Getting Your Own Back!

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REVENGE ON THE TELEMARKETER

Three Little Words That Work!!

(1) The three little words: 'Hold On, Please...'
Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.

Then when you eventually hear BT's 'beep-beep-beep' tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset....you have efficiently completed your task.
These three little words could help eliminate telephone soliciting.


(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?
This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and record’s the time of day when a person answers the phone.

This technique is then used to determine the best time of day for a 'real' salesperson to call back and get someone at home.
What you can do after answering: If you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible. This confuses the machine that dialled the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer!!!

(3) When you get those 'pre-approved' letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.

Most of these come with postage-prepaid return envelopes, right?
It costs them more than the regular postage 'IF' and when they are returned. It costs them nothing if you throw them away! In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-prepaid return envelopes.

Send an advert for your local chimney sweeper to American Express... They might need one!
Send a pizza coupon to HSBC... In case their canteen packs up. You get the idea.
If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them back their blank application form.... After all, it is their form!

If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you return.

You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them, and it is their envelope after all… you are just returning it!!!!

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the post, but folks....we need to OVERWHELM them, in order to stop them.

Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice!

Let's help keep Royal Mail busy. Since the Royal Mail is saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, let's help them so they will not need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea!

If enough people follow these tips, it will work ---- maybe you'll get very little junk mail anymore.
 
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if they send you a reply envelope, get the letter they sent you (showing your name and address) and write in large clear letters "I am not interested, please remove me from your mailing list" and send it back in their envelope.

Most often they will. And that's really what you want, isn't it? Sending them a pizza advert won't do it.
 
I've been doing the return post bit for ages now and I've also done as you say about putting the phone down and walking away but the piece about the calls with no one on the other end is a new one and informative too, thanks.
 
the blank phonecalls are not for seeing when you are in, but the method of stopping them may well be right, confusing the computer dialing you into thinking it's a fax machine...
I'll give it a go next time..

what happens is that as you say it's a computer doing the cold calling, but there are a limited number of operators and sometimes there isn't one free for the computer to put the call through to.. so you get no one..
 
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what happens is that as you say it's a computer doing the cold calling, but there are a limited number of operators and sometimes there isn't one free for the computer to put the call through to.. so you get no one..

its called autodialling. iirc the computer phones 10 random numbers at the same time, first person to answer gets to speak to someone. if two people answer it blanks one.
 
This is an email I received so thought I would pass it on.
I've been doing the returning envelope trick for a few years but didn't know about the phone call ones.
With the envelopes I usually put a competitors forms in the envelope. :LOL:
Hope it helps someone anyway. ;)
 
Don't really think junk mail is a problem.

Cold calling telesales on the other hand! :evil:

Since registering my number with The Telephone Preference Service, calls are down by 90%

Don't let small annoyances take over your life (if you have one!). Its easier to do something to stop it happening, rather than have the hassle in the first place! ;)
 
I stupidly put my mobile number on one of the big-name insurance search sites a couple of years ago... let's just say I was *ahem* confused *ahem* about getting the best deal. At renewal time they pound my mobile with requests to quote me, and requests to take me off don't work.

So, after getting the 10th call in 1 hour :!: :!: I answered the 11th and said "Hi, what car can I quote you on today?"

I spent a few minutes trying to sell the guy cheaper car insurance and in the end he gave up. :LOL:

I hate the ones where someone rings up and just asks to speak to Mr Whatever without saying what company they are calling from or who they are. It's just rude.
 
Since registering my number with The Telephone Preference Service, calls are down by 90%

That's what annoys me: it's only 90%. I still get spam calls because someone who used to have my phone number seems to have signed up with every cold calling agency under the sun. The other 10% are generally shady sheisters or overseas companies who claim ignorance when you tell them they are committing an offence. :evil:
 
either get on the TPS or even easier, dont answer the phone.

if i dont know the number i wont answer it. if its important they can leave a message and i'll phone them back.
 
We've been registered with TPS for years now and on the very odd occasion that we get a telemarketing call I threaten them with reporting to the appropriate authority. They soon go away and don't come back.

In fact we get more wrong numbers than marketing calls.
 
getting your own back is what happens if you **** into the wind hehe.

mail you receive with a return envelope,i put all there gumf back into there envelope and return ,after a while it dries up ,lol.i often add little notes,like if its a money offer i tell em i have plenty of my own etc.
 
In order to stop cold marketing calls, why not register with the Telephone preference Service?
Details here:
http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/what/[/QUOTE]
I registered with these it cost me £37.00 but still got calls, by all accounts most numbers are regenerated, so belonged to someone else before.
This means even if you are not passing your number out, the previous user of this number could well be filling forms and applications in stating this number, so your number will then be used by third party callers.

After never ending cold calls I demanded my money back and unplugged the phone, but the # thing sounds interesting.
 
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