Weird phone calls when working from home
Discussion
Is it just me? Whenever I work at home, I get calls from the strangest places. Once it was a debt collection agency looking for someone with a similar surname to mine, asking if I knew them. Often it's sales calls, which I have now taken to reporting to the TPS on every occasion, as they get fined for breaking the rules.
Today was a weird one, though - called ID showed "international", and the caller had an accent; now I guess it could have been least cost routing causing the international number to display, and the accent could well have been a UK dweller, but ...
The caller identified herself as Jenny from the Telephone Preference Service in Manchester, telling me that she could register my number with the TPS. As I have already registered this number with the TPS, I challenged her on that. I asked where she was calling from, and when she said Manchester, I asked her where exactly in Manchester would I consider to be from an international calling area, considering I am in Wigan.
She hung up.
Still, I have my whistle now, ready for the next idiotic caller.
Today was a weird one, though - called ID showed "international", and the caller had an accent; now I guess it could have been least cost routing causing the international number to display, and the accent could well have been a UK dweller, but ...
The caller identified herself as Jenny from the Telephone Preference Service in Manchester, telling me that she could register my number with the TPS. As I have already registered this number with the TPS, I challenged her on that. I asked where she was calling from, and when she said Manchester, I asked her where exactly in Manchester would I consider to be from an international calling area, considering I am in Wigan.
She hung up.
Still, I have my whistle now, ready for the next idiotic caller.
sleep envy said:
the land line never gets answered unless it either set of parents
those who need to get in touch have our mobile numbers
I'm like that, drives the O/H mad... if I'm walking past it when it rings I might answer it.those who need to get in touch have our mobile numbers
The phone line is really only there to suppy t'internet.
I once got one from a (by the sounds of it) japanese woman who insisted on talking to me in what sounded like Japanese...
Edited by GT Kodiak on Thursday 7th October 11:48
I had a weird and desperate one on my work mobile a few days back. I didn't answer the first time as I wasn't at work at the time. I thought I'd answer when they rang back as it might have been important:
"Hi can I speak to Mark someone"
"Sorry you have the wrong number"
"Mark, this is blah blah blah"
"You don't understand, you have the wrong number"
"Oh sorry, can I just check the number is 079....... please?"
"Yes that's my number but I'm not Mark"
"Oh, I think I know what has happened. I have the right number but I just said your name wrong. I am calling from blah blah blah"
"Sorry not interested, bye"
"Hi can I speak to Mark someone"
"Sorry you have the wrong number"
"Mark, this is blah blah blah"
"You don't understand, you have the wrong number"
"Oh sorry, can I just check the number is 079....... please?"
"Yes that's my number but I'm not Mark"
"Oh, I think I know what has happened. I have the right number but I just said your name wrong. I am calling from blah blah blah"
"Sorry not interested, bye"
sleep envy said:
the land line never gets answered unless it either set of parents
those who need to get in touch have our mobile numbers
Same here; I never answer the phone between 6pm and 9pm in the evening as more often than not it turns out to be telesales; if it someone important they'll leave a voicemail. Drives my sister mad when she tries to call me during those times; why she can't just call my mobile I do not know those who need to get in touch have our mobile numbers
I very rarely get cold calls anymore.
If I do I express great interest in the product on behalf of the householder and ask them to wait whilst I fetch them.
Then leave the phone off the hook and check periodically until they hang up.
Best score so far was a well known double glazing firm who waited 40 odd minutes as I had told them that my 'dad' wanted a conservatory.
Junk mail gets spread amongst any pre paid envelopes and posted.
If I do I express great interest in the product on behalf of the householder and ask them to wait whilst I fetch them.
Then leave the phone off the hook and check periodically until they hang up.
Best score so far was a well known double glazing firm who waited 40 odd minutes as I had told them that my 'dad' wanted a conservatory.
Junk mail gets spread amongst any pre paid envelopes and posted.
Get one of these: http://www.truecall.co.uk/
trueCall is the complete solution to all types of nuisance phone call - telemarketing, silent calls, calls from overseas call centres, fax calls, robocalls, market researchers, malicious calls, misdials, wrong numbers and recorded message calls.
trueCall is about the size of a paperback book. It plugs into your phone line at home and checks every call you receive before letting your phone ring.
Patented technology, designed and developed in the UK!
trueCall is the complete solution to all types of nuisance phone call - telemarketing, silent calls, calls from overseas call centres, fax calls, robocalls, market researchers, malicious calls, misdials, wrong numbers and recorded message calls.
trueCall is about the size of a paperback book. It plugs into your phone line at home and checks every call you receive before letting your phone ring.
