Travel Technology - Anyone else just hang up on foreign telemarketers?

Used to be when someone called up trying to sell stuff I'd be polite, listen for a second and 99.9% say not interested and hang up. But it seems that a TON of firms (especially Oracle) have offshored their calling. I don't even waste the time.

The moment I hear the crappy IP connection and an accented voice bidding me hello from (insert vendor here) corporation I just hang up. I figure if they need me they'll call back. Thus far, no one ever has. IMO if someone wants to pitch me they damn well better do better than that. I do have to thank them for making it SO much easier to weed those calls out.

I have a little fun with them

Caller: Are you interested in home finance?
Me: No... I dont live in France

:D

I have a whitelist feature on my phone, so no unwanted calls come through. Love it.

US residents who have put their numbers on the do-not-call list should be getting very few of these calls... mostly from survey firms, non-profits and politicians looking for contributions.

I sometimes answer the surveys if I have the time. The others? I say politely that I never respond to telemarketing and they should kindly remove my number from their lists. No need to be rude, just firm.

Yes, those darned French people keep calling...

oh wait, I'm the foreigner. :eek:

I've been getting constant sales calls here from the local cable & telecom services. Last week I waited a few seconds and then politely told the woman I wasn't interested, at which point she started to argue quite vehemently with me about why I should get their service. I hung up.

This week I had a call for TV service. I just moved and don't have a TV yet in this apartment, and I said so. The lady sounded shocked. "But... how do you get your news??" "From the internet," I said, so she bid me good evening and hung up.

In the US, whenever I would get a call with that telltale silence followed by call center noise, I would simply hang up before they started talking.

Telemarketers are disliked enough already; do companies really think they're going to get a better response by outsourcing to people whose accents are often difficult to understand?

In the UK you get a lot of calls to your cellphone from phone companies trying to sell you an "upgrade" package. It's slightly disingenuous, because they're just dialling randomly generated numbers, but pretend that they know who you are ("can I just confirm the name of the account holder?" - that kind of thing).

When I've got the time I play along with these. I can do a good 15 minutes (without actually giving any genuine information). Lots of umming and ahing about what kind of upgrade I'd like, often digressing into long rambling pointless anecdotes ("It does have a camera on it, doesn't it? I do love a camera on a phone. I've got some lovely shots I took of my holiday last year in southern France. I don't know if you've been? I found this fantastic self-catering farmhouse... etc etc etc").

Then, just before they're about to close the deal:

Me: "Oh, I'm so sorry Laura, I need to answer the door / put the kettle on / floss my teeth. Give me your mobile number and I'll call you back later."

CSR: "You can call me here in the office on..."

Me: "No, give me your mobile number."

CSR: "I'm afraid I can't give you my mobile number."

Me: "Why's that Laura? Is it because you don't want complete strangers phoning you up and wasting your time?"

Pause. Penny drops. CSR hangs up.

I definitely hang up without saying a word. I too used to be polite and patient, but no longer. I would love to know what "whitelist" is? I am on the do not call list but we get numerous calls these days for student loan consolidators.

Love what WingNut said. My DH does the same thing ;)

I definitely hang up without saying a word. I too used to be polite and patient, but no longer. I would love to know what "whitelist" is? I am on the do not call list but we get numerous calls these days for student loan consolidators.

Love what WingNut said. My DH does the same thing ;)
A whitelist is where only the numbers I specifically stored are allowed to ring through. Everyone else get a recorded message "your call cannot be completed" - stops them cold.

The OP brings up one of my pet causes. I am on the Do Not Call List, yet I'm getting about two such foreign calls per week. This end around Do Not Call is a threat to the whole program.

I think many of these foreign telemarketers are deliberately calling those on the list. It makes a lot of sense, really. Those on the list haven't been getting many sales calls in recent years, so there's probably a better chance someone on the list is interested in the sales pitch. Also, keep in mind that there are multiple adults in the households of millions on the list. It could be the one who opted for the list isn't the one answering the phone.

The bottom line is that these foreigners face no risk of any punishment for violating Do Not Call. I have played along with the pitch (always mortgages in my experience) long enough to get transferred to the USA representative. I get their name/company/phone # and then tell them that the have violated Do No Call. They play dumb, acting as though they had no idea their foreign partners violated the list. I then submit the complaint on the FTC's website.

My hope is that others will do this, and that the FTC will reject the domestic company's feigned ignorance.

I hang up if no one says hello immediately after I answer the phone. Should someone be live and not behind an autodialer I will generally be polite and ask them not the call back again. Lately we have been getting a lot of Indian telemarketers calling at odd hours and throughout the weekend. I have ZERO tolerance for calls on Sunday or early in the morning and tell them so.

