[Closed] how abusive can you be to cold callers?

I have been known to put in subject access requests in an attempt to find out where they got my information

Whistle one I've heard about, pretty unfair unless its a complete arsehole who won't leave you alone.

And yeah I said in op they have jobs to do. My sis worked selling insurance for a while, she denied it was cold calling and the ringees had signed up to be contacted, pretty sure it was one of those "tick here if you do not wish to not be contacted" when you sign up for stuff. gave her a fair bit of gyp about "tepid" calling.

It's not the fault of the poor git trying to earn a living ringing you.
I just put the phone on mute, they get e ten minute break, there company gets a big phone bill.
The accident ones,
"i didn't realise I could claim for that, it wasn't her fault, she just got a bit overzealous with her teeth while...."

Silent calls are worse than the ones where someone tried to sell you something, IMO.

As abusive as I like.

Anyone who abuses people cold calling is a complete arsehole in my opinion.

Then your subsequent posts.....

Not entirely true. I have only ever once 'abused' a cold caller.

He rang me trying to sell me a new phone as my contract as due. I politely responded that yes it was due but I had already agreed a new contract etc, so thank you but no thank you. He then completely ignored me statement and went on to continue selling to me. I told him to please stop as I am not interested and in a bit of a hurry today. He continued ignoring my polite request for a third time. At which point I exploded down the phone at him.

What he didn't know was.my wife had been in a very serious accident the night before and I was trying to get shopping in for her hospital stay. He didn't need to know this, but he should have respected my rights when I asked him nicely.

I just hang up, dont see the point in anything else. Well, unless you are 12, then i could see how you might find it funny.

Giving them abuse is too easy... have some fun instead:

Just ignore it, or answer it and hang up once you know what it is.

Why should I have to?

The idea of a 'job' is that you provide goods/services etc that the other person (the 'customer') wants from you. You are rather missing the point if you think that other people are there to be scammed so that you can earn some money. I object to people phoning up & trying to find the gullible or the vulnerable and make a living out of getting them to take something they neither need nor asked for. This is why cold callers get abuse. If you don't like it....don't cold call.

Sometimes when i am at a freinds house, so the be nice ruiles dont apply.

Caller, Hello could i speak to mr herbert please,

me, sorry he isnt here today,but can i help

caller,and you are, sir,

me, no just plain Dr im sorry,

caller, hello Dr could i take your surname and first name please,

me, yes its Dr Who,

Caller, Dr Who, Dr Who what is is your first name please,

me, People just call me DR,

caller,Could you please tell me the address youre at,
please,

me,Galafray, 15 billion light years from your sun, currently in orbit around uranus,

Caller, do you have a postcode please,

Me, postcodes are for earthlings, not intergalactic time travelers.

Caller this is a wind up, right.

Me , i have no concept as to what a wind up is,

Caller, but youre said youre Dr Who, and youre from the planet Galafray,

me, YES THAT IS CORRECT, MUST GO, X FACTOR HAS JUST STARTED,

Dont put the phone down, but listen to the conversation on the phone as the person tells his workmates he has had a weirdo on the phone.

[b]He then completely ignored me statement[/b] and went on to continue selling to me.

My Grandfather simply says "Ring here again and I will find you then murder you"

Also have a look at you tube, angry bt customer, it may not be available now.

I hang up...... not until I've given them abuse though. "F... off you c... wasting my time with your f...ing bellend phone calls."

Makes me happy. 8)

Whoa anyone who blows a whistle or abusive needs to grow up.

Just say no thanks/bye and hang up.

How small minded. The mark of the person is how you conduct yourself-manners.

The mark of the person is how you conduct yourself-manners.

Indeed. Some would do well to realise that translates to how you conduct yourself in a forum too.

❓ do you need help constructing analogies that work?

He rang me trying to sell me a new phone as my contract as due. I politely responded that yes it was due but I had already agreed a new contract etc, so thank you but no thank you. He then completely ignored me statement and went on to continue selling to me. I told him to please stop as I am not interested and in a bit of a hurry today. He continued ignoring my polite request for a third time. At which point I exploded down the phone at him.
What he didn't know was.my wife had been in a very serious accident the night before and I was trying to get shopping in for her hospital stay. He didn't need to know this, but he should have respected my rights when I asked him nicely.

