Buzzer

My daughter was recently involved again in a long standing bullying incident. She eventually "snapped" and lamped the girl who had been bullying her................long story but now three months later she gets the odd "prank call" from people on her mobile and she is very wary of the "click" the bully hangs around with, staring at her.

Anyway, today my daughter was off school on her own at home with a flare up of tonsilitis When i came home earlier she said that our house was "pranked called" four times. I thought "sh1te, now shes got our number". I asked if she spoke and my daughter said "no, its just quiet". I told her not to worry and that it was just that this girl knew you were off and decided to do your head in all the same she was very upset

Now, not just 10 minutes ago, i get a call. I picked up the phone and it was silent WTF ? i thought so i kept hold of the phone for nearly 1 minute. Suddenly i here "ello is that mr XXXXx" i say "yes". Then this tw@t proceeds to ask me in a foreign partially coherent sentence why i didnt have my gas and elecy with British Gas I asked him whether he had phoned earlier in the day, he sai "quite possibly but we couldn't contact you" I said "why did it take 1 minute for you to acknowledge that i had lifted the reciever" then he said "you were in a que and put on hold until i could come back to you".

Well i just flipped calling him everything under the sun WTF is going on here, he phones me when i've just sat down for my dinner and then puts me on hold until he's ready to ask me why i haven't contacted them about changing my feckin gas FFS.

I told my daughter that the chances were, because she had lifted the receiver and then replaced it in around 30 secs (because she was packin it ) this tw@t hadnt had chance to come back to the call therefore making it look like a "prank call"

She then proceeded to cry with relief

Bastid call centres, hate them

ProperCharlie

to answer the initial question - yes.

register with the telephone preference service to cut down this tyoe of thing.

Buzzer

PC

Have you got a contact or link please mate

dsmith

Its "predictive dialling". Automated software dials - and listens for certain repsonses - if it gets a human voice it will *then* put the call through to some poor git in a call centre. If you answer and say nothing it may decide you're not a person and hang-up. If you do answer and there isnt a free person to put the call to - it hangs up anyway.

Barclaycard are always doing it to me. and yes it pisses most people off. Get Caller-id and an aswering machine. Dont answer any call that comes up number withheld or you dont recognise, - let it go through to answering machine - then call back if its a real person.

Deano

ProperCharlie

Buzzer - look here

Nick

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

ProperCharlie

i've just done a bit of googling on tps, and i see that a lot of people are saying it's a waste of time as the cowboys that use auto dialers etc are unlikely to subscribe to it. however, i have used it on two different phone numbers and would (subjectively) say that it aseems to have reduced the number of junk calls. many of these were from "legitimate" companys (barclays, BoS, xyz utility co), and i dare say these people have to subscribe to tps.

Buzzer

PC

Thanks mate, done and awaiting e-mail

BOB.T

I sympathise with you and can see why you're upset but...I like to vent at them, it's great to just go off at someone for no real reason, gets rid of the stress that builds up

jjones

we were getitng these at 6.45pm everynight. registered with tpos and about 2 weeks later it stopped. not had any more of these calls since (over 6 monts ago).

ProperCharlie

i just tend to say "no thanks" and hang up. a friend of mine odes this counter-psychology stuff on them; he thinks seeing as they are wasting his time, he'll waste theirs. first he does stuff like says "hang on, let me find my last gas bill" then leaves them holding whilst he puts a record on. then he'll come back to the phone and say something like "look, i know you really want to talk about (whatever the product is), and that's fine - we can talk about that, but first, i have this other problem and maybe you could help me..." he then goes on to make up some embarassing personal problem, and basically tries to string them along until they get totally p*ssed off and start giving him abuse.


too much like hard work for me.

*Sonic*

surely this isnt the same daughter you brought along to the NBO ?

Good on her maybe the bullying will stop

However as your Daughter has now set an example, I think you should find out who made the calls today, and do the same

ScoobyDriverWannabe

could always just register ur number with the telephone preference agency and stop them foning u all together

ProperCharlie

hello? are you having trouble with your screen or something?

judgejules

I think ScoobyDriverWannabe is subscribed to "ScoobyNet Preference Service", where he only sees messages he wants to see

Jules

Buzzer

lol @ PC

Hi Steve, yes same Daughter

Shes more upset that shes actually hit someone. She feels sorry for her now . I said that's what you should feel toward bullies as they are all very sad deep down.

All i need to do now is get her a flight to India so that she can visit the BG call centre and lamp that tw@t who phoned today

ProperCharlie

SNPS - the new service from the makers of scoobynet.

as you say - lots of people seem able to invoke their own, unique "preference" service.

Tiggs

not many co.s will ignore TPS.....esp ppl like Brit Gas.

*Sonic*

One way of cheering her up then, is to tell her you have won a brand new spangly shiny backbox

Buzzer

No !

The missus thinks me winning the back box is all a setup by me and SN'ers to make it look like i've won it but really buying it Women, pah!

Somehow shes made me feel guilty and i've compromised by buying her some flowers

How can me winning a superb prize like that cost me a bunch of flowers for the missus?

What part did she play in all this


I distinctly remember my case falling apart when she said "you've got your back box, what do i get"

*Sonic*

PMSL

And by the above you have clearly led her to belive you have actually bought it and not won

Buzzer

Oh hindsight must be a wonderful gift Steve

I always seem to be lured into making strange statements, is this something girls learnt in home economics whilst we were all out doing cross country runs in -25 degs.

Apparition

Best way to avoid any of those calls is to go ex directory with a new number...... We NEVER have any calls like that on ours since doing so (for other reasons ) about 5 years ago.
Get your daughter's moby number changed too. The companies are very understanding about nuiasance(sp) calls.

Buzzer

Good point apparition

I think she needs a new phone anyway, i'll just get a new number at the same time

Not sure about ex directory, that could cause a good few problems here

gregh

best thing I did was get callerID, and don't answer any calls that don't display a number

cheers,

gre

*Sonic*

I dont answer my phone at home at all during the day if I am at home

If someone wants me, they call my mobile (and I dont do withheld numbers)

If someone wants to get in touch, and I havent answered they will leave a message

ScoobyDriverWannabe

lol was a lil drunk when made that post hadnt read whole thread i registered with the TPS and MPS and get no junk mail or or annoying telephone calls, apparently if ur registered with them and they call u or send junk mail they can be fined, it does work

David_Wallis

buzzer.. I work for a callcentre company.. believe we have won callcentre of the year a few times..

and we dont do anything like that.. Not all callcentres are bad.. most are!

Buzzer

I know Dave

My next door neighbour works in one and she said it goes both ways

I genuinely believe that these peeps are only doing their job which is its when some tw@t from another country phones me up and makes me wait for the priveledge to talk to them. I have to admit though as soon as you here a partial incoherent sentence over the phone i become enraged.

Dazza01

Buzzer,
Whose are u connected with ? im with NTL and anyone who blocks their number cannot call my number without first putting a 4 digit code in front of it, as we were getting the "SILENT" calls but the ****es withheld there number, so now we have this code thingy..its heaven all the family have the code and friends, but call centre's and others that block there number cant get thru