As for cable companies, Cox and ATT are battling in our neighborhood and come to the door weekly, often feeding my wife misleading information about VOIP.

I have a whitelist feature on my phone, so no unwanted calls come through. Love it.Works great with a few exceptions--for example, when someone you want to talk to calls from 'new' number because the battery died on their cell phone and they're using a calling card or borrowing someone else's cell phone. Admittedly rare, but it does happen.

US residents who have put their numbers on the do-not-call list should be getting very few of these calls... mostly from survey firms, non-profits and politicians looking for contributions.

Additionally, anyone you've dealt with before (or are delaing with currently) can also call you, without violating the do-not-call list. These are actually the ones I get most often - from newspaper delivery services, to phone companies. The most annoying are from Comcast - it's not like I can tell them to pound sand, as they don't have any competition in our area (not yet, at least!).

I used to hang up on telemarketers until I realized the way they make money is to make as many calls as possible per hour with the hopes of scamming a pigeon. These days I always respond "I'm really interested, hang on a sec I've got to turn off the stove first", hit the hold button and go about my business. ;)

I feel no obligation to be polite to anyone who invades my privacy without some reasonable assurance that I would welcome the interruption. My response is short and always the same:

"Is this a solicitation call?"
"Yes."
"Put me on your do not call list and never call this number again."
click

I either just let them talk, put down the phone and then they end up hanging up by themselves -- or I play the game...

CSR: "Hello sir, I am here to offer you a cheap option for long-distance phonecalls"

Me: "Sorry, I don't have a phone..."

CSR: "But....you're talking to me now, aren't you?"

Me: "Yes"

CSR: "So you have a phone, then..."

Me: "No, I am just answering to the voices in my head..."

(Etc. etc. etc.)

You can always tell them they've called a murder scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un_PjRXV5l8) and carry on with Tom Mabe's script from there. :D

Me: Pick up phone....Hello?
wait
Me: Hello?
Hello, we are calling blah, blah, blah
Me: Hello?
Can you hear me?
Me: Hello, speak louder
blah blah blah
Me: Hello?
hang up
:cool::D

I always inform the caller that "this household does not accept solicitation calls" and then hang up, though I have had callers insist that theirs was not a solicitation call. When they turn out to be lying I just hang up.

You can always tell them they've called a murder scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un_PjRXV5l8) and carry on with Tom Mabe's script from there. :D
Thank you for that link...it provided a much need laugh :D

I'm on the do not call list, they still call. Lots of local doctors offereing free exams (eww?) and my all time favorite was the college girl calling to excitedly inform me that I just won a free cemetery plot. Thanks.... I was hoping I would die soon and its just what I needed.
Usually I just tell them I'm sorry but I don't speak english (in english) and hang up.

I've got 15 or 20 numbers whitelisted, the rest go through screening to voicemail. I see the number pop up and if it turned out to be important I'll call back.

I am also on the call list and a few still get thru, but nothing like before. I am really not home enough to get an awful lot of calls

There is an unforeseen loophole in the Do Not Call legislation.

Internet calls are technically legal. So, US companies outsource these solicitation calls to an overseas company who then use VOIP to call you. This is not against the law. Some in congress are starting to here complaints about this and are slowly moving to modify the Do Not Call law. We'll probably have to put up with this for a few more years with the frequency of these calls increasing as word gets out.

If I'm feeling especially spunky, I'll do something like this:

Caller: "Is Mr. Reedbard there?"
Me: "It's Redbeard"
Caller: "Oh, sorry sir. How are you today?"
Me: "I'm not in the mood to take unsolicited calls. What is your name?"
Caller: "I'm Bob, if you'll just give me a moment...
Me: "What is your company?"
Caller: "I'm with Luxury Timeshares."
Me: "Well, Bob, I'm on the national, state, and city do-not-call lists. You have just violated the law. I am filing a complaint against the company and you. The penalties are $1000 per infraction, and I've collected several times. Are you still interested in continuing this call?"
<click>

Just got the "we're giving you free satellite service" call at the pro shop where I work. (Retirement is going well!:cool:) So, I have lots of time to mess with these people.

Foreigner: Sir, we see you have cable service - so we are going to offer you free satellite service.
Me: Oh, OK.
Foreigner: Sir, how many tellyvisions do you currently have on cable?
Me: 22
Foreigner: Twenty and two?
Me: That's correct.
Foreigner: Why on earth would you have twenty and two tellyvisions?
Me: Because we are a country club. Don't you know who you're calling?
Foreigner: Oh, of course sir, of course. So what is your biggest problem with your cable service?
Me: Beavers.
Foreigner: Beevuhs?
Me: Beavers! The damned things keep gnawing through the cable, all over the place. You ever tried to kill a beaver with a sand wedge? They will smack the **** out of you with those tails. You gotta watch out! And they build those dams in our ponds, and they clog up our creeks, and they crap all over the banks, and they.......
Foreigner: CLICK

The OP brings up one of my pet causes. I am on the Do Not Call List, yet I'm getting about two such foreign calls per week. This end around Do Not Call is a threat to the whole program.

