I hung up on a telemarketer today

[Mr Hero]

Just yesterday I had a telemarketer selling something. I couldn't tell what, but I told her I wasn't interested.

Telemarketer: Please listen to what I have to say.

*click*

I'm sorry but at work I don't have time to spend listening to sales pitches when I have people who need assistance.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Just yesterday I had a telemarketer selling something. I couldn't tell what, but I told her I wasn't interested.

Telemarketer: Please listen to what I have to say.

.

Why? Because she was so respectful of what you had to say?

[Amina516]

I had a call once where "the government" was "giving away" lots of "money", but they had to call and be sure I had a checking account.....

Umm..WTF? At first I listened, just b/c i was bored. This guy was persistant to say the least. REALLY pushing to give me "all this free money." All they needed was to know if I had a checking account and with what bank?

Didnt help that A. The guy as foreign sounding and B. He just made no sense. I then told him to mail me some paperwork and Id look over it. (as I said I was bored). He starts YELLING @ me. About how ridiculous I am, and who doesnt want free money...

I hung up after that, and he didnt call again. Later in the news, i heard about a new scam where they get your bank name and access your account somehow.

Duh.

Its sad though that some people fall for it.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I know, that is what blows my mind.

[Dips]

I had a call once where "the government" was "giving away" lots of "money", but they had to call and be sure I had a checking account.....

Sounds like the Nigerian scammers.

They never used to use phones (with the exception of the relay system) because it was too easy to trace them. Sounds like they found a way around it that doesn't cost money. Because they are CHEAP scammers. They won't part with any of their "millions" to find marks.

This is NOT good news.

[Shalom]

Sounds like the Nigerian scammers.

You wanna have some fun with these guys, here's a good place to start.

[RavenStarr]

This is one of the raesons I love caller id. I only answer calls if I know the person or number. If it shows unknown name or a name I don't know. Well they can leave a message.

[Andara Bledin]

My work used to get calls from the local newspaper to every single line we had coming into the building, one after the other. It took a few threats of legal action before they finally got it through their heads that they'd better stop using the rotary dialer they had. I suspect someone might have actually sued them over it.

When at work I use this: "You have reached a place of business. Please remove this number from any and all calling lists you have now and never call here again for any reason." We didn't get a whole lot of repeats.

As for my home, I just borrow what my old boss used to say: "Your time would be better spent with your next call. Please place my number on your Do Not Call list." And then he'd hang up. If he was in a mood, he'd try to sell them some random surplus item we had at the time. I think he had an opportunity when we were trying to unload the kangaroo meat...

Yes, I know that it's not really a good policy. But honestly, when "No, we're not interested" doesn't work, nor does when I (stupidly, I know) explain why I'm not interested in response to her pretend surprise, there really isn't any other way to deal with a third incidence of her pretending that I'm interested in the services she's offering.

AT&T used to call me all the damn time (several times a month) to try to sell me long distance service, which I use maybe once every 3 years or so. And now with cell phones, I don't know why anyone uses long distance service that isn't dialing to a different country with a different phone exchange.

I actually told them that if I received another marketing call from them, I would prosecute them for harassment. I didn't hear from them again until they bought the local Pac Bell exchange, and I reminded them that they are not to call me, and I haven't heard from them since.

Unfortunately in Canada, the DNC list allows companies with "existing relationships" to continue to call.

You might want to check the regulations. I suspect that if you request no further calls after the relationship was established, that they would have to abide by that request.

The DNC has proven quite effective for me, I signed up only because with the decline in landline phones, telemarketers were somehow getting ahold of cell phone #s and calling everyone they could find, and after a few, I'd had enough.

Actually, it's not legal (in the US) for telemarketers to call cell phone numbers at all.

However, if you don't note that the number you've given a business for contacting you is, in fact, a cell number, they'll log it as a land line.

There's been an epidemic for many, many years of shady warranty companies trying to sell extended warranties for cars.

They've started in with a couple of other scams, too. I've found that pressing 9 or 0 on the keypad causes a hangup, and I don't seem to get nearly as many since I've started doing that.

^-.-^

[shankyknitter]

see I hate the calls where you pick up and its a machine on the other end. Really people? If you're going to bug me for money at least have the decency to act like you called me, not the other way around. I got fed up with it in high school once and waited for a living person to come on the line.

