Telemarketers... they deserve a thread all their own.

[blinc]

Gosh, I got so angry last Friday at a telemarketer for BP Oil. We have one of their gas credit cards and this woman kept calling from there everyday last week, asking for my husband. Kept telling her no, he isn't here, he works during the day. But everyday, mornings or early afternoon she would call. I kept asking her if I could help her, since it's a joint account. She kept saying "no, this is just a courtesy call". We have a $0 balance so I knew it had to be they wanted to sell us something. I finally asked her to not call anymore, since she didn't feel she could discuss whatever she wanted with me. She got really snotty with me and said, well this is an offer for your husband. I told her that if she called again, I would report her for harrassment. Our account is a joint account, not just his or just mine so whatever the offer was could have been discussed with me.

I was so angry that I called their HQ to make a complaint and to cancel our card. The lady at HQ apologized and promised we wouldn't be contacted again. We'll see.

Arrrgh! Telemarketers drive me batty!!

[RoadRunner]

I just got off the phone with a broker. He started into his spiel in such a think New York accent that I could barely understand him. I told him I wasn't interested in the market, but he just kept on going. I finally just hung up.

[RoadRunner]

How come my message icon didn't work in that other post? I tried to have the red frown in front of Grrrr.... Weird.

[RoadRunner]

Do they only work in every other post? Nope.

[blinc]

hmmm... let's see if it's because of a header and an icon? I'll try this.

Nope, that wasn't it. So Roadrunner it looks like it was just that one post for some reason. Wonder if it has anything to do with being the first post after a thread has started? It seems to be working fine on the other posts.

Ohhhh Jiiiiim, yooo hooo! Roadrunner is going over the ed... erm, Roadrunner is having a problem with the icons.

[jamesglewisf]

LOL! Itsa mysterya.

[blinc]

Oh man, we got took for three years by a telemarketing scam! This company called saying they were with the NC Policemens Benevolent Society and they were looking for donations to go towards their fund. The fund was supposed to be for the widows and children of police officers killed in the line of duty. It sounded like such a good cause, I wrote out a check and mailed it that day. Every year they contacted us and we donated... for THREE years!! Finally, I said something to my husbands father about the fund, since he was an ex-police officer himself. He said he thought it was a scam, that they didn't contact people for donations like that. So I called our NC State Police. They said absolutely not, that when they do fundraisers it's advertised in the local papers, that they do not contact people by phone. Arrgh! Felt like such an idiot. Then to top it off, we got another call from the scam place, when I confronted the person on the phone the guy said one word "Sucker!" and hung up the phone on me! {flame}

You know I need a "nuclear explosion" icon to describe how ticked off I was at that!!

[kezzer]

Omg!! That's horrible! I would have been so mad!

[jamesglewisf]

I tell them that I don't want to save any money, make any more money, try anything for free, or receive anything for free. And BTW, please take me off your list.

[blinc]

Yeah, we have pretty much been doing the same thing. Telling them no thankyou, please take us off your calling list. Have found out one thing, if it's a charity you may be interested in, tell them you would like for them to send you some literature which includes their tax exempt registration information or their business registration information. If they're legitimate you can check them out that way.

Another thing that has happend one time, was when I asked for them to send me info. (by snail mail) about this one so-called charity. They said they couldn't afford to send out their charity literature brochures,(which supposedly included the info. I was asking for) unless we made a donation. Said "sorry, not interested then". It's a sure sign of a scam if they won't give you the info without you sending them money.

[CommunistPanda]

Eeek. For some reason, we're lucky that we very rarely get telemarketers calling here. I guess it's cause we're in a regional area...

[Karenluvs6]

here are some really funny things to say to a telemarketer.
I have done a couple of these myself!



NOTICE: All suggestions have been tested and approved for use on telemarketers. No animals were harmed in the testing.

1. Insist that the caller is really your buddy Leon, playing a joke.
"Come on, Leon, cut it out! Seriously, Leon, how's your momma?"

2. If they start out with, "How are you today?" say, "I'm so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems. My arthritis is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died . . . "

3. If they say they're John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is located, how long it has been in business, how many people work there, how they got into this line of work if they are married, how many kids they have, etc. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for as long as necessary.

4. This works great if you are male. Telemarketer: "Hi, my name is Judy and I'm with XYZ Company. " You: Wait for a second and with a real husky voice ask, "What are you wearing?"

5. Cry out in surprise, "Judy? Is that you? Oh my God! Judy, how have you been?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of terror as she tries to figure out where she could know you from.

6. Say "No" over and over. Be sure to vary the sound of each one, and keep a rhythmic tempo, even as they are trying to speak. This is most fun if you can do it until they hang up.

7. If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up for the Family and Friends Plan, reply, in as sinister a voice as you can, "I don't have any friends, would you be my friend?"

8. If the company cleans rugs, respond: "Can you get out blood? Can you get out goat blood? How about human blood?"

9. After the Telemarketer gives his or her spiel, ask him or her to marry you. When they get all flustered, tell them that you can't just give your credit card number to a complete stranger.

10. Tell the Telemarketer that you work for the same company, and they can't sell to employees.

11. Answer the phone. As soon as you realize it is a Telemarketer, set the receiver down, scream, "Oh my God!" and then hang up.

12. Tell the Telemarketer you are busy at the moment and ask him/her if he/she will give you his/her home phone number so you can call him/her back. When the Telemarketer explains that telemarketers cannot give out their home numbers say, "I guess you don't want anyone bothering you at home, right?" The Telemarketer will agree and you say, "Me either!" Hang up.

13. Ask them to repeat everything they say, several times.

14. Tell them it is dinner time, but ask if they would please hold. Put them on your speaker phone while you continue to eat at your leisure. Smack your food loudly and continue with your dinner conversation.