I think many of these foreign telemarketers are deliberately calling those on the list. It makes a lot of sense, really. Those on the list haven't been getting many sales calls in recent years, so there's probably a better chance someone on the list is interested in the sales pitch. Also, keep in mind that there are multiple adults in the households of millions on the list. It could be the one who opted for the list isn't the one answering the phone.

The bottom line is that these foreigners face no risk of any punishment for violating Do Not Call. I have played along with the pitch (always mortgages in my experience) long enough to get transferred to the USA representative. I get their name/company/phone # and then tell them that the have violated Do No Call. They play dumb, acting as though they had no idea their foreign partners violated the list. I then submit the complaint on the FTC's website.


According to the FTC's website, it makes no difference if the calls are made from outside the US - if you are registered, they are not allowed to call:

"Who Must Comply with the Amended TSR?

The amended TSR regulates “telemarketing”— defined in the Rule as “a plan, program, or campaign . . . to induce the purchase of goods or services or a charitable contribution” involving more than one interstate telephone call. (The FCC regulates both intrastate and interstate calling. More information is available from www.fcc.gov.) With some important exceptions, any businesses or individuals that take part in “telemarketing” must comply with the Rule. This is true whether, as “telemarketers,” they initiate or receive telephone calls to or from consumers, or as “sellers,” they provide, offer to provide, or arrange to provide goods or services to consumers in exchange for payment. It makes no difference whether a company makes or receives calls using low-tech equipment or the newest technology—such as voice response units (VRUs) and other automated systems. Similarly, it makes no difference whether the calls are made from outside the United States; so long as they are made to consumers in the United States, those making the calls, unless otherwise exempt, must comply with the TSR’s provisions. If the calls are made to induce the purchase of goods, services, or a charitable contribution, the company is engaging in “telemarketing.”

Certain sections of the Rule apply to individuals or companies other than “sellers” or “telemarketers” if these individuals or companies provide substantial assistance or support to sellers or telemarketers. The Rule also applies to individuals or companies that provide telemarketers with unauthorized access to the credit card system.

The correct answer is...


Foreigner: Sir, how many tellyvisions do you currently have on cable?
Me: 22
Foreigner: Twenty and two?
Me: That's correct.
Foreigner: Why on earth would you have twenty and two tellyvisions?

Me: I watch a lot of pornography.

Improvise from there. ;)

This is in the Travel Technology forum why?

I hang up on all telemarketers, on the rare occasions that I answer their call in the first place.

For some reason, one of our lines seems to be listed under the name of someone who used to have one of our numbers. Whenever the phone rings and someone asks for that person I ask what they are selling. They are always quite taken aback.

I think many of these foreign telemarketers are deliberately calling those on the list. It makes a lot of sense, really. Those on the list haven't been getting many sales calls in recent years, so there's probably a better chance someone on the list is interested in the sales pitch.

But the mere fact that someone put his/her phone number on the do not call list indicates that s/he is not interested in wasting time with telemarketers (and that it would be a waste of time for a telemarketer to call him/her and get a polite "no" at best and an angry response at worst).

There's the theory that people who go on the list or put up "no solicitors" signs do it because they have low sales resistance.

As said above, though, placing calls from an offshore center isn't a "get out of jail free" card. If the business has a presence in the US, they're liable for the calls.

I use the following script from Junkbusters.com http://www.junkbusters.com/script.html and write down all of the information. Using this I have successfully sued in small claims court and won $1,000 from AT&T.

Needless to say, I don't get telemarketing calls any more :)

My favorite telemarketing call was a few years ago. The woman on the phone was obviously reading a script and had no enthusiasm. I stopped her and gave her a couple of tips on putting life into her voice. She started again, but still doing a poor job. I stopped her 2-3 more times and gave her honest useful tips. She ended up crying and her boss broke in saying that she was just being trained.

I hope she decided to move on to a better profession.

Telemarketers? What's that? :D We get about one or two telemarketing calls a year from non-profit orgs. Cell phones only helps the most, I think, followed by both federal and state do not call list.

Cell phones only helps the most, I think, followed by both federal and state do not call list.

In the US, I was thrilled to give up my landline and only have a cell phone (cell phones count as travel technology, don't they, Redbeard? ;))for the sheer joy of receiving no telemarketing calls. At election time it was bliss. ^