D*mn CARD SERVICES calls!

[glenn514]

My brewing friends...

You have probably been getting them, too...the calls that begin, "Hello, this is Rachel [Anne/Victoria/etc.] from Card Services. There is no problem with your credit card account..." When we first started getting the calls about two years ago, we'd just hang up. Then, they added an option to push a number "...and the calls would stop." Right! So, we then tried politely to speak to the warm body and get our number taken off their list. All to no avail.

So, I bought an ACME THUNDERER whistle! Is it one of the loudest whistles on the market, and is used extensively by law enforcement, sports referees, and the like. I keep it right next to the phone.

Today, Anne from Card Services called, so I picked up the whistle and pressed the number to speak with a service rep. When he answered, I blew the whistle as hard as I could into the phone receiver and hung up. He called back...and I did it again! Then, I decided to let the answering machine pick up the calls. Call #3 was silent, and he just hung up. Call #4: "*****! You're gonna die!" Call #5: "I've got your address now, *****!"

So, I now have filed a police report, called AT&T customer service [caller ID and the privacy program begin tonight] as well as their annoyance call line. I was encouraged to call the Federal Trade Commission and file a complaint with them, which I did.

BUT I'M GONNA KEEP THE WHISTLE RIGHT BY THE PHONE!

glenn514

 

[Punity]

Win i hate those damn things and my wife works at the friggin bank we have the card with.

 

[krackin]

Ain't ya going to tell us where you got the whistle?

 

[Akavango]

What i used to do when i got one of those calls. I would tell the person that i was interested but I have something on the stove. Can you wait a few seconds so that i can take it off and I'll be right back. I never came back to the phone. I once had someone wait 19' for me to come back before hanging up.

Another time I got a call and got all the detais from the company befoe telling them that i was on the do not call list and that this call call would cost them at least $500.

I really enjoyed ****ing with them. Fortunately now I no longer live in the US and marketing calls in ireland are far and few and between them. Still using the same tactics when I get one tough.

 

[GarageDweller]

glenn...i like your style man. innovative! haha. what kind of call center employee would make a death threat over having a whistle blown into the phone? guess you hit him in a soft spot there. he must not like his job all that much...

 

[mcbaumannerb]

I used to try and make them suffer too but then I realized it was just easier to check called ID and not answering these cases.

 

[Homercidal]

I've done the same thing with a guy trying to get me to accept a "free vacation to Florida". I kept him on the phone with uh-huhs and hmmmm....s but never verifying my information. Finally he got his supervisor on the phone and he got mad and asked if I even wanted the free vacation and I said, "I never said I did, but your boy just kept talkin!"

He got mad and swore at me then accused ME of taking their valuable time! hehehehe.

Sometimes I just get them talking and put the phone down. Sometimes I keep the phone near my mouth and pretend to whisper to my wife and say things like, "Sure, whatever you want for dinner is fine. Oh, nobody. Just some @55$%^* trying to sell me something." It's fun to see how they react to that. Sometimes they just don't know what to do and after a couple of moments they hang up, or sometimes they flat out ask me if I'm interested. in an angry voice.

They really don't mind it when you just hang up. They get that constantly and that means they can get on with the next call. Keep 'em on the line and waste as much time as you can!

 

[iaefebs]

I do three things, 1) I have caller ID and I don't answer the phone 2) I have call block service and I add the number to that. 3) I have a bookmark for filing a complaint https://complaints.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx?panel=2 and I file a complaint every time.

Interesting thing is these Robocallers that supply Caller ID actually receive a fee from your phone service. They can make money by making thousands of calls and collecting fees by providing an ID,

 

[Airplanedoc]

After graduation my roommate from college was living by himself for the first time in his life. I called him up one night to catch up and shoot the breeze. He told me that he was so bored living alone that he was actually talking to telemarketers. The night before one hung up on him. I asked how that worked, he said that he would answer the telemarketers questions if the telemarketer would answer his. He started out asking stuff about the job, What percentage hang up on him, How many calls/hour he has to make, How much he gets paid. Then he started getting more personal where he lived, how old he was, and finally what are you wearing? That is when the telemarketer hung up on him.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

I try to be nice to the callers. It must be one heck of a crummy job. And you get people being mean to you all day.
I make sure to say the three "no"s, though. Then they will stop talking.

 

[mcbaumannerb]

I try to be nice to the callers. It must be one heck of a crummy job. And you get people being mean to you all day.
I make sure to say the three "no"s, though. Then they will stop talking.

