Nuisance phone calls

NO, I DO NOT WANT MY OVEN PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED!!!

Is anybody else getting these automated calls?

If you listen long enough you get to option 5 - remove yourself from our database and then the empty promise that you won't get anymore calls from <name of company>

and if you hang up, they are still there starting from the beginning next time you pick up the receiver.

I don't like phones and doubly don't like this sort of call on mine.

Lighten up Dave.
Life's too short.

Frank

Indeed, everyone shares your frustration. If I am amind to, I pretend they are speaking to a daft deaf old sod that ultimately frustrates them to hang up. Also if I have the time I may string them along for an age then finally say NO !!!!!!

Paramedic wrote:Indeed, everyone shares your frustration. If I am amind to, I pretend they are speaking to a daft deaf old sod that ultimately frustrates them to hang up. Also if I have the time I may string them along for an age then finally say NO !!!!!!

I sometimes do that but this is an automated call, no point stringing them along

boxerman wrote:Lighten up Dave.
Life's too short.

Frank

sorry Frank, too stressed to think up a witty reply

Yes sorry, only when I sent my reply did I realise you specifically referred to automated calls.

Silly old sod that I am.

We used to get loads of junk calls till we got a BT8500 phone. It stops them all and wasnt dear (from Tesco) we got the 3 pack

roli wrote:We used to get loads of junk calls till we got a BT8500 phone. It stops them all and wasnt dear (from Tesco) we got the 3 pack

So did we.

It's brilliant.

I registered my home phone and mobile with TPS and they all stopped. 

http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html

If its an automatic call then I press the number to request a call back. When someone phones a couple of days later I string them along for a bit and then tell them that I am so happy to have wasted some of their time and to please remove my number from their database.

KimF wrote:I registered my home phone and mobile with TPS and they all stopped. 

You were lucky then Kim.

We did the same some years ago and to begin with it made a difference, but it wasn't long before they started again. Hence the BT8500 phones which put you much more in direct control. We needed new phones anyway, so the decision wasn't difficult.

Simple, get the butler to answer the phone....Automated calls if you don't have a flash BT8500 not much fun to be had really...

I have lots of fun with cold callers though, answer the phone Taxi and just insist your are the taxi company and where do they want to go. Hopefully you get "I don't want to go anywhere" then reply "Well I'll tell you where you can .....go"
 I enjoy being Falmouth Coastguard "Are you sinking" or sometimes the mad farmer especially for computer companies.. " Pooter, no boy, baint be no pooter ere, I just shout to Jethro when I want him or send the darg" " Gotta darg do he".....

You get the idea...

Gromit wrote:

KimF wrote:I registered my home phone and mobile with TPS and they all stopped. 

You were lucky then Kim.

We did the same some years ago and to begin with it made a difference, but it wasn't long before they started again. Hence the BT8500 phones which put you much more in direct control. We needed new phones anyway, so the decision wasn't difficult.

Same experience here too. Stopped for a while then overseas calls (not in TPS scheme) started and now 3 or 4 calls a day. Most of which I can ignore without needing a new phone but we were expecting a call from a friend today so couldn't ignore it.

I heard that Kraftwerk - the German techno band had a phone in their studio without a ringer. You had to arrange to call them at <insert time>. They would pick up the phone at that time. If you were there at that time you could talk to them.

We just have our answerphone on all the time. If we don't recognise the number that comes up on our caller display we don't answer or if it is a withheld one. Unfortunately my aged mother has an ex-directory number that comes up as withheld but she knows to speak and we will pick up. The other problem is that I am having some treatment at hospital and they use a withheld number and they don't seem to want to leave messages so I have been answering all withheld number calls recently

Answered a withheld number call the other day where the chap on the phone mentioned a shareholding that he assumed I still had. I don't know whether he believed me when I told him I didn't have any of the shares. I suspect it was one of those boiler room scams.

I had an unusual call last week.

"Hello, I am calling from BT." he said.
I replied "why would you want to call me?".

his reply, "sorry, I meant I'm from Microsoft. We believe you are running illegal software."

I noticed a cup of coffee nearby which got more of my attention. I don't know how long he stayed talking.

Nope, never had a nuisance phone call. 

Donkeys years ago we were the first people locally to go with Cable and Wireless for phone calls. They morphed into Virgin over the ages and we stuck with them and kept the number. Everyone else locally has a phone number beginning with 5. Ours begins with 2. This we reckon means we are not on any automated lists so get no calls.

I wish to pass on a huge "THANK YOU" to those of you who brought to my attention of the BT 8500 phone system. Our phone system was in need of updating, so, ....

As a result of your advice we now have the newer BT 8600 triple handset system and within 20 minutes of setting it up received another foreign based nuisance call and "Blocked" it. Later I witnessed 2 further calls automatically blocked from the same caller - wonderful, fantastic, great. How much I look forward to blocking these unwanted calls!

Again, THANK YOU. Also, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Regards, Barry, Ve, and our 4 Chihuahuas (3 very recent new ones!)

Had several, I'm from Microsoft, your computer has a virus, calls. My response is to act thick(very easy in my case!) and whilst he's telling me which keys to press, I'm logging onto Youtube and finding The Halleluja Chorus. Turn volume to full, leave phone by speaker and go and put the kettle on.

Best buy of 2016 was the BT8500 phone with 'Call Guard'; we have gone from being plagued with nuisance calls to zero.

Happy New Year to all forum members

We have been driven mad with talk talk 'you have a computer virus'. I normally just leave the phone off the hook while I say I am getting my laptop but Groundhogs idea is great. Bet I won't get another nuisance call now 

I got one of the. "Hello, my name is Mary and I'm calling from.........." at 6.45am yesterday morning  

Must say I'm surprised that none of you heard my reply to her  

My next task is to convince SWMBO that we need the new phones  

probably couldn't hear you as I was still fuming at the call we got at a similar time on the first - yes 6:45 on a lay-in Sunday. The only reason I didn't complain loudly was because it was an automated call asking if I had considered fitting new windows.

Funnily enough, I had one yesterday, Plus, I'd just read this thread, & it was fresh in the memory-bank, so I thought I'd have a laugh.
Same old, same old, don't even remember what the caller was on about, so I let him gaggle-on for a while, then said 'hello', he did it all over again, 'hello', & so on, after a while he hung up for some reason.