middle aged moment and Microsoft

If you are still getting a lot of calls, make sure you are keeping a close eye on the small print of anything you're singing for the opt out tick box about data collection. If you miss this then your details maybe passed/sold on. When this has happened, all you can do is keep telling callers about the TPS and get your details removed from their database. It's a never ending battle.

Despite Telephone Preference Service, I'm still getting unsolicited calls. My personal best is keeping " Kevin" from Microsoft technical support on the line for 25 minutes, before telling him I didn't have a computer! He was most irate, and demanded to know why I had been lying to him.

Sad, I know, but if I have a wee while to spare, a bit of sport helps pass the time.

I like the idea of answering the call and saying you are from the homicide department, and asking how they know the " deceased".

The post from hedy reminds me of a call I received many years ago now when the caller said "is Mr Wall there please" me" I'm sorry there is no Mr Wall here" him " Well how about Mrs Wall" me slightly exasperated " I'm sorry there are no Walls here". Him, "in that case how does your roof stay up" I suspected my C's young friends but never found out.

I get so many of these calls, registering with the TPS reduced the number of calls from UK companies, but I still get so many from foreign call centres.

I used to try and reason with them and be polite but some have been so rude and pushy I now just say "I'm not interested, thank you" and put the phone down. I hate getting the calls, and for some reason (probably previous rude callers!) I get a bit shaky.

I had 'Hello, I'm Philip from microsoft', and I did say to him "but you're not though, are you?!". I might start getting festive and bellowing "oh no you're not!" in a pantomine stylee down the phone

I have been on TPS for years and very rarely get unsolicited calls, but I did have one last week. I said I was on TPS but he still carried on. I asked if he knew what TPS was and after he replied 'I certainly do madam' I said 'good, so you'll understand why I'm putting the phone down on you'. Haven't heard from him since!

We too were part of the thousands of people who had our details hacked at TalkTalk. We haven't had any bogus callers though. We were offered one of four "upgrades" by TalkTalk in compensation for staying with them. None of them were of any use to us, we don't have TV with them or mobile 'phones, the only possible one that could have been useful was free calls to landlines and mobiles for 12 months but we already have this, we pay £7.50 per month for the privilege. I rang TalkTalk and told them that their upgrades were of no use to us, I didn't get very far with the operative so asked to speak to a manager, I went through the story again (good job it is a Freephone number) and he eventually offered me £10 credit, I told him I wasn't satisfied and that I was considering leaving( even though I am technically tied in with them for another 8 months). He then put me through to the "retention" office where, after telling the story yet again, was offered free calls to land lines and mobile phones for 12 months with no £7.50 monthly fee. This is worth £90 (if my maths is correct), I accepted and asked for the offer in writing which they did, they e-mailed it to me straight away. The moral of the story is unless you are very happy with the upgrade offered stick to your guns, threaten to leave and see what more you can get. This is a multi million pound organisation, they can afford it, they should have used some of their profits to ensure proper security.

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the "call guardian" that screens all calls. You can buy a phone with this fitted (I got mine from BT).
The system is
when someone is calling you the screening is triggered and the caller is asked to announce themselves. If they don't want to (usually nuisance calls) then they don't get through. This system has caller display so if you recognise the number you can pick up the phone and you hear a message saying if you want to accept this call press 1 if you want to always accept calls from this number press 2 and so on........
I haven't had an unwanted caller since I bought this phone.
It is a very efficient method.

I'm thinking of having my landline removed (telephone) and just having an Internet connection. All I use the phone for is telling people to go forth and multiply!

Very interesting and I must confess to turning the air blue with similar cold calls. However I am plagued with calls from individuals looking for a Mrs Anderson or one of her family. Obviously she must have had my number at some time. I get really angry especially with having to repeat that I am not Mrs Anderson and that no-one of that name lives with me. Any suggestions how to deal with this?

One of my friends says "Oh, I'm SO glad you called. I REALLY wanted to tell you about Jesus"! the phone goes down immediately.

I usually say I don't have windows/kitchen/patio or whatever.

But since we moved and my number is ex-ish directory, i have very few unsolicited calls. Ex-ish? Well, if anyone goes to telephone directories, they can get the number, but it isn't listed in the telephone book.

I answer "Number Withheld" because that's what my GP and the hospital use. My opinion on TPS is that the main value is that anyone who does try to sell me something must be a crook. One problem I've found is the callers who say they are "Just doing a survey". I'm working up a completely fictitious personality for them as I assume it's part of an identity theft procedure.

