We need to beware of phone callers , We have had lots of calls from people claiming to be Telstra , Today we had a call from Telstra with our details on usage and account number , The purpose of the call was to make sure we we were getting the best deal , Well I was offer all this stuff that I felt We didn't need for $54 a month more than paying now , When I ask for the plan to be emailed to me the caller hung up . I then rang the Telstra listed number they had no record of Telstra making a phone call to me and said there are 3rd party people selling Telstra service , The lady at Telstra my plan and told me We have the best plan for us , The best thing to do when in doubt ring direct and you know you are talking to the real Telstra .
I had a call today from someone who said - is that Jules - I said yes - hi, I'm (some name) from 24/7 -I thought she was from Telstra's 24/7 service, which I have used sometimes. She proceeded to launch into a spiel about insurance - cut her off very quickly - then blocked the number.
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jules "Love is good for the human being!!" (Ben, aged 10)
I've had issues with 3rd party bills on my mobile phone . Couldn't get them removed even when I rang them . An extra $380 a month on top of account . The only way to stop !! Was not paying . Funny how how Telstra can stop it when they PAY !!
DD - Keith - trouble is they introduce themselves in many tricky ways - I do hang up when they start their spiel, and then block the number, trouble is they usually have multiple lines, so your number gets passed on to the next telemarketer, and you will get a call again. I did telemarketing for a while, many moons ago, and that is how we worked - we worked an "area", five of us in the phone room, when you finished your page you passed it on to the next person, and got a new one from others, until the page was completed.
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jules "Love is good for the human being!!" (Ben, aged 10)
This caller said he was from Telstra , And he was checking to see if we were getting the best from our Telstra account and told me the services we had and how much internet you had use for the month, The lady from Telstra who I rang told me they are 3 rd Party sellers , So It is better to call Telstra if you are looking for a better deal , Has other have said don't buy from a caller on the phone buyer beware if it don't seem right it may not be right .
If I get junk calls like that I give the phone to my 7 year old grandson and tell its santa clause wanting to speak to him.
I had this dude call me one telling me he was sure he could save me money on my electricity bill (we produce our own or stay in caravan parks) I let him ramble for a time and interrupted him telling him we get electricity for free, when he asked how I told him we lived in a caravan and HE hung up...
Cheers all
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Ex RAAF, now retired. EX Electrician/Teacher.
Homebase is Murray Bridge Tourist Park (in a cabin). New Horse.. 2020 Ford Everest Titanium, Jayco swan for touring.
Because they are telstra franchise , Lots of Telstra shops in shopping centre are also Telstra Franchise , So has part of the franchise deal they get access to telstra files . That what they call 3 rd party dealers .
I did telemarketing for a while, many moons ago, and that is how we worked - we worked an "area", five of us in the phone room, when you finished your page you passed it on to the next person, and got a new one from others, until the page was completed.
Jules - I know you are a nice person as I've met you but this illustrates the problem I for one am faced with when answering call centre calls - I know that the person on the other end is calling me and trying to sell me something because that is their job...their bread and butter. They are most probably just like any person you can meet in the street and simply doing their job which is possibly the only job available to put food on the table.....it's very hard to be rude.
Years ago, I worked as a telemarketer for a charity. I did it for 8 years as a second job. Because of that experience, I am never rude if someone calls me.
I answer the phone and say nicely...
"Please don't take this personally but I never take unsolicited phone calls. Enjoy your day, 'bye"...then I hang up.
There's a simple solution to this rubbish, I went to a sports shop and bought a high Frequency whistle and give them a long hard blast. I also hope they are using ear plugs or at least head phones.
I take a different approach. I try to either keep them on the line as long as possible or say, no I am sorry, it is his brother talking, no you can't talk to him because we buried him this morning!
The first one is to play along as long as you can stand it. Play the silly game pretending all along to do what they are asking. Ask really dumb questions and ask them to repeat instructions. When it gets to the point you cannot hold the laughter in any longer, tell them that their origin in life is such that they should have drowned at birth and are the worst low life scum on earth. This has to be done at a normal conversational tone of voice. This is important as they usually do not pick up on the slander the first time which allows you to yell it down the phone in a really loud voice! Very satisfying!
Don't answer the phone let it switch over to your answering machine, pick it up if you want to talk to the person who is leaving the message...telemarketers will hang up as soon as the prompt starts because they know that you aren't going to return their call. This way you can avoid either being abusive or playing games with people ......although I must admit before we started using this tactic I was getting so fed up with the number of unsolicited calls that I was really tempted to resort to the whistle method. Maybe if everyone started doing this the unsolicited phone calls would stop as there would never be anyone on the other end to sell their wares to.