Do you not know how to hang up the phone ?

If you do, that's what I would recommend.

There's some brilliant YouTube footage of a guy in the US pretending to be a homicide detective questioning the cold caller from the "murder scene" - how did you get this number, have you ever contacted the deceased before, what's your office address? etc etc.

I sing my own hold music? Enya really works, they don't stay on the line long for that one.

Do you not know how to hang up the phone ?

Yup, but that normally means they will ring again.

I prefer to make them aware what I think about them.... Unsolicited feedback perhaps, but hey, that's irony.

"sorry dude i'm not interested, not going to waste your time by hanging on the phone and pretending to be"

"oh ok sir"

"have a good day"

"cheers"

job done.

do you need help constructing analogies that work?

Like so.

Repeat offenders get a blast of this.

[img] [/img]

This cold caller is a bit of a troll

[url= https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netqin.mm&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5uZXRxaW4ubW0iXQ.. ]Get this to block numbers on your phone.[/url]

Cold calls are an invasion of privacy, hence as far as I'm concerned as much abuse as you feel like dishing out is perfectly acceptable. That said I usually give a polite "no thanks" then hang-up.

I did lose it bigtime once though. My wife worked evenings when the kids were small so I had to come home from work and do tea, bath, book, bedtime etc with two small nippers. A bunch of ***** called Mosaic Coatings got hold of our landline number and started to call EVERY evening, often twice and would not take no for an answer. Unfortunately they once called just as I was majorly stressed - I've never gone quite so mental or been so foul-mouthed, abusive, and downright unpleasant in my life. The woman on the other end ended up sobbing hysterically down the phone.

Not proud of it but equally it was asked for.

They never called me again 😀

Yup, but that normally means they will ring again.
I prefer to make them aware what I think about them.... Unsolicited feedback perhaps, but hey, that's irony.

Autodiallers don't really work like that. (They don't really understand your feedback because they are machines)

All you need to do is say "thanks but I am not interested, goodbye"

If you get a callback, chances are its a different company selling the same thing, they all buy the same lists.

I've only ever been abusive to the guy who called me to tell me my computer had a virus and then got abusive for me wasting his time. He got an ear full and he deserved it.

Cold callers usually get a "I've said no x times now, I could be more direct if you prefer".

"Are you over 18 years of age? (repeat until you get an affirmative)

Just a minute I need to start recording this and check I've got your number ... OK, I'm ready, this service will be billed 1,50e a minute, do you wish to continue? (keep insisting on their agreement which eventually results in them hanging up - one day I'll get it and continue)

This service is of an explicitly sexual nature, if you do not wish to continue please hang up. To continue means you have entered into a legally binding contract, and accept both my billing rate and the sexually explicit nature of the conversation."

I'm sure you can make up the rest.

Edit: You do need to be careful, I got a call that sounded like a noisy call centre and went off on similar tangent but it was an army sergeant calling to confirm the dates of a work placement my son was doing. He saw the funny side. 😳

It's ok Hora, she's dead now.
Got a pea stuck in her throat.

TPS for us, not had a cold call in yonks.

Cold calling is no honourable way to earn a crust. I've always wondered how desperate you'd have to be to do it as a living. I'd rather stack shelves, pick or process veg, clean toilets. Pretty much anything.

But...who are the asshats that buy the crap they are selling? There must be some or it just wouldn't make financial sense. I wonder what the hit rate is they need to break even - one in a hundred, a thousand? If we could identify that one in whatever **** and remove their ability to use a phone the rest of us would have to find a different outlet for our pent up anger!

Cold calling is no honourable way to earn a crust. I've always wondered how desperate you'd have to be to do it as a living. I'd rather stack shelves, pick or process veg, clean toilets. Pretty much anything.

This.

I once completely lost it with an indian woman who phoned up on a Sunday morning - picked up the phone expecting a call from my gf whom I was waiting for a call to pick her up after work & I said to her -
"I'm really sorry but I'm not interested & am going to be a bit rude & hang up..."
I hung up, 5mins later the phone rand again & it was the same woman..
"didn't I just tell you I'm not interested? I'm hanging up now"
I hung up
2mins later the same woman -
"F Off, F Off, F Off, you mf cing "
I hang up - 2mins later she phones back again I almost throw the phone out the house!!