The first time I got the "Windows support" I let him talk me very slowly through his procedure, while I was actually reading emails. When he wanted me to enter something that would take me to a website in Russia I told him it was time to part company. I thought it was worth wasting his time to keep him away from someone who might be taken in.

Another time I had "Windows support" he got part way through and gave up when I told him he had missed out part of the script!

If I'm not in a mood to talk to them I sometimes terminate the conversation very quickly by going into a very un PC rant about Pakki sex perverts phoning women.

I once inadvertently got the right answer. Someone was trying to get me to change phone provider and I said,'I think it's a good idea, but I just had a glass of wine with my dinner and make it a practice never to make a decision when I have had alcohol.
He Immediately said we aren't allowed to deal with someone who has had a drink, and rang off.

On the rare occasions I answer 'withheld' or 'International' calls I always tell them I have just had 'a new kitchen', 'solar panels', 'free insulation', ' a new boiler' etc etc, which usually does the trick.

Anya l love your 'misheard' technique. I have done the repeated 'Hello, Hello ....Who is that?... Is there anybody there?' thing which also makes them hang up! Yours is much more mischievous. I love it!

WilmaKnickersfit - I love your name. Go the extra mile with the TPS and ask for the name of the firm before you mention TPS. I have tried saying, "sorry I didn't catch who you were from" and then when they answer, I say "thank you for letting me know the name of your firm because I have Telephone Preference Service and now I know who to mention when I complain." Some apologise, some slam the phone down and one asked what TPS was.

Just in case some posters don't know about the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) this is the link to register

Telephone Preference Service

I've found nothing cuts a call short quicker than mentioning the TPS and they apologise profusely as they go because they are trained that way to help prevent their organisation getting into trouble for not following the industry code of practice.

This is the link for the Mail Preference Service to stop junk mail too

Mail Preference Service

A catalogue I have used for years would regularly phone me and try and persuade me to order. I asked a couple of times for a note to be put on my account saying I didn't want this and that I would call them
Eventually it was done by the man who I told very firmly "Look I know this is your job, and I admire you for getting out there. I'm not being rude but don't call me again.

I do feel sorry for the callers working in call centres (not the scammers of course), and appreciate that it could possibly be the only job they could get, but my home is my sanctuary, if I am interested in solar panels/free boilers or whatever I will make the enquiry.

If I do answer these calls I usually politely say I'm not interested and hang up, although I did have one woman who rang me back and demanded to know why I had hung up on her! That was a bit disconcerting. I must confess sometimes I do lead them on a bit with the "deaf/forgetful little old lady" act!

Yes Anya I know someone who was scammed and lost £1000s.
However, there are some legitimate call centre workers who struggle to make a living because these nasty people give their industry a bad name.
I know what that's like having worked for a well known market research company.

Anya that's why I said except for the phishing attempts.

My Mum and Step-Dad were affected by the recent TalkTalk security breach. Despite my Step-Dad being a retired police inspector, my Mum stopped him twice just in time from being fooled by phone scammers - one pretending to be from TalkTalk. It scared the wits out of them and now they don't answer the phone to unknown numbers (all the family now has their own ringtones) and they Google every unknown number. I mentioned my 80yr old FIL before. He lost £99 twice to the same company offering unnecessary Sky box insurance over the phone. He felt so stupid. Now he's registered with the Telephone Preference Service and has a piece of paper by the phone with a little speech to use if he gets unsolicited calls - when he's not playing his hearing aid tricks that is! But seriously, it's shocking how common this stuff is and it's not just the elderly who are targeted.

This was interesting Company fined £850,000

I let them rabbit on with a lot of confused old lady questions about their so called satellite knowledge of the "virus"
Eventually I say 'I can't find the Microsoft app on my ipad' guess what? They hang up

I had a young man at the door this afternoon offering me a hot tub, on the roof. What!!!????

Thing is Wilma and Nina these are not simply cold callers, these are scammers after your money, bank details, etc...it's a well known scam that's returning. Gullible people have had their bank accounts cleaned out

With you on that one Wilma

I confess I often feel sorry for the callers (phone or doorstep) because it's probably the only job they could find and it must be soul destroying work (not the phishing attempts of course) .

lol, sometimes good to wind them up.
I know of someone who let "David" do his little speech, paused and then asked him if he could ask him a question. "Yes, certainly sir" David replied (bet he was thinking he'd hooked one) and then the question. "is your Mother proud that she raised a liar and a thief?" followed by silence and then a click.

For my Dad we (all family friends know) always let the phone ring a couple of times, hang up and then ring again. He then knows it's someone he can safely talk too, anyone else takes a chance if he can be bothered to pick up.