Strange Sales Campaign

[Dave Ward]

I've had a few bizarre emails in the last week - not phishing, or scams, but genuine sales ads - last week I had an email from Kingroon, urging me to buy a new 3D printer for Mother's Day! - and today one saying celebrate St Patrick's Day with a new 3D printer - I have no idea what world these people live in, but they seem to have an odd way of celebrating things!
Dave

[Gern]

Not quite as daft as those mails asking if you want to buy another Item X having just bought one!

[Waspie]

Not quite as daft as those mails asking if you want to buy another Item X having just bought one!

No one can disagree with that. Winds me up. Screwfix, are top of my hit parade for that one!!!

[Dave Ward]

I have fun with cold call telesales - conservatories & loft insulation especially ( I live in a mid-floor flat! ). Replacement gas boilers for central heating is a pet hate - no gas mains in any local block of flats!
Dave

[Miko]

I have fun with cold call telesales - conservatories & loft insulation especially ( I live in a mid-floor flat! ). Replacement gas boilers for central heating is a pet hate - no gas mains in any local block of flats!
Dave

Get them round to give you a quote, see what they say? Ha!

Miko (refer telesales callers to lonely people who would enjoy the interaction and conversation of someone being extra nice to them!)

[Mark1]

I bought my desk online from an office supply store and have received lots of promotional offers since. Todays offer suggested i might like to take advantage of their competitively priced .....tampax!! So my female staff dont have to run to the shop lol.

[stillp]

Not quite as daft as those mails asking if you want to buy another Item X having just bought one!

What's really annoying is when the shoe you a lower price for the thing you just bought.
Pete

[Guest]

cold call telesales

That has been pretty much, if not entirely, eradicated in this country. First there was a “don’t phone me”-register, and any company cold-calling you if you had put your number in that, could be fined. As that proved to be a huge success, for reasons only marketeers can probably not understand, lawmakers got their act together, and it’s been forbidden by law since 1 July 2021 to cold-call people. The only exceptions are if you have indicated that you don’t mind it; if you’ve been a customer of the company calling you within the last three years; or if you donated to, did volunteer work for, or attended a meeting of a charity that’s calling you. Any other reason for cold-calling you, and you can report them to an agency that can administer fines for the offence. Plus, if somebody does call you, whether allowed or not, all you need to do is tell them you don’t want them to, at which point they’ll again be breaking the law if they continue or try again later.

Much improved compared to how it used to be. About the only calls like this I get, are from the occasional scammer, and those are easy to spot because they start talking in English, usually with a South Asian accent (though I suspect I’m one of the few people around here who can recognise those ). Also easy to get rid of by saying, “No, you’re not of <whatever company they claim to be from>, you’re a scammer” and putting down the phone.

[Waspie]

That has been pretty much, if not entirely, eradicated in this country. First there was a “don’t phone me”-register, and any company cold-calling you if you had put your number in that, could be fined. As that proved to be a huge success, for reasons only marketeers can probably not understand, lawmakers got their act together, and it’s been forbidden by law since 1 July 2021 to cold-call people. The only exceptions are if you have indicated that you don’t mind it; if you’ve been a customer of the company calling you within the last three years; or if you donated to, did volunteer work for, or attended a meeting of a charity that’s calling you. Any other reason for cold-calling you, and you can report them to an agency that can administer fines for the offence. Plus, if somebody does call you, whether allowed or not, all you need to do is tell them you don’t want them to, at which point they’ll again be breaking the law if they continue or try again later.

Much improved compared to how it used to be. About the only calls like this I get, are from the occasional scammer, and those are easy to spot because they start talking in English, usually with a South Asian accent (though I suspect I’m one of the few people around here who can recognise those :smiling3: ). Also easy to get rid of by saying, “No, you’re not of <whatever company they claim to be from>, you’re a scammer” and putting down the phone.

We have a service called TPS, (Telephone Preference Service). Register your mobile and land line number with them and cold calling is reduced by about 95%. I say 95% as there are a few companies have very sophisticated software to fool your phone into thinking it's a genuine non business call!! If I suspect it's a cold call that has got by the TPS system then I initially mention I am registered with TPS, that usually terminates the call instantly. If they persist I ask them to email me as if they had my telephone they would have my email address and I would terminate the call.

[Dave Ward]

Ha - we have system called Telephone Preference Service that is supposed to do the same - it doesn't work! The BT phone system allows illegal callers to 'spoof' their telephone number, so that seems to come from inside the UK , even though it's plainly a sub-continent call centre - it's a nuisance - it makes me rude, which isn't in my nature at all ( honest ). I really wouldn't have a landline, but for the internet & my brother who won't use a mobile!
Dave

[Waspie]

Ha - we have system called Telephone Preference Service that is supposed to do the same - it doesn't work! The BT phone system allows illegal callers to 'spoof' their telephone number, so that seems to come from inside the UK , even though it's plainly a sub-continent call centre - it's a nuisance - it makes me rude, which isn't in my nature at all ( honest ). I really wouldn't have a landline, but for the internet & my brother who won't use a mobile!
Dave

Hahaha, beat ya to it Dave!! I've had very few issues with TPS.

[Gern]

That has been pretty much, if not entirely, eradicated in this country. First there was a “don’t phone me”-register, and any company cold-calling you if you had put your number in that, could be fined. As that proved to be a huge success, for reasons only marketeers can probably not understand, lawmakers got their act together, and it’s been forbidden by law since 1 July 2021 to cold-call people. The only exceptions are if you have indicated that you don’t mind it; if you’ve been a customer of the company calling you within the last three years; or if you donated to, did volunteer work for, or attended a meeting of a charity that’s calling you. Any other reason for cold-calling you, and you can report them to an agency that can administer fines for the offence. Plus, if somebody does call you, whether allowed or not, all you need to do is tell them you don’t want them to, at which point they’ll again be breaking the law if they continue or try again later.

Much improved compared to how it used to be. About the only calls like this I get, are from the occasional scammer, and those are easy to spot because they start talking in English, usually with a South Asian accent (though I suspect I’m one of the few people around here who can recognise those :smiling3: ). Also easy to get rid of by saying, “No, you’re not of <whatever company they claim to be from>, you’re a scammer” and putting down the phone.

I used to ask female callers if their children knew they were a liar and a thief. Surprising how many hung up! Now I just hang up.

[David Lovell]

Like us all if its a press number put phone down ,love it when its a live call oh I can hand out abuse , we still get a lot of religious door knockers i listen for a couple of minuets then tell them I belive god was a astronaut (very sincerely) and do they hold with my beliefs usualy after a short wide eyed open mouthed pause they beat a heasty retreat. Dave

[Guest]

The BT phone system allows illegal callers to 'spoof' their telephone number

This is a legitimate feature of all modern phone systems. The reason behind it is so that employees of large companies can, for example, call customers but have the company’s central phone number shown at the other end rather than the one for the direct line to the desk they’re calling from.

Of course, about 99.9% of people using this feature, do so for criminal purposes … Which could easily have been foreseen when the feature was first proposed, but somehow, nobody on the committee did :rolling:

so that seems to come from inside the UK , even though it's plainly a sub-continent call centre

That’s another advantage here: all of the scam calls I’ve had over the years have been from a spoofed foreign number. Phone rings, it shows a number with +33 (France), +49 (Germany), or whatever — I don’t know anyone who would phone me from a foreign country, so whenever I see one I can assume right away it’s a scammer until they prove me wrong.

[Waspie]

Like us all if its a press number put phone down ,love it when its a live call oh I can hand out abuse , we still get a lot of religious door knockers i listen for a couple of minuets then tell them I belive god was a astronaut (very sincerely) and do they hold with my beliefs usualy after a short wide eyed open mouthed pause they beat a heasty retreat. Dave

If it’s Jehovah’s lot, I tell them I’m a Mormon. And vicy vercy!!
Works every time.
Mother in law told me that one.