When my GF did call, I noticed there was a voice mail, it was from her telling me how rude english people are...

I've temped in a call centre BTW. One of the jobs was for a British transport company so I was sat in a call centre in SW France taking calls from travelers wondering what had happened to their train in England. The ones that lost their rag broke the monotony.

Do you not know how to hang up the phone ? If you do, that's what I would recommend.

Do you know you effectively abused me by calling me an arsehole?

If you get a callback, chances are its a different company selling the same thing, they all buy the same lists.

Nope. I get a double glazing company that tries to call me several times a day at 3 or 4 monthly intervals. At first I tried being polite & explaining I wasn't interested, please take me off your mailing list etc.... abuse is now much more fun.

I also had 'fun' with a company trying to let me know about government grants/energy efficiency 'Don't worry we aren't trying to sell anything'. After a bit I reciognized the number so I answered with:
'Hello, Imnotverygood's loft insulation services'
Pause, a little laugh then. 'What a coincidence'
'Why's that?'
'Well that's what I'm trying to sell'
See if you can guess at which point the abuse began.

The point is. I'm not the sort of bloke who is in the habit of hurling abuse at perfect strangers. However, the cold calling industry is populated by shysters and people who are desperate enough to not give a stuff about me or anyone else they call. They just want to make money out of them by whatever means they can. This is why I feel free to give vent to my feelings. If they don't like it. I'm not asking them to call.

Cant believe the number of boring 'just hang up' replies on here....how do you guys get your giggles?....weirdos.

Another good one is the survey/wildlife/charity people on the street wanting to get you to sign up to some such crap....i smile, let them do their speech, nod appreciatively and when they've finished i say 'sorry, can you go from the top again, i wasnt listening....'

Funnily enough that has resulted in me being on the receiving end of the abuse!....only fair i suppose, if you cant take it and all that.

Ah, such fun to be had just walking down the high street.

My bestmate left uni and couldnt find any work. Nothing.

Rather than claim he did telesales dustbin/refuse collection.

Somepeople will do any job when there isnt shelf stacking available.

Ask any new Grad how much supermarket work there is-its all taken by part timers and college students.

We've all done seriously shitty jobs just to keep money coming in. Some we aint proud of. At Uni I did a stint at autotrader- a bloke shouted down the phone, I quit on the spot.

I had one call while I was on the turbos, I was using the clock on the phone.
I said I was happy to talk and asked if he was happy to talk as I was in the middle of a session, he was.
I kept stopping him when I did a timed section. All he would have heard was puffing whirring and f'ing and blinding.
I acidently cut him off at the end on my training....oh dear.

However, once when I was very polite and explained I had what he was offering...can't recall what! he just called me a m** F**.
So they all get it back now.

aka_Gilo - Member
Cold calling is no honourable way to earn a crust. I've always wondered how desperate you'd have to be to do it as a living. I'd rather stack shelves, pick or process veg, clean toilets. Pretty much anything.
This.

POSTED 6 MINUTES AGO #

So it's dishonourable way of people to earn a living?

Perhaps they couldn't get work stacking shelves and cleaning toilets.

You should all give yourselves a pat on the back for making a job that no one wants to do even more soul destroying, believe me very few do it through choice.

Some of you need to have a hard look at yourselves!

You should all give yourselves a pat on the back for making a job that no one wants to do even more soul destroying, believe me very few do it through choice.

The point is. They shouldn't be doing it at all. If I can discourage them from trying to con people then I am quite happy to do so.

I've worked in a call centre in France and in a cold calling office for a British chain of hotels (though I was doing computer work rather than calling. I would describe the other people working in both as polite, well-spoken, articulate, impervious to ranting and keen to reach their quotas so they could afford a good Saturday night out.

Another thing. The amount of cold calls you get during things like the World Cup.
I do remember someone calling at the door during a big England match!
He asked if I was interested in saving money, I said no not really. That visibly annoyed him.

I would describe the other people working in both as polite, well-spoken, articulate, impervious to ranting and keen to reach their quotas so they could afford a good Saturday night out.

Always remember the morning dj on Triple J phoning a guy up and giving the usual dj patter of why are you up so early this morning . The guy answered ," cos you woke me up you c&nt".