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Getting nuisance callers cross!

(88 Posts)
DaphneBroon Thu 25-Aug-16 09:55:15

Yesterday I again had the Microsoft man , usual spiel. Because I know people have to make a living, I listened for a minute then politely but firmly said I don't have Microdoft, thank you, goodbye.
A moment or two later he rang back! Told me I was wrong and they were very worried about the activity on my computer confused the previous evening, this time I hung up.
Would you believe he RANG BACK! He was furious and opened the call by screeching "Are you MAD? Why did you hang up on me, you are very rude!!"
To which I replied that I had had hung up on him precisely to stop myself from being extremely rude!
If that call was being "recorded for training purposes" I hope somebody learns something, like better cold call technique maybe?
#avtolarf

12Michael Fri 26-Aug-16 08:14:32

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

harrigran Fri 26-Aug-16 08:04:17

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 grin

PamelaJ1 Fri 26-Aug-16 06:50:14

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!!

lefthanded Fri 26-Aug-16 01:45:28

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.

Ilrina Fri 26-Aug-16 00:38:24

list!! not lkist ( well it is late)

Ilrina Fri 26-Aug-16 00:37:48

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?

FarNorth Thu 25-Aug-16 21:36:56

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.

granjura Thu 25-Aug-16 21:05:18

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.

annodomini Thu 25-Aug-16 18:34:51

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.

Liaise Thu 25-Aug-16 18:12:10

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

Liaise Thu 25-Aug-16 18:10:00

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.

BBbevan Thu 25-Aug-16 18:07:25

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 smile

icanhandthemback Thu 25-Aug-16 17:53:01

I've never had one of these calls before but I am going to tell them, "It's alright, I'll get them to look at it work tomorrow...Hampshire Police are very good at fixing their property!"

numberplease Thu 25-Aug-16 17:45:50

I regularly say that the person they`re asking for doesn`t live here, they keep asking for Mrs. Smelly, as if I wouldn`t change it if that was really my name!
For the last few weeks, all through the lovely warm, sunny weather, I`ve been getting called by a recording which begins "Now the winter is here.....", haven`t they looked outside recently?

BlueBelle Thu 25-Aug-16 17:40:39

I go along with it for my amusement let them know I m by my computer and yes it's switched on and yes I can see the keys with the icons and can I see a key with c-t-r-l yes I can see that key and yes I can see the one next to it . Do you mean the one with letters on it? I ask yes they say what letters can you see shall I spell it for you yes please tell me the letters S....C....A....M phone goes down

fiorentina51 Thu 25-Aug-16 17:34:42

I also have a whistle beside my phone. I take great delight in letting rip with it if required.

petra Thu 25-Aug-16 17:08:26

I always give a ' new' cold caller a chance. I tell them that next time I will use my rape alarm whistle. They do, so I use the whistle. I'm gradually getting rid of them.

PRINTMISS Thu 25-Aug-16 16:48:31

If they can't pronounce our name properly (and it is difficult) they are told that they have the wrong number. If it is about a computer, I simply say I don't have one!

ninathenana Thu 25-Aug-16 16:38:07

The last one I could be bothered to speak to opened with. "Am I speaking to Mrs John Smith"
my reply "No, there's no Mrs. John Smith living here.
Which is true, I am not my husbands property grin

Charleygirl Thu 25-Aug-16 16:33:24

I have a friend who received one of those calls telling her that there was something wrong with her computer. The silly fool spent the next 45 minutes following instructions. Luckily she is so computer illiterate if that is the correct word that she had around 2 names for sending emails and would not know how to do on line shopping in a million years. They would not have got what they wanted. I was furious with her when she told me, I did not realise that she was so gullible. I have no idea why she has a state of the art laptop which sits on a table, unused. Ithink she is frightened of it.

durhamjen Thu 25-Aug-16 16:23:23

The latest one I get is BT Openreach about my line. Usually they are asking to speak to my husband.
Last week I told the man that he had died 4 and a half years ago.
He said, "Died! What did he do that for?" So I started explaining about brain tumours and grade 4 gliomas. I think he got cut off by his boss, as he was in the middle of saying something else and the line went dead.
Why are they always so aggressive?

NanaandGrampy Thu 25-Aug-16 12:56:53

I now string these scammers along , long enough to get some information out of them like a contact number, company name, something ! Then I put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and track them down online because , believe it or not , even scammers have an online presence.

Then I report them to the information commissioner and leave it to him to track them down and fine them.

However, many are in India or overseas and therefore not subject to our laws sadly.

varian Thu 25-Aug-16 12:00:53

The other I was called by someone telling me there was something wrong with my computer. I told him there was something wrong with his computer.

These scammers usually introduce themselves with a very British sounding name - Brian Thomson, Derek Jones, Catherine Harris, etc but have strangely un-British accents.

In some ways I feel sorry for them, but they are criminals and no-one should be exploited, defrauded or frightened.

ninathenana Thu 25-Aug-16 11:42:26

I've used all these with "microsoft person" depending on the mood I'm in.
The one that's really frustrating me at the moment is the silent call that as soon as you answer the line goes dead because they've dial 20 odd numbers at once and randomly pick who to speak to. I had 7 in two days last week angry

Granarchist Thu 25-Aug-16 11:30:55

I was told I was a bitch when I said, very politely, that I did not have a PC (I don't - I'm a Mac girl). I was so shocked I asked her to repeat it and she did!!!!