Pre-recorded cold calls

[anonymous-user]

These are really starting to annoy me now, phone rings, you answer and there's a recorded message trying to sell you something. Getting 2 or 3 a day

My question is why? I mean, who's going to listen to it and then think "oh that sounds great where do i sign?"

[The Tea Boy]

cant answer your questions as to why, but they dont half p155 me off too

[TankRizzo]

I registered for the TPS and it cut a lot of the calls down.

Now if I pick up the phone and answer, and there's a pregnant pause and a "click" of a connection being made, I hang up straight away.

I'm sure one of these days I'll miss something important.

[illmonkey]

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

[FourWheelDrift]

If you get them the TPS can't help, you have to go to the Information Commissioners Office - http://www.ico.gov.uk/ If you haven't requested them the calls are a breach of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.

Fill out a form there saying what the call was, who it was from and at what time they called and on which number, along with details about yourself and send it back to them.

ICO said:

Automated calls

We may be able to help if:

1. you have received a pre-recorded marketing message;
2. you can identify the caller;
3. the caller is based in the UK; and
4. you have not previously consented to the call.

If you cannot identify the caller, we will be unable to pursue the matter.

Link to form - https://forms.ico.gov.uk/pecr-complaint.aspx

[BiggusLaddus]

I'm tps registered and still them occassionally. I assume they are not UK based as the recorded voice is always an american woman. I can't imagine why anyone would stay on the phone long enough to find out what they are seling, let alone buy.

[mightymouse]

TankRizzo said:

Now if I pick up the phone and answer, and there's a pregnant pause and a "click" of a connection being made, I hang up straight away.

I just leave the phone line open and go and do something else

[mechsympathy]

I jusat have a nice sweary rant back at them. I know no one's listening, but it's strangely satisfying

[carmadgaz]

Never had a pre-recorded one.

Leave them to run up their phone bill, put the phone on the side and continue with what you were doing.

For a person either

Tell them to F**k off

or

If you are bored let them go on, make the right noises then at the end when they ask if your interested say "no thank you" and enjoy the reaction

HTH

[Bullett]

Don't be so sure. These calls are often recorded and run analysis on responses, biometric analysis and context response.
I hate them, TPS is you best bet for unsolicited calls, but you often give permission to call to organisations you already deal with to call you.

All callers must transmit a number they can't block this so no call should ever be anonymous.

Banks often use this method for Credit fraud prevention.

[anonymous-user]

I've had a few from BT lately, rush to the phone only to be told by automated voice "BT are too busy to talk to you right now, we will call back again if it's important"

Cheeky fking s

[Chim Chim]

mightymouse said:

TankRizzo said:

Now if I pick up the phone and answer, and there's a pregnant pause and a "click" of a connection being made, I hang up straight away.

I just leave the phone line open and go and do something else

That's what I do! I ask them to hold while I get the person they want to speak to (Me) and just put the phone on speaker and carry on whatever I was doing while listening to them evetually saying "hello?" in a pathetic voice.

[bazking69]

We get them at work daily. You know the ones, the 'Ocean Finance answer to all your inabilities to budget your money, financially inept people only need apply'
We go through to their call centre, which is usually answered by some mong reading from a sheet. At this point they get the carefully and cleverly used voice boxes to engage them into a conversation that leads them round in circles. Huge fun everytime.
On another note, how do these people on the end of the phone spend 8 hours a day working there. They must deal with some real deadbeats if people actually take them up on their offers from a cold call...

[sadako]

Phone spammers...

I used to put telemarketers though to the fax machine when it was on the same line. We had it set up so dialling * from the handset would start it screeching away. At the moment I am tempted to connect it to recordings of Rick Astley, text-to-speech generated audio from some horrible porno fanfiction of niffty.org and stuff like that...

[DAVEVO9]

http://www.truecall.co.uk/

Sorts it out..