To me, some unwanted calls are exactly that - an invasion of my property
Take the ones that go:
“Good day Mr X, my name is X and I am calling on behalf of Windows about the problem with your computer … …”
This is a scam, pure and simple. The sole purpose of such a call is to con me into spending money, and allowing someone unknown to put malign software on my PC. The pattern of these calls is such that the caller must (repeat MUST) know that they are part of an attempted fraud.
I did not ask them to call. They did it of their own free will, and they are invading my property to try to defraud me. They deserve whatever response I choose to make - and yes, the original suggestion of a whistle was mine. The argument that they have no choice is the same one that is used to justify the actions of petty burglars and low-level drug pushers
If they are polite and honest, then the response is appropriate. Now, try to look at it from my (our, since my wife is also involved) point of view. My wife has just had an operation cancelled at short notice (15 hours) and we are waiting for the hospital to call with a new date. If you seriously think that we are not going to rush to answer any and every call, then you are not of this planet. When that involves limping or shuffling from one end of the house to the other - only to find out that it is a junk call, or even a recorded message - just exactly how do you think we feel? (No prizes for a correct answer)
Sorry to hear of your wifes problem Geoff, and hope things get sorted soon.
Quite agree about the ‘Windows’ scam - surely if it is truly Windows, they would not be phoning but communicating directly through the computer. I just tell them I don’t have a computer, that stops them.
If they new the potential consequences of these unsolicited calls I wonder if they would do it.
A couple of years ago my elderly aunt was being plagued by nuisance calls. While hovering the phone went again and as she went to answer it she tripped on the flex, fell, and laid there for two days before she was discovered. She went into hospital and never came home as she died two weeks later . Needless to say they have a real problem with me when they phone.
I live in sheltered housing and some of my neighbours are in their 80s and 90s and are plagued by these calls. One neighbour was telling me that she goes to bed at 7.30 pm… she’s 97 years old… and sometimes the phone rings after that time. She always goes to answer it in case it’s an emergency (which is dangerous in itself… rushing out of bed half asleep), and of course it’s always a cold call. I’m going to speak to her and see if she wants me to sign her up for the mail preference thingy (already forgotten the name!).
I do agree with others that the people in call centres are doing their job and must get loads of abuse. Not their fault… and I’m usually polite and say ‘no thank you’ and hang up… but sometimes, ill and fatigued, it’s just too much and I have been guilty of shouting abuse and on one occasion just bursting into tears.
Tonight we have had 2 calls in the last half hour from an “0845” number.
On checking it out, it seems that several people have reported calls from that number with a voice quoting an email address and asking for contact to be made. My wife took both calls and could only hear one clearly - and was certain that there was a equest to “contact us”. Sounds like anothe scam to me.
BTW if you can get a number (by dialing 1471) , put that number into the search box in Google and see what you get.
Thanks Geoff, will try that next time the last one came up as unavailable, so couldnt do anything about it, i hate the way they intrude into my life,i just want them to go away.
The same applies if a person was to break in/enter my house uninvited, being an electrical engineer they would find I have a number of bobby traps, that would certainly cause them pain .
Take care.
Chris R.
I. El. (Eng). (Rtd).
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Chris
It was my choice of employment for a short period of time, as was door-to-door knocking.
Interesting. Some of the recorded messages ask you to press the hash key to get transferred to a “human” being - so that you can get the next bit of the sales pitch. I asume that “#” or “*” or whatever they ask for would start the process of getting a human onto the line again, and again, and again. That could screw up their system for a while. I like it!
Like the idea of screwing their system - I would like to screw it perminently.
I know all the arguements about supplying jobs etc, etc but why should I be targetted if I did not opt into the system in the first place?
It’s the same with junk mail - we keep being told to save the planet but are allowing all the forests to be cut down for junk mail!
When I first had my mobile phone my kids kept telling me that I never answered. My reply was - ‘it is for my convenience, leave a message on the home phone and I will get back to you’. I spent too many years on the end of a sales/complaints phone for an upholstery company and decided when I retired that I was no longer a slave to the telephone.
I’m forever getting these cold callers stopped, I even have a sticker on our front door saying I will not buy off you I do not want any information I will not buy off you. it seems to be doing the trick.
what I’ve found with the cold phone calls be very careful of giving your phone number out to any company once they have it, it gets put on a suckers list and sold on to other companies, hence cold or silet phonecalls, I give them my mobile number if I dont get a name I will not answer it,