I wonder what the overseas call centre staff in the Philipines, India, Pakistan etc think of Australians. I have a son who works for Telstra and was part of the team that went to the Philipines a few years ago to start the training - he commented to me how polite, well mannered and dressed the trainees were with some inviting the trainers to their homes. Wages were about 1/5 of Australian rates and they were so proud to land such well paying jobs.
Why cannot people just say "no thank you" and hang up instead of being a bully. What a total lack of manners.
So the concern here is the lost jobs in Australia or the fact that the corporations have made a fortune by moving the jobs that should be here, overseas so the profit margin can go up? Of cause I am going to be rude and abusive and look for an alternative market, but because of short term profit making and selling everything off, I can't find a local alternative. So, please ask yourself, what is Australian about the process of offshore call centres, offshore owned utilities, including Ports and Airports? What is so Australian about selling off primary producers and items such as lobster and importing Brazilian lobster smaller than prawns I have used for bait?
The lack of manners is laid directly on the money makers and politicians for allowing this to happen, not the consumers who are sick and tired of being used as fiscal footballs!
I really do not care what they think of me, I just would like them to understand that the jobs they took actually belong here in Australia! If you cannot understand this, then I suggest you sell up and move to those countries, perhaps they will understand you, because I don't!
Fundamentally I support Lancelot's position. The transfer of Australian jobs off shore is not acceptable, but difficult for us to change. At some stage some bright spark must come to their senses and realise that if there are no Australian jobs, cutting cost moving services off shore won't matter, as Australians will not be able to afford to buy whatever they're spruiking anyway. I can guarantee that no company has moved its operation off shore to improve service to the consumer, and none are doing this country any favours by their actions.
I am not rude to those callers, but make it clear I am not interested. I say no thank you and simply hang up on them. I don't give them time to continue their spruiking, and often have a chuckle as I hear them talking as the phone descends. I am afraid I don't really care what they think. I did not choose to have them call me in my home, so they can ask their employer to explain why calling me at tea time is a bad idea. I have always worked on the theory that if I want to buy something, or need to change my service for something, I will make the call and sort it out. I don't need constant calls to check up on me!
As for scammers, they get a short fuse, a question regarding their Mothers pride or otherwise in their work, and then told to alphabet off. I have liked some of the tricks I have read about here and elsewhere, and also saw a good video about playing one along the other day, and have tried it for a short while, but then lose interest. Every minute of my life they waste is one I don't get back!
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Regards Ian
Chaos, mayhem, confusion. Good my job here is done
I consider unsolicited phone calls to be a form of harassment regardless of where they originate from and I couldn't care less about how offended the telemarketers are when the recipient makes it known that they didn't appreciate the call. Unlike some of the others I try to avoid being rude by letting my answering machine do the filtering but if need be I can be just as abrupt. I wonder how receptive Indians, Pakistanis or Philipinos would be if Aussies were constantly ringing them at meal times trying to sell them things that they didn't want. Hako if companies such as Telstra wish to keep transferring their operations off shore at the cost of Australian jobs then you shouldn't be too surprised when there is some sort of kickback.
It's not just large corporations going offshore, our governments are masters at it. A friend in Bathurst sent me the following which really has me wondering:
The present Berijiklian Govt will be out on its ear in the 2019 State elections, given the disastrously unpopular measures they have taken, which includes the sale of the NSW Land and Information Centre (LIC, which happens to be located right here in Bathurst) to a private concern (likely to be in India).
That done, the new private owners will ditch the present Torrens Title system of land ownership, and retitle every block of land in the State. They would then charge an annual "insurance" fee (some hundreds of $$$) to insure the title of our own land!! The first such "fee" would be due not long before the next State elections, so our State Govt must be naive to be following this one through, but they're determined, despite the enormous opposition. And the reason for the sale?......to build a new Sports Stadium at Parramatta !!
When I get a salesman on the phone, doesn't matter what they are selling, I let them ramble on for a couple of minutes, then I interrupt and tell them there is a knock on the door and would they mind holding while I answer the door. When I pick the phone up again, after about 30 minutes, I find they have hung up !!!
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Retired Airline Pilot and Electrician..
I'm not old, I've just been young a long time....Ken
Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
How the heck any federal gov't
can allow sale of any land in Australia to foreign Ownership.
Is baffling.
It's AUSTRALIA.
They'll be planting their own country's flags there next.
How the heck any federal gov't can allow sale of any land in Australia to foreign Ownership. SNIP They'll be planting their own country's flags there next.
Geez Macka, that's what the POMS did in 1788 but they didn't pay for it, they just took it!
