Unwanted Phone Calls

For example, the phone rings and you answer it, only to be greeted by "hello, you have won a holiday to xxxx, and all you have to do is ....." So you let them twitter on and then say "thanks chuck, you go in my place."

Or, double glazing salesmen, ad infinitum!

Luckily, I don't get these sort of calls any longer as I joined the TPS which is a call prevention site. However, we get them at work moidering us to get tracking for the vehicles, insurances we don't want, mobile phone companies pestering and then, the most frustrating of all, the recorded messages. Grrrr! You have no idea how infuriating they are.

I'm very polite on the phone and I know who my bosses will or will not want to talk to, but these folk engage then will not let you go, so reluctantly I have to put the phone down on them.

Then there are those who, when I pick up the phone and say "Good afternoon (my company name)" I get just "G.... F...." (his name) without a please, thank you or if he's available. I then pause for just long enough then say "Well, who's speaking please." Darned rude. There's absolutely no need to be rude on the phone, or otherwise.

Re: Unwanted Phone Calls

They are a pain aren't they. I'm polite to begin with and say 'no thanks' but if they persist I say did you just hear what I said!? Usually does the trick

Or if that doesn't work I say what part of no thank you don't you understand?

Re: Unwanted Phone Calls

You can do that at home, Azz, but at work it's a little different because you have to show politeness at all times otherwise it can reflect on the company, even when you just want to give them a mouthful.

We must get anything up to 10 phone calls a day from mobile phone companies wanting to know when our contract runs out so, as you can imagine, the boss can't possibly take so many calls as he's too busy with other things so, it lands on myself, or others, to try to put them off. I used to get very frustrated and stressed out by these people, but I can't allow myself to do that any longer.

My word. It was so different working in an office in the 60s than it is now. The stress these days is just incredible if you allow yourself to get involved.

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Our phone number at home is x directory, but that does not stop sales people ringing us up. I couldnt understand where they were getting our phone number from at first, but realised that when you fill in forms online for car insurance, house insurance or anything else, you put your phone number down and your email address. There they have you, you then get inundated with phone calls and emails offering savings. You start off being polite but they just dont get the message so you end up being rude and then that puts me in a bad mood.

It is the same in shops you buy something, they say have you got a store card (which ever store you are in) you say no, do you want to save 10% on your shopping today, staying polite, no thank you, to have the assistant then say what you dont want to save 10%, (in a what is wrong with you voice).

Shopping is becoming very difficult. (sorry for the rant)

Re: Unwanted Phone Calls

I dont know why any of you even allow yourselves to get stressed by it lol I pick up the phone and the first couple of words they utter are sufficient for me to decide if I want to talk to them and if not I simply replace the receiver.. nothing said by me and no lengthy debate as to whether I need their product of not. I've just trained my mother to stop entering into a conversation of any sort with them and stressing herself out! No offence ladies but you just joining in 'the game'

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Me to , I either say nothing or 'no thank you' or 'go away' and that's it

When my son was small I used to get calls from a company selling kitchens. They used to ring nightly and I started off being polite and got more and more angry. Sometimes they would ring back but say nothing but I could hear people breathing and giggling .
One night I slammed the phone down and moments later the phone rang again, I was cooking the meal so my son answered and 'someone' started asking him odd questions then said 'we know where you live and will come and get our mummy' .
I was livid and contacted trading standards who said they had a whole file on the company, I don't know what happened but they stopped ringing.

I do belong to the Telephone Preference call list but that doesn't stop 'off shore' calling .

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As I said, I can do exactly that at home, but I can't at work. I'm also Ex-Directory and belong to the TPS so I don't get any sales calls whatsoever.

It's not practical for my works to be on TPS though, so we just to have grin (or not) and bear it!

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At home if I know it is an unsolicited call from a company selling I simply say hold on a moment and go away leaving the phone off the hook. I then come back 5 minutes later and replace the receiver.

If you get stressed Mollie, best not to get involved. Just say Mr/Mrs..... (boss) is not taking any calls today, listen briefly to what they say and then say "no thank you" and hang up.

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We have always been Ex Directory and registered with TPS a long time ago. We have never given out the number online but as has already been said the number will have been sold by any number of people that hitherto I thought were trustworthy.

We have a lot less cold calls than most but it can still be a big annoyance and disturbing to get these intrusions if you are waiting for some important news.

Recently we were expecting hospital updates on a close relative that was in a very bad way so ignoring the phone was not an option. We were constantly contacted by a firm selling a supposed government backed scheme on cavity wall insulation.
They were asked politely at first to desist but would not, I had to identify the company and trace their number.
Only after I spoke to them in terms that they understood did the calls stop.

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Like some of you others I just say no thanks and replace the receiver without getting into any sort of conversation. Sometimes though if I feel impish I will say "Hang on, I'll go and get my Mum" and then, like Aerolor, walk away for five or ten minutes....cruel really, but quite satisfying....