SK: moi
PTM: poor telemarketer

*Insert machine "please hold for the next available teller"*

PTM: Hello can we interest you in...
SK: Please hold for the next available family member. *puts phone on hold and walks away for 20 minutes. Oddly they were still on the other end*
PTM: Hello! We're selling....
SK: We're sorry, all our family members are currently uninterested. Please do not call back and we will not return your call. Thank you and have a nice day.

[Gawdzillers]

I usually scream, "I'M ON FIRE! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" and hang up.

[MadMike]

AT&T used to call me all the damn time (several times a month) to try to sell me long distance service, which I use maybe once every 3 years or so. And now with cell phones, I don't know why anyone uses long distance service that isn't dialing to a different country with a different phone exchange.

I got a call like that once, and like you, I very rarely made any long distance calls. The guy asked me if I make $10 in long distance calls in a month, and I told him, quite truthfully, that I do not. So then he asked me if I make $5, and I told him "maybe once in a blue moon." The guy stammered a bit, trying to save the call, and then realized he had nothing to offer me.

The same thing happened with an internet provider, back when most of them charged by the hour. He was offering "the low price of $x/hour." Unfortunately for him, I had already hooked up with one of the rare-at-the-time flat-rate providers, and told him I was already paying only $19 per month, no matter how much I was on. I don't think the poor guy even knew those existed before he called me.

Then there was a local TV magazine that called me, not realizing I was already a subscriber. You'd think they'd check these things.

[Larry1]

I usually ask the telemarketer for their home phone number and tell them I'll call them back anywhere from 5pm to 7 pm. Then I hang up. That usually works and leaves them speechless.

[Aut]

I have put our number on the DNC list but I guess as being a business line, it's exempt. I notice that all the telemarketing calls come in cycles, and they will usually be for health insurance, credit card acceptance, or the dreaded Yellow Pages (who don't seem to have a 'no' option in their script).

I have made the rounds over the last 7 years with the Yellow Page people. Most of the time you can barely understand them over their thick accents. When you hang up on them, they call back ("we seem to have gotten disconnected"). They go through their whole spiel, ask if this is your address, and there was something about confirming something and when I would say no (because I'm not authorized to make any deals), they would get frustrated and we'd have to start all over. I don't rememer how that one call ended because it was a few years ago. Now I just shove the phone in the couch cushions when they call.

Mostly I hang up on telemarketers, because when I would start to request being put on their DNC list, they would hang up before I could finish the sentence. One time I hung up on a telemarketer from the phone company and apparantly pissed off the guy. He called right back and started yelling at me. And I started yelling back. I am so not a confrontational person, so when that call finally ended, I was all worked up and shaking. I called the man, and he called the phone company and ripped them a new one. They agreed to put us on their DNC list and I wrote that down and filed it. I didn't know that they expire, but even though they have been calling again, it's not 8 times a day like before.

I think we must be between cycles right now because I haven't had any calls so far this week. Last week, I answered 15 calls one day - one was the usual call from the hubby, one was a personal call, and the rest were all telemarketers.

I wish we had caller ID.

[protege]

*Insert machine "please hold for the next available teller"*

I've received about 6 of those damn calls at work today....and have hung up on all of them. Seriously, whoever it is, knock that shit off. I don't have time to deal with additional idiots--there are plenty I work with

[Andara Bledin]

*Insert machine "please hold for the next available teller"*

PTM: Hello can we interest you in...
SK: Please hold for the next available family member. *puts phone on hold and walks away for 20 minutes. Oddly they were still on the other end*
PTM: Hello! We're selling....
SK: We're sorry, all our family members are currently uninterested. Please do not call back and we will not return your call. Thank you and have a nice day.

According to some of the people here, they're not allowed to hang up. You probably cost the poor schmuck a massive hit on his metrics, too.

If you don't want to talk to 'em, just tell them to put you on their Do Not Disturb list, effective immediately, and hang up. Anything else starts heading into SC territory, even though you don't even want to be a customer in the first place.

I have put our number on the DNC list but I guess as being a business line, it's exempt. I notice that all the telemarketing calls come in cycles, and they will usually be for health insurance, credit card acceptance, or the dreaded Yellow Pages (who don't seem to have a 'no' option in their script).

The fact that you're a company means nothing. They're calling from outside the country (which means they're exempt in the first place) and half the time, they're scamming, anyway. The "Yellow Pages" or other "directory" ones tend to want you to verify the listing information, at which point they decide that you've ok'd the shipment of several free copies and then bill you for the outrageous shipping and handling fees.

^-.-^