'Energy saving' scam call

[echoes]

Great scam phone call:

I was a bit bored, so I kept him busy for about about half an hour. It went something like this:

Them: We are offering you a plug-in energy saving device which will save you 30% of you electricity...
Me: How does that work?
Them: Some guff about power spikes, magnetism, how my appliances waste 70% ...
Me: Still don't understand... 20 mins of him explaining how I just needed to believe him etc...
Me: What is the name of the company you're calling from?
Them: Silence
Me: What is the name of the company you're calling from?
Them: Why should you need to know? This says a lot about the man you are. You need a doctor.
Me: Can you recommend a doctor?
Them: Yes - I have all your details in front of me. The doctor will be with you in an hour.
Me: Is there anything else you want to talk about?
Them. Click.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Had a cold call the other day and was asked to give my postcode 'for security reasons' to verify that I was me.

I refused and said "you called me, who else can I be?"

Caller offered to give me the fist half of postcode if I completed it.

I hung up.

I don't usually bother that much and just hang up right away.

 

[SaladFingers]

Had a cold call the other day and was asked to give my postcode 'for security reasons' to verify that I was me.

I refused and said "you called me, who else can I be?"

Caller offered to give me the fist half of postcode if I completed it.

I hung up.

I don't usually bother that much and just hang up right away.

I get similar ones where for security questions give me the first line of your address etc.

Similarly I reply, 'you called me, YOU prove who you are'.

Some of them have been genuine calls, where they said they understand what I'm saying, so I call them back through a number I know is theirs.

 

[echoes]

I normally just hang up as well. Just thought I'd waste his time for a bit this time for my amusement.

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

In fits of boredom, I love keeping the cold calls from "Windows Security Centre" from our Asian/Indian brethren going for as long as I can. I've recently found out that they can be quite adept at basic Anglo-Saxon bad language!!

Either that or grab the referees whistle that hangs off my PC desk!

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

The best one is where they call you to tell you you have a virus. I usually sound worried, and then ask them what my current IP address is, just to make sure we are talking about the same computer. The answers are usually quite funny.

 

[bernardgreen]

After quite a long cold call a persistant solar panel salesman got close to selling me a system. Then I asked if there would be a problem fitting panels on a thatched roof on a listed building as that was what I had. He swore......

 

[ericmark]

New phone BT 6500 allowed me to reject all calls without caller ID seemed a good idea but at my mums house and just did not have time to set it up so left for moment with idea of doing latter.

In the mean time emergency had to call 999 for both ambulance and fire/rescue and the emergency needed in both cases to call me back, and in both cases there number was withheld so had I got around to setting the phone to reject number with held calls I would have stopped the emergency services from contacting me.

I think is is out of order for emergency services to withhold their number but until this is changed cold callers can tie up phone lines and there is little we can do.

I have every intention to complain as I am sure people do set their phones to auto reject with held numbers without realising this will cause problems when an emergency arises and I hope others will do the same.

But until the government does something to change this then we the consumer have to endure all these calls so in an emergency we can receive calls from the emergency services.

 

[wotan]

I get calls regarding my Sky box 'We note that you guarantee is about to expire on your Sky box' Me... it ran out three years ago....them what will you do if it fails? Me... repair it myself or buy another one.. Them.... we could sell you insurance to cover the cost of replacement... Me will you refund that money if it does not go wrong? erm no.......there you go then, goodbye!

Wotan

 

[SaladFingers]

New phone BT 6500 allowed me to reject all calls without caller ID seemed a good idea but at my mums house and just did not have time to set it up so left for moment with idea of doing latter.

In the mean time emergency had to call 999 for both ambulance and fire/rescue and the emergency needed in both cases to call me back, and in both cases there number was withheld so had I got around to setting the phone to reject number with held calls I would have stopped the emergency services from contacting me.

I think is is out of order for emergency services to withhold their number but until this is changed cold callers can tie up phone lines and there is little we can do.

I have every intention to complain as I am sure people do set their phones to auto reject with held numbers without realising this will cause problems when an emergency arises and I hope others will do the same.

But until the government does something to change this then we the consumer have to endure all these calls so in an emergency we can receive calls from the emergency services.

Interestingly not all cold callers use withheld numbers.

A similar situation arose when a doctor needed to call my mother, they couldn't get through as they too used withheld numbers.

 

[JBR]

Some of these strategies for dealing with such 'phone calls are quite funny and I have done similar things myself when I've been at a loose end and feeling a bit nasty!

Normally, though, I don't pick up the telephone and listen to the response to my answering machine's recorded message. This is usually a bleep, then silence, but occasionally I hear the caller's recorded message which can sometimes go on for several minutes. That's fine; they're paying for the call.

I believe that's what answering machines were really created for!

Obviously, as soon as I recognise the caller's voice, I pick up and answer (unless I'm trying to avoid them!).

 

[bernardgreen]

I am a missionary from Yorkshire to the primitive people of Lancashire.

You like very small meetings then.

 

[JBR]

I am a missionary from Yorkshire to the primitive people of Lancashire.

You like very small meetings then.

Eh?

You'll have to explain; I'm a bit thick.

 

[bernardgreen]

Very few primitive people in Lancashire, so not many to attend your missionary meetings.

 

[andrew1210]

I have a friend who had a phone call from an overseas call centre, asking for him, he replied "this is actually pc inspector ABC, mr xyz was murdered and you are now part of the investigation, do not hang up the phone, we have traced your call..." Never heard a sales person panick so much in my life!

Seemed to put an end to calls from that particular company!