for my children outside their schools and inject heroin into their veins. Nice. I tried to trace the number of the call centre through BT, but they were unable to give me the number personally unless I wanted to get the police involved.

So well done for being able to track your call so effectively and settle the matter.

I'm glad I've read this because EXACTLY the same thing happened to me this morning. I was also outraged. She said she was from BT services 'something or other'. It was very hard to get a straight answer out of her about who she was and where she had got my number from.

Same deal - do you have any spaces and it will cost £199 for a website.

Such a cheek.

Thanks for the link to the preference service. I'll have a look into that now.

Edit: Just looked into - I'm already registered!! I don't suppose you have the phone number Violinia so I can register a complaint??!

I used to have a camera shop, and after a while when dealing with cold calling for advertisers who had repeatedly called back after being told not to, used to either utter a piercing scream down the phone, or play the title track to "Black Sabbath" (we always had a CD handy) through the shop stereo as loudly as possible (customers permitting). You're quite right - it's amazing how long some salesmen will hold on for!

Burl

I _suspect_ this is Customer Street. They used to be an independent company but were recently bought by BT and seem to revel in phoning small businesses/self employed people trying to sell Google listings and the like.

[/quote]

I _suspect_ this is Customer Street. They used to be an independent company but were recently bought by BT and seem to revel in phoning small businesses/self employed people trying to sell Google listings and the like.
[/quote]


That sounds familiar - i remember something about 'Street' in the garbled response to who she was.

YES! It was BT Customer Street, and you know what? They phoned me again this morning but I was upstairs and I didn't get to the phone on time. Did a 1471 and it was them...

I lay in wait near the phone and it rang again shortly afterwards. I picked it up and it was a woman with a northern accent asking me if I was who I was. I said yes in a very clipped tone, drawing in my breath sharply in preparation for a violent verbal attack on them ...... and it was the school secretary from one of the schools I work in asking when I was going to arrive for the carol concert.

This is about them:

http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01524543400

Seems they make a habit of being extraordinarily persistent. I feel like 'hunting them down like dogs' (quote from mother in 'Outnumbered').

This is from one poster to the above site:

We're with that BT preference or whatever it's called where companies aren't meant to ring you up to cold call - but the odd one still slips through the net. Some of them are very nice about it and apologise and say they'll remove our name and number from their database, but others just slam down the phone. The ones I hate most are
"Hello is that Mrs. X"
"Yes"
"Can I just confirm? Do you own your own home?"
"Yes"
"If you had a choice of doing your bathroom, kitchen or bedroom, which would it be?"
"None - we've already had them all done....."
SLAM........

Not even a mention of an apology for wasting my time or even a courteous, OK thankyou for your time, have a nice day, goodbye.... they used to be so much more polite even a couple of years ago.......




Isn't that what the lady used to do on the Nambarrie advert? I wish I'd got the guts to do that!!!!

I pick up the phone - give them 2 or 3 econds to get started, then ad-lib a "recorded" message. Good fun so long as you don't stumble and can keep up either a dalek-like or sing-song voice.

Ah, you can't get angry at them, get angry at the people who tell them to do it, those people are just doing a job, it pays well.

When on the receiving end of a call from kitchen redesigners, my daughter's response was, "oh, we've already got a kitchen, so we don't need another, thank you"! A bit rude but it had the desirable effect.

I don't get angry at all just put them on the spot. I appreciate it's their job and I will listen if they are polite and honest when they call (just not at home) most are just rude so don't deserve courtesy in return.

I agree with notmusimum. It is not part of their job to be rude and to lie so I would not be impressed if I had to put up with that on the phone - if they're willing to behave in that way it goes to show how desperate they are for their commission!

Thank you Violinia for the 'Who Calls Me' link. I have a bad habit of not answering the phone if I don't recognise the area code or if it's an 08 number. I got a call today from an 01646 area code and have found (through that website) that it's a company trying to sell advertising, so I wouldn't have wanted to answer the call anyway.

Lucid

I used to be a cold caller - selling kitchens (except - we *were* honest when we said "I'm not trying to sell you anything" because we were actually trying to arrange a "free no obligation design and quote") to earn a few bob while I was at Uni.