I try and remember for the person on the other end it is a person doing their job. Hate the company, not the caller. That's why I just stopped answering unless I recognize the number.

 

[Beer_is_good_for_you]

I used to get them all the time on my cell. It'd be an automated message about some problem with my card, so I'd hit the number to talk with somebody. They'd answer very politely and I'd say something to the effect of "I don't have a cre-" and they'd hang up. The calls continued and I got quicker and just yelled it at them. They've eventually stopped.

We're living with the MIL right now and she gets these calls all the time. Multiple daily. Some as late as 8:30 or 9 PM Pacific time. SWMBO eventually answered after getting three calls from the same number within an hour one night. Turns out it was a company asking for a breast cancer research donation since they'd received one previously. She told them her mom wasn't home and didn't want to donate bla bla bla, and got switched to a manager. "So how much does your mom promise to donate?" "Nothing if it means you ******** will keep calling 4 or 5 times a day." Click. Haven't had a call from the them since.

 

[iaefebs]

The majority of these calls are from a phone number supplier called Pacific Telecom. Here is a little info on them.
http://telemarketerspam.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/about-pacific-telecom-communications-group/

Answering any calls from an unknown source just verifies you are an active telephone number. DO NOT ANSWER... do not engage these people. When I block a call the phone caller gets a message that they have called a non working number.

 

[krackin]

Years ago, 20ish, I got a call from a guy who asked if I would take a survey. I wasn't at all busy at the moment so I said sure I would. After a slight pause he asked me 'Really?'. LOL. I took the survey, it was just a consumer product type thing. By the sounds it was at least the first one that day, maybe the first one he ever got completed.

 

[Zuljin]

Yeah. I just don't answer. Answering gets you on the live one list.

 

[glenn514]

Brewing Friends...

Thanks for the responses! At least I'm NOT alone!

@ krackin...I ordered my whistle through Amazon. The whistle is called an ACME THUNDERER...and it is LOUD!

@ iaefebs...thanks for that link. I now know much more than I ever wanted to know about Pacific Telecom Communications! And I also filed complaints with the Oregon and Washington state utility boards.

And my whistle is laying right next to my phone!

glenn514

 

[TNGabe]

Wow, are you going to start macing panhandlers? Or keeping the whistle in the car for when the person working the drive-thru asks if you want fries and a drink?

 

[glenn514]

Wow, are you going to start macing panhandlers? Or keeping the whistle in the car for when the person working the drive-thru asks if you want fries and a drink?

Nope. It's gonna stay by the phone, waiting quietly for another call from Pacific Telecom Communications. Although macing panhandlers does kinda sound like fun in a screwy sort of way.

glenn514

 

[Jukas]

Wow, are you going to start macing panhandlers? Or keeping the whistle in the car for when the person working the drive-thru asks if you want fries and a drink?

To be fair, if a panhandler came to my house and was as pushy as most telemarketers and wouldn't leave? I might just mace em.

 

[slomo]

This topic is very close to my heart. My wife and I get these calls all the time. My wife's maiden name is a very common spanish name, so we always get spanish calls and mailers in spanish. My wife is as spanish as a blood hound, but is fluent in Spanish. My wife who is very polite always tells them no and to take us off the call list, which sometimes they do and sometimes they dont. The ones that dont get to speak to me. First off I am a jerk to these people, and this is usually how the calls go.

Teler marketer (TM): Blah, blah, blah, blah in spanish.

Me: No speaka spanash.

TM: Blah, blah, blah, blah in spanish.

Me: No speaka spanash.

TM:Habla Ingles.

Me: No speaka spanash

Now I am by no means fluent in Spanish I know some phrases and words. Once we get to the Habla Ingles portion of the conversation or if I feel that the TM is sufficently pissed off I ususally start whispering things in Spanish. I ususally start off with Donde esta el bano, or dos cervezas, but my favorite phrase is Yo tango el gato en mis pantalones. This last phrase will take the conversation 1 of 3 ways. 1st the TM will simply hang up (which I hate), 2nd the TM will start rattling things of in spanish, to which I will say No speaka spanash then they will hang up, or 3rd they will start speaking in english. To which I say No habla Ingles, and the TM hangs up. By this time I am crying I am laughing so hard. Its probably the best 10 min conversation you can have with a perfect stranger.

 

[mikescooling]

My Dad had Alzheimer's and these "people" called him endlessly. Even in the nursing home the nurses would pick up the phone and start bitching me out "how could I do this job" I'd be like "I'm his son" they be like "sorry he's been getting these calls all day".

