Sorry, the grief it is causing my elderly father getting these cold calls is distressing to him and us.
He was "persuaded" to part with his card details by an unscrupulous PPI claims management company by the name of Tucan, who cold called him.
They removed £249.99 from his bank account last October, after telling him that they would only take the money if he had a successful claim. My dad has never had PPI but they convinced him that he might have.
Coincidentally, my father suffered a stroke 10 days after all the upset and trying to deal with them on the phone!
There are lots of comments online about this particular claims management company - lots of people have been sucked in by them.
The upshot of it is that we had to involve the bank and my dad was finally refunded in full last week = 8 months after they took the money. No interest was paid on the money though (and no work done!).
So, even if the guy who lied to my dad was just in the job to support his family, I cannot agree with cold calling and lying to anyone, never mind vulnerable people.
The petition has my vote!
------------- Deb
----------------------
Growing up is mandatory, growing old is optional
While I agree that these telesales jobs do provide employment (and often the only employment available in a given area), the sheer volume of these calls has become intolerable. Despite being registered with TPS, it is rare that one day does not go by without a call - sometimes two, on (fortunately so far, rare) occasions three calls at any time of day or evening. Despite "providing employment", these are a totally unjustifiable and unwarranted intrusion into people's privacy.
I feel certain that even those who see little harm in or suggest allowing these telephone calls would object to being accosted on the street with similarly intrusive and uninvited "sales pitches" - I suspect that there would be vociferous demands for such "harassment" to be dealt with immediately...
Additionally, as a fair proportion of these calls apparently originate abroad (thus defeating the TPS!), just how much employment is provided in this country for "an awful lot of people" ?
And finally (Hooray!) - why do the same companies keep ringing again and again? I know it may be computer-dialling, but if they know my name each time, they should be able to knock me of their list - I'm not going to change my mind!
Gram
------------- What's the difference between a chicken?
I'm afraid this makes me very angry; the last two months we've been having a horrendous spate of them (and consumer survey calls) and I can only think this comes from my phoning round for insurance quotes. Sadly, because my Mum has a telecare phone, I can't use the answerphone.
------------- " When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"
Done, going to register my mother with tps as they are always calling her. I told one to go away on Sunday when we were visiting her! ( It was a kitchen Company)
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
I too hate these calls. I believe that people have the right to enjoy the comfort and peace of their own home in the evening without somebody calling to hassle you with yet another "reason" to have your wallet out and debit card ready.
I don't have much sympathy for anyone doing this sort of work. When I have been out of work and desperate, I still refused to take any job which involves cold calling. I went for an interview with Safestyle windows once when I was desperate, only to be interviewed in a dingy and smelly breakout room with filthy plates, cups and old food everywhere. The idiot interviewing me described the job to me, to which I replied "so this job involves cold calling then?"
"Oh no, no cold calling. You'll just be knocking on people's doors to offer prospective customers a free survey"
"So it IS cold calling then?"
"Oh no, not at all"
At which point I said "sorry, not interested" and walked out. These are the kind of tactics they use one their victims. "We're not selling anything, honest" I had one of their sales people turn up at the door (of my PVC double glazed house). Told me "I'm not here to sell you anything"
"Yes you are"
"No, really I'm not"
"So you are paid to walk round having a friendly natter with people?"
He just looked back at me blankly at which point I said goodbye and close the door.
It's not just cold calling which annoys me, it's the constant up selling which every company I ever deal with seems to do. The AA for instance; it is impossible for me to phone with any quick query without being told that despite having the highest level of breakdown cover, I also "need" repair and labour cover. I can't ring HSBC with out them offering a product I "need". And almost everyone you ring now has to hassle you with one satisfaction survey or another. When I call Dell engineers out at work to fix faulty laptops in warranty, I always receive an email survey, followed by nagging emails and phone calls when I haven't done it.
Signed the petition anyway, and frankly couldn't care less if it puts anyone out of "work". They can go and get a job which doesn't intrude on other peoples lives.
i always ask who they are, where they got my number from,
(we dial random numbers my a*se) and then to put me on to their supervisor. i've not spoke to a supervisor yet, they're always busy. i tell them that's ok i can wait. funny, they hang up.
The trouble is once you have bought from one company its possible they sell on your details to other companies.These data lists of customers who spend money are big business.
Since i had a new number connected i went ex directory and have no unwanted calls.In fact the only person who knows our number is the mother in law so i often cant make it to the phonein time.
What gets to me is the random texts im getting.I know for a fact these are randomly generated as my work phone is on a network where our numbers arent given out at all.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Make telephone sales cold calling illegal
in time.
