how do you handle dodgy phonecalls

Emmy that made me laugh.

Good for Mum!

Emmy_H wrote (see)

I love that guy eyegor!

IT depends on if I'm busy or not. My dad argues with them but my mum holds a long conversation with them until they get bored. Her record is 20 minutes so far. They hung up after she told them about her shopping list...

seren nos wrote (see)

so why assume that a total stranger is an idiot......

Because an awful lot of people were idiots, and took out completely unnecessary and/or useless insurance policies, I guess!

We get a few of those calls.  They ask for "Mr so-and-so" then when I say there's no-one of that name here, they go on to try and sell it to me.  I suppose they think is sounds less like a cold call?

If it's a recording I hang up - if it's a real person I just lay the receiver down on the desk and go about my business. After all they are paying for the call - serves them right.

What I don't get is how come these calls always seem to be made about 10 minutes after I get home from work.  Or are they re-trying every hour until someone answers?

What's worse is I do actually know someone who could talk the hind leg off a donkey - if she calls me I lay the phone down again and go back to it every now and then to see if she's still there. Usually she has no idea I've not been listening to her, she doesn't listen to any answers anyway. All our friends report the same thing. This person must be really desperate for attention, she also posts dozens of things one after the other on FB. I don't read them either.

Sometimes I pretend to be deaf.

My favourite is to say, 'One moment please' and then wander off for a few minutes til I hear the phone making a weeooweeoo noise as they've hung up. Wastes their time, not mine.

Yes I've done the putting the receiver down thing too. Quite satisfying.

Totally get what Seren is saying though - whether you answer or not the ring disturbs you and very annoying when it wakes you up. 

I hate these calls and as my number is registered with the telephone preference service I generally just ask them how they got my number and tell them that they shouldn't be calling me and I'll report them to the TPS - seems to get rid of them fairly quickly.  Either that, or when they ask if I'm the home owner, I say no, I'm the burglar...!

I love the ones where they say they are calling from Microsoft or another large company as I say (lie) that "oh yea I work for them also - who's your Manager - I may know them...."  they hang up for some reason!

I go with Feral's technique of "the long pause"

I think they hold on a while but once they realise that she's just taking the mickey - they hang up. I've been there where she's started to go on at them like old friends:

- How are your family? Have you been ill lately? awful weather season at the moment christmas/time of the year festival are they getting anything nice etc etc.

She tends to slow down her words so a conversation which would take me 2 minutes takes her a bit longer as she umms.. and ahh's a lot.

mostly i just put the phone down, but if I'm in the mood here are three entertaining things to try....

1. Pretend to be the Royal Family and agree to everything.  The postcode of Buckingham Palace is SW1A 1AA.  Then try and get irritated if they don't have King or Queen as the title in your name....

2. Get them to say who they're trying to speak to and then tell them they've just died.... it's funny it feels a bit cruel that one

3. The best one and the most embarrassing one was deciding that the phone number they'd rung was some secret MI5 hotline and repeatedly ask for their authorisation to call it.  Initiate tracking and reverse identification voiceprint scans and other such gobbledygook and request the authorising officer on site.  That made me laugh very hard, and then I was really emabarrassed afterwards to discover that I had ticked the box to say they could call me..

A guy I worked with had a brilliant challenge with himself to try and sell the person who cold-called him with a cold calling sales training course (that didn't exist) but you have to be very very good to get them interested..

What I hate is when they already know your name, but you haven't got a clue what they're on about or who they are. Before they really get going I just say "I'm afraid you're not supposed to call this number, I'm with TPS" and hang up before they say anything. Problem is that I have a good memory for voices, and I can tell when they try again...

 So I'm I the only person who try's to have a conversation with the annoying twit's in a regional accent? I think I have to much time on my hands?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD70Zaa3z-0

This is the best way to deal with these sales people on the phone.

I handle dodgy calls by carefully practising what I am going to say berore I dial.