Damn telemarketers (story and rant)

I cannot believe how far these companies will go to screw people over.

Here's the story:
I have been getting calls all winter long from unavailable numbers asking for one of my employees. It is always someone who I can barely understand because of an accent or poor phone connection. They ask for the employee, always butchering his name. Oddly enough the employee is almost always unavailable or has the day off. One time my employee was around so I gave him the phone, interested in what these people had to say. After a brief conversation he politely stated he was uninterested and to please not call again. No surprise, just a telemarketer trying to sell some bullshit. This was about a month ago.

Last week the calls start again.
Telemarketer: "Hello, is Joe Smith available?"
Me: "What is this in regards to?"
Telemarketer: "Is Joe Smith there?"
Me: "If you can't tell me what this is about, I can't give you any information."
After a few more lines of BS I told them to stop calling and hung up.

So now on to today.
I get a call from an 800#. Again looking for the same employee. I say he isn't here. The woman asks for his personal phone number. I say "absolutely not". I then ask for their name, phone number, and reason for calling. The woman actually gave me her first name, #, and company name.
She made sure to use the company's abbreviated name CPD. I could barely make out what she said, and asked two more times what the company was. She wouldn't give me the full company name, just CPD.

Somewhere in the mind numbing conversation I gave the person my first name. This is where it gets interesting.

I get a call 5 minutes later from my employee. He told me someone called him and said I had given them his cell phone #. They also said I had recommended him for a $25,000 loan! He was furious that this "company" had his phone number.

After convincing him that I would never give out his personal information to anyone, I told him I was going to call them back and complain. I dial the number the woman gave me and get to a directory for CPD, Custom Pay Day. After a few minutes on hold I get someone and immediately ask to speak to their supervisor. Without question, I get transfered(get compaints much?). A few more minutes on hold and another person picks up. I calmly ask if they can help explain why someone from their company would create lies about me. Without hesitation, the woman calmly and politely asks for more details.(I think she has experience with irate people...) I explain the situation and she asks if she would like me to have her call him back to apologize. WTH, don't call him again!

I tell her that it is completely inappropriate to use my name to assist with their solicitations. To use me as an excuse for possessing someones number and calling them is ridiculous. The telemarketer even told me that they already had my employees phone number before calling me. They basically were just phishing for a name to use to deflect blame for their unwanted calls.

F telemarketers. Feel free to call Janine of Custom Pay Day for some money at 800-383-4025 because apparently they are desperate to give people loans.

And sorry for rambling.

 

That's why I don't even answer unknown numbers. If they don't leave a legitimate voicemail, I consider them fake.

 

That's quite the story, usually when I get these calls their nothing but surveys. Whenever I do see a 1-800# come up I don't answer them anymore.

 

It was at work. I have to answer every phone call because customer service makes the business work.

 

Pieces of shit....

 

Most of those things are off shore and there is not a damn thing you can do about it nor can the Gov. just hang up.

 

Get on the 1800 DO NOT CALL LIST.
You need to reapply every year or so.
If they persist-REPORT THEM.
Calls will stop.

 

My work phone rings pretty much every morning around 8:36 from
319-242-7353

City/State:Clinton, IACountry:United States

 

So I got another call about 30 min. after I did the OP.


Different number, same bullshit. This time I had fun with them. I got them pissed off!

After answering the phone there was a long pause and then a click (standard telemarketer phone pickup).

Tele: "This is blah blah with blah blah blah. (said really fast so I couldn't understand) I'm looking for an employment verification."
(Keep in mind this is a woman with a deep southern accent on a poor phone connection. I am convinced they do this initially in the conversation to get the person who answers to become engaged in the conversation because they can't hear WTF was just said.)
Me: "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"
Tele: "I'm looking for an employment verification."
Me: "A what?"
(I heard her the first time)
Tele: "An EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION." (louder now)
Me: "What is this about?"
Tele: "Can I have your name sir?"
Me: "I'm sorry, I can't provide you with any information until I know what this is about."
Tele: "I am looking to get an employment verified."
Me: "Why"
Tele: "Can I ask who I am speaking with?"
(Telemarker is becoming noticeable annoyed.)
Me: "No, I cannot give you any information about myself or anyone else until I know what this is about."
Tele: "This is about employment verification and I already gave you my name."
Me: "What does that mean?"
Tele: "You don't understand what employment verification is?"
Me: "No, I understand the concept just fine. I just don't understand why a strange person who refuses to identify themselves or their business would want to know about my company's employment verification."
Tele: "Sir, I am simply looking to get an employment verification."
Me: "Ma'am, I simply cannot provide you with any information at all regarding myself, my business, or my employees."
Tele: "Well fine, have a nice day sir." (Click)


So here is the icing on the cake. My employee stopped by and while he was at the shop the phone rang. Caller ID shows the same number. I'm like oh shit its the same number! So I hand the phone over to my employee because at this point he is more infuriated than me, and wants to bitch these people out. He spends about 5 minutes on the phone screwing with them before giving them hell for bothering him and his employer and telling them off. This shit is getting ridiculous. We both work tomorrow. I hope they call again. I've got some good ideas for them...

 

I fucking hate telemarketers and whatnot
the church of scientology called me 77 times.

 

Check with your phone provider. They may have an option to block anonymous calls. You can also block specific numbers if it always comes from the same line.

 

In Canada we have a " Do Not Call " list you can register with to block telemarketers but you still end up getting calls from charities and the scammers

 

We have that here as well. I don't know if it applies to businesses or not though.

 

I always have random phone calls by assholes in Washington for some reason. Pisses me off.

 

Doesn't work for off shore junk.

 

best thing to do is start sobbing and inform them that the person they called for recently passed away, it sometimes works

 

I have an unlisted # and they still found me so I hooked the fax machine up to the phone line and use my cell instead. Let them listen to the fax scream:}}} They can call all they want and I just get a beep prior to them being sscreamed at. No stress and a few chuckles everytime the fax beeps.

 

Not all the time though. We still get political groups calling for my Nonnie- she's been dead since May 17, 2009. We tell them every time that she's dead, but they still call. Still get mail for her, too.

 

Now that's freaky. My mother in law still gets mail for her husband who passed away IIRC in 2005.

OP you may be able to contact your phone provider and have them add the numbers to a block list. I just did this on my cell phone because I keep getting telemarketing scams from a 407 area code. Its always the same two numbers so I just added them to my block list. I think it only lasts like 90 days but if they want to keep calling, I'll keep adding the number back. I am also on the do not call list. Guess that does a lot of good...

 

Try doing this and I doubt they will call back haha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAb8vGSRBoE