telemarketer's

[RollingsFarms]

I guess most everyone knows how those "charitable" solicitations work, but just in case someone doesn't know . . . I get calls wanting me to donate to the State Troopers Association, Sheriff's Association, etc. There used to even be an outfit calling for donations to the Dallas Police Association. I usually keep them tied up with questions because that's just a "fund raising" company calling, and they're paying those associations or groups a small percentage to use their name. Some of them will even admit to what they're doing. And having been in law enforcement, I really hated it when groups like that allow the use of their name. And the amount that goes to those associations is usually 10%!

i agree Bird. i never donate to those over the phone but i will donate to the fire dept and police dept when they are doing the Easter Lilly drive and things such as that. they only ask for $1 most of the time but i try to give them $20 at least.

 

[Bird]

i agree Bird. i never donate to those over the phone but i will donate to the fire dept and police dept when they are doing the Easter Lilly drive and things such as that. they only ask for $1 most of the time but i try to give them $20 at least.

Yep, giving directly to them means all the money gets to them, instead of the 10% the telemarketers give them.

 

[jimmyj]

These warranty calls are now coming to my cell phone. I bet I'll be paying for incoming minutes! Very annoying.

 

[Phils]

I hate to say it but we must be pretty stupid/greedy.

I have a client who sold a piece of property. Unfortunately, circumstances at the time let her receive an email that she had won the London lottery. The basic facts are:

She never entered the lottery....

She commenced to send them the $400,000 land proceeds for paperwork and tax filings. Then of course, there was a snafu... so she took a $150,000 2nd mortgage on her home to send them the final paperwork so she'd get her millions...

Oops... yet another snafu... she got another installment from another property she sold (happened to be her deceased husbands OLD family property from eons ago) and sent them another $150,000.

Today, (literally as in April 9) she is getting this kind of email from them

(direct copy/paste)

Haven received a mail from the scotlandyard police department concerning the release of your claims sum through your activation of an online account,we are mandated by our working schedule to invoke section 173 of the banking edicts act of the UK ,which stipulates that the funds be wired through you setting up an online account with our financial consortium.To this end i humbly request how much of the activation charges $2,700.00 have you at the moment,so that we can try and sue for an interim measure to enable your funds be released to you within the next 24hours?

Now, WHY she continues to talk to them and push her family and friends away (who have ALL come down on her for her misdeeds) is beyond me.

Even the reading of the above... "how much have you at the moment" I tried to tell her that means "how much can we steal from you today, if not the entire amount?

sigh... she's sent them around $700,000 cash that at 77 years old, she could really use. They are vermin. Their first line to her was evidently something like "make sure you don't tell anyone so you can surprise your family memebers" or something like that.

All these people need is one guillable/greedy person and it makes it worth their effort.

THAT is so sad. The frustration of family and friends must be unbearable.

Phil

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

Our local volunteer fire department did fundraising for years. We always donated at least $100 sometimes more per year.

This woman had worked there for I think over 20 years, well she finally had to retire, her husband was also a volunteer. The incoming bookkeeper quickly found she had been scamming donations for years and years, they were not sure how much she did get away with but it was a ton. Her husband claimed he didn't know it. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and he didn't know it, yeah right. After that I just quit giving, I bet many others did to. Stuff like that just makes it hard for you to continue to give.

I was going to get our phone taken out. We were paying over $70 a month and we don't know hardly anyone or get calls, guess we are loners. Hubby and I each have a prepaid cell phone. So I called but AT&T offered me something called Lifeline service. It's only $15 a month, I'm allowed 25 incoming and 25 outgoing calls each month before I'm charged. It got rid of lots of telemarketers, we only get one now, once in a blue moon.

We had trouble with prisoners calling this number. They caught my daughter home alone one day and tried to get her to press the numbers to forward the call, but she and I had talked about it and she wouldn't do it. She said they begged her, called her sweetie and everything. She's a good young woman. I called the phone company and they blocked calls from them.

 

[bearhawk]

I bought a new Impala last November, the salesmen and sales manager were very nice. When we finally got to the finance guy, he had all the paperwork done for a three year extended warranty that took over *after* the factory 3 year warranty. I politely declined it.

He was quite upset that I did not want an extended warranty for this *brand new* car. I had to explain why I would not want to partake of this super deal, and did I know how much a service visit cost these days. "An average visit to the dealer costs $600 and with only three visits it almost pays for itself".

No thanks, I said.

A month later I got a call *at work* on my cell with a recorded message "Your warranty has expired, press 1 to talk to a representative, press 2 to be removed from this call list"

I hung up.

Second call, I pressed 2, third call I pressed 2. Fourth call I talked with the rep, told him I wasn't interested and to not call me.

Fifth call, I just hung up.

By now I am really upset. So another week goes by and another call. This time I blew up on the rep and questioned his manhood and I believe said a few choice words that I won't repeat here.

I though I was through with them finally.

In my way home from work Wednesday, by Onstar phone started ringing.. Now I don't use this phone, and never gave the number to anybody, so I was surprised that it was ringing..

Now you know what happened...

Press 1 to activate your warranty.... Press 2 to be taken off the list...

As you know the car does not have buttons... I am going to the Dealer today to express my dissatisfaction with this whole Extended Warranty selling process.

Maybe they can get this to stop..

 

[CTW]

I became frustrated with all of the telemarketing calls and pressing 2 to be removed didn't seem to work. I bought one of those tele-zapper devices which seemed to work great for a while but now other companies are calling and seemed to be immune to the zapper. From what I understand, the newer software that these telemarketers are using now ignore the telezapper and continue with their message. I got to the point were I found my old lifeguard whistle, pressed 1 to speak with someone and let them have it. I felt kind of bad at first but the calls sometimes come at 6 a.m. and 1030 p.m. and I got over the guilt pretty quick. I like the idea of forwarding calls and would like to learn more about that.

 

[kenstrac]

Well here we go again the warranty calls are down to about 10 a week NOW there calling to reduce my credit card interest rates,usual crap press 1 to talk to a rep press 2 to be removed from call list on the last call I pressed 9 and some foreign person picked up the phone.SCAMMERS!

BTW Bearhawk that call did not come from the dealer, They are random calling hoping to get a victim

 

[bearhawk]

BTW Bearhawk that call did not come from the dealer, They are random calling hoping to get a victim

I know it was the Extended Warranty people calling.

I don't believe it is random, the one person I did talk to knew the year and model of my car.

They got my cell number from somebody. I never got any calls like this before. It seems odd that the contact number I gave the dealer was used to *random* call me on the extended warranty that I declined when I purchased the car.

I did stop and see them and they assured me the dealership did not sell my contact info to the Warranty people.

But it sure is fishy to me.

 

[Bird]

I don't know just how they got your phone number, but those warranty folks (and some others) do get all the new vehicle registrations and/or title applications, at least in Texas. So anytime you buy a vehicle in Texas, new or used, you can expect both phone calls and printed/mailed sales pitches for extended warranty.