 

[glenn514]

In addition to filing complaints with the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, I also filed complaints with the utilities boards in both Washington state and Oregon because Pacific Telecom uses area codes from those two states. Both states simply "passed the buck," saying that the company does, indeed, "spoof" area codes from those states, but the company does NO business whatsoever with those states.

And I received THREE calls from the same company yesterday, and each one got a lovely blast of my ACME Thunderer whistle! And I will continue to use said whistle as long as I get calls from them.

glenn514

 

[Yooper]

"Rachel" calls me everyday, too.

What really really irks me is that it's a cell phone, and I have to PAY for the calls if I go over my minutes (cheap plan).

I waited on the phone once, to talk to a live person and to ask nicely that since they are calling my cell phone and it's costing me money for this to please remove me, but they hung up on me.

Another time I waited to talk to a live person, and "pretended" I was wanting to deal with them but when they found out that I don't have a credit card balance, they hung up.

So today I just ignored all calls I didn't recognize, and will check voice mail later. The only reason I answer some calls now is that I'm dealing with my dad's estate, and I don't always recognize the area codes.

I got the same run-around from the FCC for them violating the "do not call list". Apparently, they are set up off-shore and just can't be stopped according to the response I got from them.

 

[Goofynewfie]

I frustrated these people so bad one time they told me to go @#$& myself and hung up on me

 

[glenn514]

Now, I am getting repeat calls from some jackasses who want to give me a GE home security system AT NO CHARGE [ya, right]. I pushed "2" to have my number removed; then on the next call, I began to ask POLITELY to have my number removed...and the telemarketer hung up on me. So, my ACME Thunderer whistle is ready for action! And, I filed complaints, once again, with the FCC, the Do Not Call list, and the attorney general of the state of Michigan, where the call apparently originated, but I think they are "spoofing" the phone numbers.

glenn514

 

[GrogNerd]

very off-topic, but in the same scam category.

boss and I are the only ones in our company and have several 100 customers across the country. makes sense that we would have an 800 number

one month, boss got the bill and there were a couple THOUSAND 1-, 2-minute calls charged to our number from what turned out to be a "pay phone"

the law says that if a pay phone makes a call to an 800 number, the call is free to the caller, but the owner of the pay phone is PAID for the call by the company who provides the 800 number service, who passes the charge to the owner of the 800 number.

800 number service providers have features that can block pay phone calls, but ours does not. and rather than change service providers and lose the features we do like and lose our 800 number anyway, we just dropped the 800 number.

government sanctioned fraud

 

[TxBrew]

I get them everyday at the same time. I press one to talk to someone then see how long I can keep them on the phone while I "Look" for my CC.

 

[glenn514]

I get them everyday at the same time. I press one to talk to someone then see how long I can keep them on the phone while I "Look" for my CC.

My ACME Thunderer whistle is much more "fun" to use! I try to imagine the look on the face of the telemarketer after I've basically caused temporary deafness in one ear!

glenn514

 

[ctrlpabrewer]

glenn514 - you've inspired me, I just received one of these calls on my cell while at the office. I don't have a whistle, but Aerosmith's "Love in an Elevator" was playing on the radio...that seemed to do the trick

 

[Evan_L]

Much easier to just enter your number on the federal do not call list. Google it. Once done, you are on the list for 3 years (last I checked) it is then illegal for them to call you. I have only had one call since then, they were very pushy with the sale, I asked them if they realized I was on the list and all of a sudden they got real jittery, apologized profusely and got of real quick.

 

[glenn514]

Much easier to just enter your number on the federal do not call list.

I've BEEN on the national Do Not Call list for at least five years, and have re-signed up from time to time. Doesn't matter to some of these jackasses who are "spoofing" caller ID numbers and are calling from outside the US boarder. All they want is financial information which they can then either use or sell. As far as I'm concerned, the national Do Not Call list is a joke!

And thanks, ctrlpabrewer! I figure if I cause a ruckus and irritate them, they'll eventually stop calling me! So keep irritating them!

glenn514

 

[Evan_L]

Ahhh I should have read closer, didn't catch that it is spammers too. Those guys are fun to **** with. Just lead 'em on and mess with 'em. Google "scamming the scammers" tons of hilarious crap leading them on. Often you can get them to believe you will send stuff in the mail, fill up boxes of heavy junk, and they have to pay ridiculous customs fees only to find that it's junk.