Patented technology, designed and developed in the UK!
toxgobbler said:
Get one of these: http://www.truecall.co.uk/
trueCall is the complete solution to all types of nuisance phone call - telemarketing, silent calls, calls from overseas call centres, fax calls, robocalls, market researchers, malicious calls, misdials, wrong numbers and recorded message calls.
trueCall is about the size of a paperback book. It plugs into your phone line at home and checks every call you receive before letting your phone ring.
Patented technology, designed and developed in the UK!
Getting one of those. From that site, this link to Scam mail makes for quite a heart-breaking read trueCall is the complete solution to all types of nuisance phone call - telemarketing, silent calls, calls from overseas call centres, fax calls, robocalls, market researchers, malicious calls, misdials, wrong numbers and recorded message calls.
trueCall is about the size of a paperback book. It plugs into your phone line at home and checks every call you receive before letting your phone ring.
Patented technology, designed and developed in the UK!
http://www.thinkjessica.com/jessicas-story/
Edited by 911motorsport on Thursday 7th October 15:27
Many years ago we were plagued by cold-callers (rented property). A window company (think VERY large mountain) were particularly persistent with 2-3 phone calls every week, so in the end my mate that I shared the place with agreed for them to come over and give us a sales pitch and carry out a full survey for a conservatory; telling them he was a cash buyer with approx £30k to spend and wanted the work to start as soon as possible!
Two of them turned up at the front door at the exact appointment time - the local sales rep and his area manager; and half way up the stairs to our first floor maisonette the area manager suddenly twigged, called my mate a c*nt and they walked back out again! Never got another phone call though!
Two of them turned up at the front door at the exact appointment time - the local sales rep and his area manager; and half way up the stairs to our first floor maisonette the area manager suddenly twigged, called my mate a c*nt and they walked back out again! Never got another phone call though!
Working from home again, another phone call.
Cheryl from Commandsoft (a Microsoft GOLD partner, don't you know) called me and said that there was a problem with my computer. Which one, I asked? This confused her a bit, so I said there were 5 computers in sight in my office, and a few more around the house. Which one did she mean?
I then asked how she had got my name and number ... apparently it had come from the "concern" department. I asked where they had got it from, she couldn't answer. I asked to speak to a manager, expecting to get cut off, but no, a minute or so later, a different voice. I asked what authority they had to call me, and he said Microsofts.
When I asked if Microsoft were now concerned about linux PC's, he assured me that they were. Karmic, or Lucid? Both.
I was finally cut off after nearly 8 minutes when I asked how they felt about scamming people who aren't sure about computers, causing problems that people like I have to solve for my parents.
Still, that's 8 minutes when they weren't calling someone else, got to put that down as a minor win.
Cheryl from Commandsoft (a Microsoft GOLD partner, don't you know) called me and said that there was a problem with my computer. Which one, I asked? This confused her a bit, so I said there were 5 computers in sight in my office, and a few more around the house. Which one did she mean?
I then asked how she had got my name and number ... apparently it had come from the "concern" department. I asked where they had got it from, she couldn't answer. I asked to speak to a manager, expecting to get cut off, but no, a minute or so later, a different voice. I asked what authority they had to call me, and he said Microsofts.
When I asked if Microsoft were now concerned about linux PC's, he assured me that they were. Karmic, or Lucid? Both.
I was finally cut off after nearly 8 minutes when I asked how they felt about scamming people who aren't sure about computers, causing problems that people like I have to solve for my parents.
Still, that's 8 minutes when they weren't calling someone else, got to put that down as a minor win.
Why bother hanging up? I have the phone on speaker, just say "yes" to each question. See how long you can keep them hanging on the phone. It wastes their time and screws up their "hit rate". Far more satisfying.
I just keep mumbling while I carry on working. Since the phone is on speaker it's not disruptive to me at all.
pp
I just keep mumbling while I carry on working. Since the phone is on speaker it's not disruptive to me at all.
pp
TuxRacer said:
aclivity said:
Karmic, or Lucid?
I'm not surprised they're concerned, you should be running Maverick Meerkat by now. 
Ideal Security systems offering me a free alarm (worth £1000, don't you know) as they don't have any in my postcode.
At least she was polite and had the grace to apologise when I pointed out that I was on the TPS register.
It must be soul destroying to work for these companies, how many people actually talk to them I wonder?
At least she was polite and had the grace to apologise when I pointed out that I was on the TPS register.
It must be soul destroying to work for these companies, how many people actually talk to them I wonder?
otolith said:
I just lie to them, in the hope of getting scrubbed from their lists.
"We're calling about your computer"
"I don't have any computers. <Click>"
"We're calling about your Sky box"
"We don't have Sky. <Click>".
Scum.
I've told the story before so I won't repeat myself, but when someone called my old work number asking us if we were happy with our phone service telling him we didn't have a phone really seemed to screw up his script..."We're calling about your computer"
"I don't have any computers. <Click>"
"We're calling about your Sky box"
"We don't have Sky. <Click>".
Scum.
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