We just went through the phone book - regardless of whether they were on the Telephone Preference list (we didn't know...cos we didn't subscribe to it) the boss used to say "if they say they're on the TP list, just apologise and hang up - they can't trace our call)

It was a horrbile job. Not well-paid at all. At first, before the "Minimum wage" came in, we were on commission only, which meant you could work all week and not get paid a penny if you didn't arrange any quotes.

then it was minimum wage (£3.20 an hour at the time) with a little on top if you managed to sell a kitchen - but it was only paid to you when the kitchen was fitted and paid for, which could be several weeks/months after the phone call that led to the free design appointment!

Never again....

I used to be a cold caller too. To be honest, a lot of people were unnecessarily rude. I was always honest and told people that I wasn't selling anything and they got things for free out of the service I was offering and that the option was there to buy afterwards. One guy once told me he'd hunt me down and shove his fist down my throat - I'd literally only said hello. I don't see cold calling as anything different from any other types of advertising.

Except that other kinds of advertising are less likely to interrupt what you're doing at the time - adverts in a magazine or on the TV don't exactly make you have to drop whatever you're doing to go and answer them.... most people don't like to leave a phone ringing in case it's a friend/relative calling. And the computerised ones are the worst - before we subscribed to BT preference, I had mornings where I'd be interrupted 3 or 4 times in the space of an hour and as soon as I answered the phone would go dead. (And 1471 would give no number...) I agree the response of that guy sounds rather extreme - I've never been rude like that, but I'm afraid I don't agree that cold-calling is the same as other kinds of advertising.

Then you need to use your imagination. Try these: You are waiting for a phone call to let you know that your child has arrived safely at her destination after a flight in bad weather / whether your best friend has recovered consciousness after a serious accident / what time you need to collect your grandchildren from the station...

And not only that, but you'd just sat down on the loo when the dam thing started to ring, and then done the usual mad dash-around with your trousers falling down looking for the handset, to discover it just in time....

Well things have changed now, it's on average £15k per year.

I used to be a cold-caller too. It was the worst job I have ever had! The supervisor from my branch was actually secretly sabotaging the whole operation. She was working for anther company, so if anyone ever actually got anywhere (which was unlikely as she had us phoning council estates where people didn't own the house and therefore couldn't get a kitchen) she would take the call herself and pass it on to the other company! She was also used to get us to work only around meal times which meant that people were not very pleased to get our calls.

She was found out during my second week there and was replaced by a scarily enthusiastic guy from Head Office. I left after 3 weeks and was never paid!

Although it is very annoying to receive the calls I always remember how miserable it was to do the job.

I wouldn't call that well-paid.

The problem is so many people take it out on the callers themselves - they're just doing a job - I'm always polite to the caller and then if I have issues with the way it's dealt with I'll ask to speak to a supervisor. I've got no problem as long as they're honest though. One girl phoned me once and was doing market research - her opening was something like: "I'm not selling anything, it's market research, it'll take about 5 minutes and if you agree to take part I'll get £5" - fair play to her I thought, and told her to fire away! I think they have a horrid enough job without people being rude to them too.

Speaking as someone who has been a telemarketer for over 20 years, I think that most of what has been described above is terrible. I have worked mostly calling businesses for initial appointments for visits with a view to telling them more about a service or product but, even so, certain rules apply to all calls of this type.

The caller should always identify themselves (name and company) clearly. They should ask whether the timing of the call is convenient and offer to call back if not (in the case of a call to a consumer they should accept a refusal to arrange this graciously). If they are asked for contact details for their company they should give this promptly and courteously. They should make the purpose of the call clear when asked - claiming to want lessons from a teacher who lives hundreds of miles away is not acceptable and asking about the number of vacancies is not a reasonable way to progress the conversation.

What would be more acceptable in this case (having introduced oneself and confirmed that the prospective client has time to talk) would be to simply ask a few questions such as "Are you looking for more pupils?" "How do you find most of your pupils at present?" "What areas would you be prepared to travel to?" and then one could explain how one's service could help - something like "We know that X% of the people who view our site have children under 13 and live in the area you're targeting. They also say that they use the internet rather than printed sources to find services so it sounds as though our service would reach people that (your current advertising) doesn't."

Another thing that is not really cricket is to discuss one's commission with the people one is calling!

Anybody tempted to do something like this to a cold-caller?

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J5z4Vs26-TI

Love it!! Wouldn't be brave enough to try it

Here's another goodun' - for anyone who's ever rung a computer helpline..

Computer helpline prank call

Enjoy!

Thank you!