middle aged moment and Microsoft

Don't get your knickes in a twist Anya and your gang. I don't care what anyone does just that when people castigate me I get hurt because I m one of the genuine ones. I hope you get lots of calls and they wake you up/disturb your tv watching etc. because you will never stop them. My work is highly regulated so I have no worries and if you lot cant be bothered to be polite to people then that's your problem, I can tell the sort of class a person is by their reaction at the door, I get many rough ill brought up people who are rude, the really middle class nice people are much kinder.

You don't get the difference, do you Mary XYX

What difference? I'm registered with TPS so any salesperson who calls me must be a crook. That includes "Windows Support", some of whom say they are in California but are usually working in Bangalore. It also includes "About your motor accident" and "We can help you reclaim your PPI payments".

I'm assuming Ethel isn't one of these, but Ethel - do you phone from "Number Withheld" like they do? In which case how would the mrs website help me? "Hello MRS, somebody on an unknown number says they are genuine ..."

There is no gang, ethel, you are defending yourself before you are attacked. No-one says that you are breaking the law, they are saying that there are bogus callers out there who are out to get financial details and swick unsuspecting people, and there are also callers who won't take no for an answer and keep calling and pestering. Telling the difference in the first twenty seconds is very difficult.

Also being polite and sweet-natured is difficult when you are called several times by various cold callers when trying to cook a meal or watch a favourite TV programme, telling you that you qualify for a Government subsidy on a new boiler (which you finally discover is only under certain conditions) or how you had a car accident that you don't remember and they can help you get compensation for your whiplash injury. If the sixth call is you, then you are likely to get the same short and dusty answer as numbers three, four and five.

mary I don't phone anyone Im a face to face caller and I carry ID and the companys head office contacts, we don't work from Bangalore and I carry a letter from the local police to say I have been approved to work in the area. The police have my name, company details and car registration. On the rare occasions I am researching something really top secret I have to abide by the data protection act and keep all details very secure.
Some of my work is too confidential to put any hint of it on this thread so I cant go into it very much.

I am happy if anyone calls the police I know I am above board. All my point in this thread is that I dislike the silly remarks people make to callers, everyone is entitled to politeness and I feel for those who are doing call centre work who have to tolerate such nastiness. It must be easier to just put the phone down.

When I go back to being self employed I will be under the same rules, my house must have certain security levels to protect anyones ID.

can I just amend what I said that 'on the rare occasions I am researching something really top secret I have to abide by the data protecton act', I should have said I always abide by the data protection act. On the rare occasions that I phone someone I use my home landline or my personal mobile and have never had any problems, I am confident that no one would abuse that. (number not withheld).

"Everyone is entitled to politeness"

Irony is not dead !!!

I have said all I intend to on this thread so make any remarks you like. I don't care I love my work and b.......s to anyone who tries to belittle me.

No one tries to belittle you ethel but you see insults to yourself where none were directed at you, exactly as Elegran said.

But you are guilty of reacting quite rudely to non-existent 'attacks' as you see them. So yes, take yourself off before you expose your true self any more.

bye bye, I think the A team are on tonight.

Bye