15. Tell the Telemarketer you are on "home incarceration" and ask if they could bring you some beer.

16. Ask them to fax the information to you, and make up a number.

17. Tell the Telemarketer, "Okay, I'll listen to you. But I should probably tell you, I'm not wearing any clothes."

18. If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy and you could sure use some money.

19. Tell them you are hard of hearing and that they need to speak up . . . louder . . . louder . . .

20. Tell them to talk very slowly, because you want to write every word down

[jamesglewisf]

Those are a riot. I'm giving them to my wife. She can't stand telemarketers.

[CommunistPanda]

ROTFL
Those rock!

[kezzer]

I'll have to remember those the next time a telemarketer calls my house!! Those are great.

[Karenluvs6]

some of those are so funny....I can only imagine using them on someone for real!
can you imagine their faces?
LOL

[CommunistPanda]

Ahaha...that would be truly funny.

[jamesglewisf]

My favorite is "...I'm not wearing any clothes."

[jamesglewisf]

The first time they ask a question, regardless of what they say, tell them, "I have a cat."

When they say something else, say, "My cat likes dry cat food."

Then say, "Her furr is soft."

Always let them talk for a bit, then either answer a question with one of these or interrupt them.

"I think one of her legs is shorter than the other."

"Do you think you can catch anything if you drink after your cat? My tongue feels funny."

"My mom had a cat, but now she's dead. Do you think she caught something from her cat?"

Then just start over from the top and repeat.

[Stormwind]

:) {loltext} I will have to remember those responses.

[jamesglewisf]

Stormwind!

Where have you been?

[theyeti]

{wavey} Hi Stormwind!!

[Stormwind]

Hi everyone. {wavey} Sorry, I have been missing- I plead too much work and too little time. This will be way {offtop} if I post about it here (as you see I am going to anyway!)- but the short version is I will finish up the B.S. by the end of summer and have been accepted (over competition) into the Masters degree program for counseling, beginning in Fall. As part of my internship (finishing up 30 weeks), I have been working with adults with developmental disabilities and have been enjoying that, which is a whole post in itself.

I will try to do better about coming by more often. Oh, and I like the new look around here!!

[theyeti]

Yippee! :)

Has anyone found that the Do Not Call list for telemarketers actually works?

[CuriousG]

It absolutely worked for me. I can't emember the last time I got a solicitation call. They say once you sign up, it may take up to 3 months for it to become completely effective. Probably due to telemarketers with outdated lists, and by the time it trickles down, etc.

[CuriousG]

OK, just replacing my praise post that I gave for my new avatar for the appropriate person. EmBee Rocks!!

[jamesglewisf]

It works great for us. We hardly get any calls.

[jamesglewisf]

OK, just replacing my praise post that I gave for my new avatar for the appropriate person. EmBee Rocks!!Yep, she gets the credit.

[Alec]

You could use the same line of thinking with any topic.

Pollster: We've called to find out your opinions on politics. Whom do you favor in a three-way race: Kerry, Nader or Bush?

Alec: I prefer decaf. Otherwise, I have a hard time sleeping at night.

Pollster: Excuse me. I'm not sure you understood the question. For the presidential election in 2004, whom do you prefer: Kerry, Nader or Bush?

Alec: Do you have a grinder you recommend? I like to grind my own beans instead of buying pre-ground coffee. My only real complaint is how loud grinders are.

[theyeti]

Oooh, you just set yourself up for one, let's see if anyone else finds it first (I'm feeling nice today)...

[mec]

SBC has a new wrinkle on it. They are making hang-up calls without regard to the Do No Call List. It's probably a scam to find out if a certain telephone number is working so they can try to slam it or direct other advertising that way. A lot of people have been mentioning it on Complaints.com.

Hang up calls are a violation of the Telephone Harassment statutes in this state. A mega threat was all it took to get them to stop. It seems like a small thing, but it does disrupt your caller idea system when you get up to five hand up calls from them in the space of a day.

[jamesglewisf]

We were getting those. I couldn't figure out what the deal was. I assumed they were looking for fax machines, but we never got any faxes.

[CuriousG]

I used to get a lot of hang up calls too. I still get a few even with the do not call list.

[CuriousG]

My thing is, who actually buys stuff from a telemarketer? I mean obviously they wouldn't be calling everyone all the time hawking their rotary, space-age-plastic, massaging, uv-blocking fountain pens if someone wasn't buying the junk or donating to their cause, etc. I personally don't know anyone who has ever got a phone call and been moved enough to pull out the credit card right then and there. We need to find these people buying the stuff and get rid of them. We'll dry up the customer base and then the telemarketers won't have any reason to call.

[mec]

Crazy people
I once had to arrange a guardianship for a woman who had her house stacked from floor to ceiling with unopened boxes of junk she had bought. She didn't want the stuff but bought it anyway because, as she whispered confidentially " I am a Grand Prize Contestant!"

Another one went to the local cement yard furniture place and bough all the benches, tables and statuary she could stuff into her yard. The cement furniture mongers thought they were going to retire on her. She explained that the angels were coming back to Earth and would need a place to sit. Their mission: Move all of the people of a certain ethic group back to the eastern part of town. A particularly persistent mental health worker shamed the cement furniture people into refunding her savings.

[clarebear]

I got scammed by the Michigan Firefighters Fund. I found a few years later there is no such thing!

I got phone slammed by MCI. They changed my phone service without my permission. I reported them to the Public Service Commission and it took weeks to straighten it out. MCI was still sending me notices to verify the change even AFTER they switched me and got rid of my toll calls. I have learned to never say "send me more information" with anything.