Getting nuisance callers cross!

There was someone on GN a little while back who strung the' Microsoft Man' along. I know it had something to do with replacement windows and Windows 10. It was very funny. If you are out there please post again

I'm probably stating the obvious but anyone moving house should go ex directory at their new house. We did this and have had very few calls except the foreign voice who announced that he was ringing from the council offices. I was rather rude so I hope it wasn't a genuine call. The people who bought our previous house had the number changed because of all the nuisance calls.

I remember now he did ring back and asked me why I put the phone down. Cheeky!

I have been known to tell the caller that Mrs Anno is dead, but that's rather tempting Providence, I suppose. I shuts them up though.

We took over my parents' number- so I get lots of nuisance call for them. And the person asks 'am I speaking to Mrs G' and I reply 'no she is no longer alive' so they ask 'can I speak to Mr G' ' hmm no, is no longer alive either.' It usually shuts them up. I try not to be rude to them, as it's not their fault - they are just trying to earn a living- and DD2 had to do cold calling for a while too.

I got two calls, a year apart, from someone who said he was selling pomegranate tablets. He told me at great length about the benefits of pomegranate and wanted me to order right away, giving him my card info of course.

In the 2nd call, I told him that I had looked at his website, which I had, and was most surprised that he didn't have online payment available. I advised him to get that on his website so that he would get more custom.

He was very polite, as was I.

I have had several calls from various scammers. If someone calls me and I don't know who they are I simply hang up without a word. Anyone I want to talk to has my mobile anyway, and is on my contact lkist. I wont wind these people up why would I want to waste my time?

list!! not lkist ( well it is late)

The only reason I have a landline phone is because I need it for the Internet. I have never used it and never given anyone the number (I couldn't even tell you the number without looking it up in my diary). So if it rings, I ignore it. Simples!

Anybody who knows me knows my mobile number - and apart from the occasional PPI call, I don't get many scam calls on that.

If you don't hang up but just leave the phone on the table does that stop them phoning other people? I know we don't want to cut ourselves off for too long but if that works that may frustrate them more and we wouldn't have to keep washing out our mouths with soap and water!!

Microsoft never ever ring anybody, if you need information from them you need to ring them. We regularly get these calls, last time a woman told me to switch on my computer I told her I didn't have one so she barked at me "put your DH on the line" big mistake, DH is way ruder than I am

They do not get far with me, if on caller display it shows an unrecognised number on the display , I let it run , and they soon get cut off as screening is shown on the phone display.
Mick

I don't usually engage with the cold caller, but as this particular one went into her spiel, she yawned loudly! I pointed out that the least she could do would be to sound interested, to which she answered " I'm sorry, I'm so tired trying to fool all the people" ! She went on to say that she desperately wants another job, but is unable to find one. As I wasn't sure whether this was another part of the scam, (I'm always a bit cynical) I wished her well and hung up. It was certainly a new twist on the normal cold call!

If they keep calling make a note of the number & if you ave caller display don't answer it after a while the calls stop. ther was someone on our local radio a few months back that said that these "companies" have a caller list & numbers that are regularly unanswered go to the bottom of the list whilst those that have longer call times are put towards the top - it doesn't matter how you deal with them, a computer doesn't know what the content of a call, how long it is.

If you really must feel polite just quickly say Oh I'll ger my son onto it he wors for the police (if they ston the line long enough) computer fraud department

god my typin!g works for the police (if they then stay on the line) computer fraud department. I suspect that will get passed for manual deletion from the list as they won't want to risk it.

I wonder why the phone companies can't block these if enough peopl report them.

I would google the phone number and see what comes up. There are many sites that record these nuisance calls and warn people against them so you can add the number that called you. There is also advice as to where to report them so that they can be blocked or stopped. It doesn't help after you have taken the call but I tend to let anything that I don't recognise go to voicemail and check any unrecognised numbers.

My new smartphone sometimes says 'telemarketer' when I get a call so I know to ignore it and then block it. They don't catch everything but it is quite good.

As many of these calls come from call-centres on the Indian sub-continent, I have an approach which works extremely well. I politely respond to their requests, making sure I divulge no personal information, then, when they're hooked, quietly ask them if they believe in "Karma". When they inevitably reply in the affirmative, I remind them that what they're doing is illegal, brings shame on them and on their family, and will be paid for by punishment in the next life. On every occasion so far, that's when they hang up..and no call-backs...

My favourite for nuisance callers is to say that they need to speak to my partner and I'll go and get him. I then just leave the phone off the hook (well you gransnetters will know what I mean!) --I usually find if I return about half an hour later that they've gone away. Can't think why.

I've had the PPI calls and the Indian gentleman ringing to tell me that my Windows computer is faulty and others telling me that I have won a cruise(!), but this week there was a different one ,telling me that the insurance on my SKY system had nearly run out and needed to be renewed. I was so pleased to be able to tell him, quite truthfully, that I don't have SKY so please get off my phone.

*BBbevan - I posted this a little while ago.

I received a phone call this morning which showed on my caller ID as an international number. All my family live abroad, including my 90 year old mother and my brother who is currently being treated for cancer so I answered it to be greeted by someone claiming to being doing an energy survey for the government. As I had some free time I decided to have some fun so put on my little old lady voice. Call went like this:

Nuisance caller: You are entitled to a free energy survey

Me: Oh at my age I'm afraid I don't have the energy I used to.

NC: No that's not what I mean, for instance do you have double glazed windows.

Me: I'm not sure - my nephew deals with all that for me but I think he did say that he has recently put in Windows 10.

NC: No I mean the windows of your house, are they double glazed

Me: What does that mean

NC: Well if they are double glazed you won't lose any heat out of the windows.

Me: Oh I don't lose any heat out of them, when I have the heating on the windows are closed.

NC: Hangs up

I've started to sing "The wheels on the bus" very loudly and for as long as it takes for them to hang up - and I know an awful lot of verses!!!

My immediate reaction is to ask to speak to their line manager. The phone goes dead. On one rare occasion they did put someone else on the line. I told him I was reporting him to the TPS, and he must remove my number from his list. Phone went dead. We get very few calls now.

If I get a call from I number I don't know, I pick up the phone and say nothing. Most times the line cuts off. On the rare occasion someone says 'Hello?' it is a friend or family member ringing from their office!

I get several of these calls in a week despite apparently being signed up to Telephone Preference Service which is, I understand, unable to deal with these overseas generated ones. Microsoft, Bank charges and energy based ones seem most common - I, too, was bemused on the hottest day of the year to receive one starting Now that winter is here... - but this week I had a new one. We understand the service agreement on your appliances is about to expire. Strange as I have no such agreements. I asked the caller to wait whilst I recorded that, meaning to write it down as I keep a list and check numbers later by Googling them. The phone was slammed down and I realised they thought I meant I was recoding the actual call. Is this the new way to deal with cold calls?

Great thread this one - can't decide if I'm being too polite when I thank them for calling but tell them that I don't accept cold calls and then put the phone down. Generally we check caller ident and don't answer but sometimes they use a number that could just be valid.