Is anyone else experiencing dodgy calls about winning holidays?

The phone rings on the second hello a foreign voice comes on saying that someone has put your name forward to win a holiday and i would like to congratulate you on winning... If you would like further details of your winning holiday then please press 9 etc...

I have just had my second call within a week now telling me that my family have won a holiday...

I hung up straight away as i now know its rubbish... dread to think what happens should you be foolish enough to press 9 for further details... :(

These scams can be so dangerous....

If this hasnt happened to you... Please be aware...

Angel: These calls are sooooo annoying I get them all the time. Now if any of us answer the phone we check the display and if it says international we reject it.

Its the same for cold calling selling bloomin windows etc. That conversation goes along the lines of.

seller "hello can I speak with the householder"

me "No sorry they are on holiday and Iam just burgling their house".

Seller - silence followed by "do you know when they are back"

me "No but if you giving something away for free - Ill have it anyway".

Seller - dial tone ...............................................

Yes! I've had exactly the same thing. If you put the receiver down it doesn't even cut off the call, as you'll find out if you pick it up again, which is damned annoying if you want to use your phone. But don't press any buttons. I did this and was charged £2.70 for my trouble. Scumbags. :mad:

there are no methods for being charged for pressing a button. The calls are annoying that is all.

Register with the Telephone Preference Service (tpsonline). This cuts the calls down from UK-based companies, but doesn't work for overseas companies I don't think. It eliminated loads of annoying marketing calls for me!

yes this has happend to me on three occations now its ever since i have gone on broad-band {plus-net} wonder if its got anything to do with it :thumbsup:

Originally posted by feargal
Register with the Telephone Preference Service (tpsonline). This cuts the calls down from UK-based companies, but doesn't work for overseas companies I don't think. It eliminated loads of annoying marketing calls for me!

We've done this but we still get them. Last time it was an actual person on the other end of the phone, I asked her how she'd got our number since we had registered with the TPS. She tried to fob me off saying "it can take a while for it to happen". I told her we'd done it over a year ago. She said she'd remove our number from the list. Probably won't but it was nice to vent my anger out on someone!!!

Whenever you get a 'real' person doing the cold calling try saying that it's not convenient right now as you are in the middle of a meal, about to take a bath, seeing to the children etc.

Then offer to take their HOME number and say you will call them back at their home in the evening sometime to discuss it further. They tend not to carry it on after that...



:thumbsup:

shout 'my friends hen has onions for eyes' in a really silly voice. Or repeatedly whisper the word cress with an air of brooding menace – both ploys see off the most determined salesperson. Don’t do it to your friends as you tend to become ostracised.:twisted:

We are getting several calls a week of a pre-recorded holiday win scam. Usually it's a 5 minute statement by Stacey that we keep finding on our ansaphone. The TPS can't help in this case as it's an American company and they don't have to follow the rules.. Any suggestions on how to stop Stacey phoning regulary would be welcome.

The best thing to do is shout a lot of obsceneties down the phone at them before hanging up. If you can't bring yourself to do this just ask a lot of personal questions about why threy are doing this job and their financial situation. see how long they want to keep this up. Also, ask for their home address, how many children they have, what time they leave the house etc etc. This will freak them out and they will be only too glad to end the conversation. Of course if it is a recording this is a bit pointess.

In slightly different circumstances if someone rings up selling, say, double glazing a good way of having a bit of fun with them is to say:

"actually I'm really gald you called as I am wanting to buy some. Just hang on a second while I turn the cooker down".

Then you go away and leave them hanging on the phone (which they are paying for). This will put them in a qunadry, how long will they wait for such a 'good sales prospect' and waste their time while they could be phoneing other people.

I tell them I'll get the homeowner, then set the phone down and leave it.

Or I give it to the kids. They love having fun with telemarketers.

:) Sierra

My husband and i did once take someone up on the offer, it was to come listen to a speal and try sell us time share thing, just show up and listen and get 4 days in Florida, we did, got the 4 nice days in Florida, must say they followed through with every thing they said, and had no intentions of buying a time share.

Originally posted by poppins
My husband and i did once take someone up on the offer, it was to come listen to a speal and try sell us time share thing, just show up and listen and get 4 days in Florida, we did, got the 4 nice days in Florida, must say they followed through with every thing they said, and had no intentions of buying a time share.

poppins,

the husband and I have done the same thing. Though we didn't go as far as Florida. We got three days at Tahoe with free hotel, meal vouchers, and lift tickets to Squaw Valley and Sugar Bowl.

We just had to attend a 2 hour presentation, also for a time share. We didn't buy, but it wasn't for their lack of trying. Talk about high pressure sales!

:) Sierra

Originally posted by Sierra
poppins,

the husband and I have done the same thing. Though we didn't go as far as Florida. We got three days at Tahoe with free hotel, meal vouchers, and lift tickets to Squaw Valley and Sugar Bowl.

We just had to attend a 2 hour presentation, also for a time share. We didn't buy, but it wasn't for their lack of trying. Talk about high pressure sales!

:) Sierra

Sierra
we were lucky as our salesman wasn't feeling well that day but still had to show us the time shares i think he was glad to get rid of us so he could go home.

But even so, they paid for our gas too to go to the seminar, a free gift each and then the 4 days in Florida, only downside was they made it hard to pick a time to go but we didn't let them get the better of us, we still went.

Try to sell them something

Originally posted by samc
We are getting several calls a week of a pre-recorded holiday win scam. Usually it's a 5 minute statement by Stacey that we keep finding on our ansaphone. The TPS can't help in this case as it's an American company and they don't have to follow the rules.. Any suggestions on how to stop Stacey phoning regulary would be welcome.

The calls i'm getting are pre-recorded... Indian sounding woman talking... both calls now have been by the same recorded voice other than 1 was someone putting my name forward for a holiday and won and the 2nd of today was that our family had won a holiday...

Someone else mentioned broadband... this could be our problem too as we got set up last week and already we have had 2 calls... also a numerous amount of people calling for a Mr or Mrs west!? strange... but yet true...

my housemate is hilarious, he get talking to them and makes it sound like he is interested and halfway through a word hangs up. they always call back and e keeps cutting them off untll they get the message:D .

i once had one calling from america an hour later she said can i have your credit cards details and i said no sorry! she started swearing at me and the lot!:loopy:

I just say thanks put the tickets in the post then hang up.Never had any tickets sent though:rolleyes:The most annoying calls are the ones that say they can save on your phone/or electric bills :mad: I just put them on hold then hang up after five or ten mins.Once had a caller at the door" I can save **% on your electric bills....Me "tha sees that lamp up road .if tha looks close enough thall see a wire commin from it through me back winder.Ah get my electric for nowt..can tha beat that me owd..He just turned and vanished sharpish down the path:rolleyes: Funny enough a couple of days later someone came to check my meter:rolleyes: :hihi: :hihi: