I'm so proud of my wife...

DaleB

DaleB

Final Approach
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DaleB
I'm downstairs getting a cup of coffee when the phone rings. Unknown caller, no caller ID. Now, normally I just ignore those, or hit the button on the phone twice to answer and immediately hang up. Not her. She answers.

It's a live person -- rare, these days. You can hear the loud bullpen call center noise int he background; they have a lot of people making these absolutely illegal telemarketing calls. It's "Sarah" or something or other, from "Dealer Services", calling about my 2011 Ford F150... they just need to confirm the mileage for the extended warranty. Hey, just like the last thousand illegal telemarketing calls we've gotten...

Wifey gives her a good five seconds of dead silence, then BURSTS into tears and chokes out... "You have no idea what you're talking about!! That truck was destroyed in a fiery crash that KILLED MY HUSBAND!!"

"Sarah" is still trying to stammer out a heartfelt apology when Wifey drops the call...

I do love her so.
 
Awesome! I've taught my kids that if they every get a live caller they are to use the best broken accent they can muster and say "I so sorry, I no speak moron."

....yep, you're looking at father of the year here.
 
We had someone call trying to sell us a refi on our house. My wife tells them our house is paid off. They then ask if we'd want to refi our cars. Wife tells them the cars are paid off. They ask if we have anything that still has a loan on. She says, the airplane. "You own an airplane?" they ask. "Yes, do you want to offer a refi on that?" No, sorry.
 
I've answered a call "please don't hurt her, just tell me where to send the money."

But I got to give props to the OPs wife for quick thinking.
 
The only ones I string along are debt collectors. They are the scum of the earth and deserve such treatment. I learned the hard way that laws protect the dead beat and not the innocent bystander when some clown listed my cell phone number as his work number. No amount of convincing (including calling the agency management or the police department where these idiots were located) could convince them to stop harassing my phone.
 
My favorite technique: Having readily available a recording of a fax machine attempting to connect and blasting it into the mic over and over again until they hang up.
 
I used to think stuff like this was funny too. Until my mother took a job as a telemarketer and relayed her experiences. I knew she would be doing something else, if she could. Now I try to to just say "No thanks, have a great day" and hang up...
 
idahoflier said:
Now I try to to just say "No thanks, have a great day" and hang up...
Click to expand...

If all it took to stop the scamming thieves from calling again and again was to say "No thanks", then nobody would be complaining. They call one time, you tell them to stop, they stop. No problem.

In the real world, however, it does not work like that.
 
These days you don't even get a human most of the time. It's always a recording that offers to transfer you to an agent.
The last HUMAN call I got I think was Xentel (a different kind of scam) on behalf of the police in a city twenty miles down the road.
 
smv said:
My favorite technique: Having readily available a recording of a fax machine attempting to connect and blasting it into the mic over and over again until they hang up.
Click to expand...
I used to have the "the number you have dialed has been disconnected" tone as my voicemail message...
 
idahoflier said:
I used to think stuff like this was funny too. Until my mother took a job as a telemarketer and relayed her experiences. I knew she would be doing something else, if she could. Now I try to to just say "No thanks, have a great day" and hang up...
Click to expand...
If I could be nice and they wouldn't call back I would, but I've begged an pleaded with them to stop calling. Now I'm mean, angry and rude. Sometimes I put them on hold. Sometimes we keep transferring them around the office. Sometimes I go so far as to ask who they represent and what their address is so I can sent them a bill. Sometimes I act interested just so they aren't calling someone else. Anything to get them to stop illegally calling me!!!
 
flyingron said:
The only ones I string along are debt collectors. They are the scum of the earth and deserve such treatment. I learned the hard way that laws protect the dead beat and not the innocent bystander when some clown listed my cell phone number as his work number. No amount of convincing (including calling the agency management or the police department where these idiots were located) could convince them to stop harassing my phone.
Click to expand...
No. However, I have found one thing that does seem to work. We had one of these scumbag firms calling here for years. We explained, over and over, that there WAS no Calvin Smith here, never has been, never heard of him, we've had this number since the 1980s, etc. Didn't matter. What I found out was, many of these places are bottom-feeding lawyers who buy up written-off debt for a penny or two on the dollar, and will never stop calling. They play the odds that eventually a certain percentage of people will give them something, just to get them to stop. Of course my understanding is that if you pay even one penny... you've just admitted that hte debt is yours, and they can go after you for it in full. Or so I was told once.

Anyway, I got the name and address of the attorney. I mailed a cease and desist letter. No bueno. I sent another, with a copy to the FTC and FCC. No bueno. Finally I fired off another round of formal complaint letters, sent certified mail, return receipt. They went to the FCC, the FTC, and the state bar association where the lawyer was based (Philly, if I recall correctly), as well as the bar association in my state just for good measure. Oh, and a copy to Mr. Scumbag. That finally, after several years of calls ranging from monthly to twice a day, got them to stop.

idahoflier said:
I used to think stuff like this was funny too. Until my mother took a job as a telemarketer and relayed her experiences. I knew she would be doing something else, if she could. Now I try to to just say "No thanks, have a great day" and hang up...
Click to expand...
I don't have a gripe with telemarketers who work for firms that obey the law. Why? Because they never call me!! We're on the Do-Not-Call list, and have been since it was first created. New companies we deal with that DO have an excuse to call, get told very politely that we don't want them to make marketing calls to us, and they stop.

That leaves the people making illegal calls for scammers and businesses that intentionally ignore the law. Screw them. They get absolutely no mercy from me, period. Don't like getting treated like dirt? Find a job where you're not breaking the law every time you pick up the phone, pal.

Note that I'm not saying your mom does this; I know some people are abusive to all... but if she's doing outbound cold calling, yeah, it's going to suck. Oh well.
 
I had a collection agency call me looking for my brother. I said I have no idea where he is but if you find him let me know he owes me money too. They stopped calling.

ETA: Then I called my brother and we had a good laugh.
 
What?? You mean that Hilton Rewards Program does not have a call center in Hamilton, MT (I have a 406 area code on my phone) and I really did not win that 14 Day European River Cruise?

:mad:
 
I get alerted when Keith Tilley's child misses school, and bugged by several of his debt collectors.

I had one recently call me, a debt collector, looking for me. Apparently, years ago, I let someone borrow my car and they took it on a toll road, MIL probably. I told the lm years ago I wasn't driving it and shouldn't have to pay it. It's now up to $137 dollars. I asked the most recent girl what they would do to me if I didn't pay it, she said, "keep calling you, maybe send letters." I said, "man, that's going to be rough. You go on and waste you time, postage and paper, but I ain't paying for something I didn't do." The I blocked their number. If they ever threatened real penalties, I'll probably pay it, cause I like driving privileges and freedom.
 
I don’t have any problem with telemarketers. My problem is the people that buy from telemarketing. They are the reason we all get the calls.
 
Pugs said:
"The job is done but there is blood everywhere. What do you want me to do?"
Click to expand...

Wait, who is this? Nevermind, just stay on the line. We'll get it all fixed soon. Don't go anywhere.

The new iOS for iphone has a feature that if a caller is not on your contacts list, their call goes straight to voicemail. You never hear it ring, just check for voicemails every so often.
 
bflynn said:
The new iOS for iphone has a feature that if a caller is not on your contacts list, their call goes straight to voicemail. You never hear it ring, just check for voicemails every so often.
Click to expand...

Not a viable option when your cell phone is your business number.
 
Years back I had a friend whose last name was Nutter , he had 2 cute sisters.
When I would call and his dad answered it was , "Nut House , head nut speaking."
 
Fiveslide said:
I get alerted when Keith Tilley's child misses school, and bugged by several of his debt collectors.

I had one recently call me, a debt collector, looking for me. Apparently, years ago, I let someone borrow my car and they took it on a toll road, MIL probably. I told the lm years ago I wasn't driving it and shouldn't have to pay it. It's now up to $137 dollars. I asked the most recent girl what they would do to me if I didn't pay it, she said, "keep calling you, maybe send letters." I said, "man, that's going to be rough. You go on and waste you time, postage and paper, but I ain't paying for something I didn't do." The I blocked their number. If they ever threatened real penalties, I'll probably pay it, cause I like driving privileges and freedom.
Click to expand...
So you let a friend rack up a bill, and aren't having them pay it, even though you are being annoyed about it?
 
Kenny Phillips said:
So you let a friend rack up a bill, and aren't having them pay it, even though you are being annoyed about it?
Click to expand...

Yes, that is accurate. I couldn't tell you who was driving the car, just that I was not even in the same state at the time. Seems like their threats are pretty toothless, it crossed that toll bridge over 5 years ago and apparently they can't even put a derogatory remark on my credit. I might have paid it if they could do that.
 
Well, do what you want, but unlike some traffic violations caught with camera, the tolls probably belong to the owner of the vehicle regardless of who was responsible for driving it through the toll road.
 
I usually don't answer unknown calls except for some times when I'm expecting one but don't know their number. If there's a pause or robot I just hang up, but if it's a human I wait until I'm in the middle of MY sentence and hang up on myself. If you were on the other end and I did that again on the second call, how many more times would you try to talk to me?
 
dbahn said:
I usually don't answer unknown calls except for some times when I'm expecting one but don't know their number. If there's a pause or robot I just hang up, but if it's a human I wait until I'm in the middle of MY sentence and hang up on myself. If you were on the other end and I did that again on the second call, how many more times would you try to talk to me?
Click to expand...

I don't know. Why don't you post your phone number and let's see.?? :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
he just might offer that extended warranty you've been waiting for....o_O
 
The number I give out to people is what was my land line number that I had in Northern Virginia for 21+ years. I ported it to a virtual service when I moved to NC. That number along with the catch 855-RON-MARG number have a "Press 1 for Ron, 2 for Margy, 3 for either" outgoing message that the robocallers haven't figured out to hack their way past. Neither do we get robocalls at the 855-FLY-NC26 number which is on file as the airport managers number. The calls that go through are direct to my cell (which I don't answer if I don't recognize) or our NC house landline.

I used to love NOMOROBO back when I was in NoVa but CenturyLink is such a disaster of a local phone provider (don't even get me started on their internet) that I can't get it here.
 
I have been known to give 907-442-2279 as my phone number. It is recorded information that some pilots use.

I have also used 907-442-3351. It is answered by a live person, and they might use the line, ''what is your emergency''...
 
DaleB said:
I'm downstairs getting a cup of coffee when the phone rings. Unknown caller, no caller ID. Now, normally I just ignore those, or hit the button on the phone twice to answer and immediately hang up. Not her. She answers.

It's a live person -- rare, these days. You can hear the loud bullpen call center noise int he background; they have a lot of people making these absolutely illegal telemarketing calls. It's "Sarah" or something or other, from "Dealer Services", calling about my 2011 Ford F150... they just need to confirm the mileage for the extended warranty. Hey, just like the last thousand illegal telemarketing calls we've gotten...

Wifey gives her a good five seconds of dead silence, then BURSTS into tears and chokes out... "You have no idea what you're talking about!! That truck was destroyed in a fiery crash that KILLED MY HUSBAND!!"

"Sarah" is still trying to stammer out a heartfelt apology when Wifey drops the call...

I do love her so.
Click to expand...

That's a good one! When Sarah calls me I respond gleefully, "Oh great, I'm glad you called, hold on a couple minutes and I'll run out and get the milage"...

Then I put the phone down and go about my day.
 
I usually turn it around and pretend I’m the telemarketer. That really confuses them.
 
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