Wednesday 3 October 2018

The "Do Not Call" register

is not working as intended.
We have been inundated with calls in the past week. I have answered eleven calls since last Friday. The Senior Cat has answered three. 
I know some of them have come from the same source. I recognise the voice. I have told the voice they are breaking the law with respect to such calls. That person has tried to insist they have the "right" to speak to me or, preferably, the Senior Cat. I have told them that, if they wish to get in touch with us, then the company in question can write a letter.
I have actually reported them.
The problem is that the calls are coming from a "call centre" in another country. The company is owned in another country as well. They believe the law should not apply to them. If they do business here then it should apply to them.
We have never done business with them. We will never do business with them. They keep on trying. 
    "Just listen to what I have to say," the voice tells me, "I can save you thousands of dollars."
No, you can't. 
And then there is the other one - from everyone's favourite telecommunications company. It is "about your computer". I have told them - more than once - that "there is no computer here". It isn't a lie. There is no computer in that room. They tried with, "But we have your records here." They give my old email address and I can honestly say, "That has nothing to do with me."
I hang up - and they ring back again. They say they know I am upset with these sort of calls and that I don't want to admit I have a computer but this really is urgent and if I don't do something immediately I will lose access today. I just put the phone down.  
The "tax office" hasn't tried again. I did have a letter from the actual tax office the other day - telling me they couldn't process something. I happen to know that one is legitimate and I don't actually need to handle it. I passed it on to the person who deals with such things.
The "solar panels" people have been on to us. We have solar panels. I explain this and the fact they are  breaking the law. It makes no difference. They want to come and "inspect" them. I hang up again.
Four different charities have phoned. They are exempt from the register requirements. I simply tell them, "We don't do that sort of thing over the phone". No, I am not stupid enough to give someone a credit card number that way. It could be anyone. The person at the other end, if legitimate, is being paid anyway. I'll use my very limited financial ability towards things I know directly about and where everyone volunteers.
I just can't help wondering how many hundreds of thousands of calls are made each week and how much time and money is wasted in this way. I wonder how much people don't donate to sometimes worthy causes and what they might have bought but don't because they have been harassed by such calls. 
If you are looking for money don't bother to call me. If I have any to spare it will go where I choose.
 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We get calls from "the technical branch of T------" too. I ask why they have such a bad line, so bad that I cannot understand them (which is true), and hang up. Presumably they get enough business through this ringing people to make it worth while. I guess the real T----- must be cross that their name is being used. (I assume the real T------ would not use such a poor quality, irritating marketing tool...)

LMcC