To have lost my temper

The people who ring with the "problem with windows" are not selling anything; they are trying to get into your computer. I did read about someone who told them they should be ashamed of themselves and was told to eff off. I don't see any need to be polite to people who are trying to scam the vulnerable.

I used the same technique as Sylvia, but only after I'd asked the caller if I might make a suggestion that would save both of us time and effort. My suggestion was that I should just give her my sort code account number and password if that would help speed up the process. In a very patronising tone she said that would indeed save time. In my 'little old lady' tone I asked her to repeat exactly what information she needed. She did and I then told her to b*** off and stop her vile scamming ways! Surely they must realise by now that everyone is on to them!

I did Market Research for a while. One day I was knocking on doors in a street and chatting to someone. When I got to the end of her drive a heard applause and there were a couple of double glazing salesmen who said how brilliant I had been and did I want a job? I pointed out that I was talking to her because I was genuinely interested in what she was saying [I think we were talking about dogs] and, no I didn't want to sell double glazing to people that didn't actually need it .

DD did telesales for a short period with a double glazing company but left because she couldn't face doing the hard sell on people who were clearly vulnerable. She said she heard the top salesman on the line to clients and decided that she could not bully people they way he did and left.

I try very hard not to get cross with cold callers- one of our daughters did telesales when she was a student - and I remember her saying how hard ti was and how nasty and rude some people were. At the end of the day, those doing that job often have to do so as they are unable to secure another job-and they don't enjoy it either. So I always say something like 'sorry, I know you are only trying to earn a living- but I never buy on the phone from cold callers, sorry, bye' and put the phone down.

The people at the end of the line are not the problem- but the businesses they represent.

I reply "shall I just give you my bank details, then you can steal all my money". The caller laughs and puts the phone down. End of.

Tps helps a bit with UK sales calls, but now they've latched on to the annoying 'No, it's not a sales call, we're just giving you information.' When I'm on the mood I have eventually got an admission that they would hope I would in the end buy their product/ expertise or whatever. Then I can say loudly 'So it IS a sales call & therefore illegal!' If I keep them talking I feel it's costing them more, but I don't often have the time to waste.
I liked the news article a while back about the man who got a premium rate number and made money out of sales calls.

I get a young Indian accented man called Peter at least 3 thime a day, he keeps telling me there in a problem with my Internet connection, I keep telling him I do not have one as I get WiFi from DD, and he keeps insisting it is through my landline, last Sunday at 7.45 I asked him how his family was where were they, he said California,,,,, I told him I had missed chatting to him the day before, and then to F Off. Now I get the calls but as soon as I awnser silence, do they take the hint eventually, but now my 79 year old Mother is getting them, she is sharp, told the young man he would need to hold the line a while whilst she went to get her computor, he said fine, she said good as it is still in the shop !!!!!! Click.

You use the whistle, not the caller!

after your suggestions Experigran mine seem tame. Leave the call open and carry on with your day to day business (as long as it is not too revealing) they soon ring off; or use a whistle.

My DD3 was given a number by Virgin media which had been used before. She gets two or three calls at least from people wanting to contact this other person. Unfortunately before she realised there was a problem far too many people had been advised of their new number and they thought it would improve - it didn't. One day her baby son got there first and gabbled on for several minutes with baby speak. She was with him all the time making sure all was well.

My son had another way of keeping them on the line to waste their money.

He would say:

If you wish to speak to the man of the house, press 1
If you wish to speak to the Lady of the house, press 2
and so on through many children, the dog and the goldfish!

Cheered me up no end Experigran thanks for the laugh.

I'm holding my sides laughing!
Wonder if I could alter it to being an English police woman?

Experigran- that YouTube clip is hilarious!

Experigran that link was very funny.

Nearly every day I received cold calls around midday but now realise that I haven't had any calls lately. I wonder what is going on, maybe the solar panel companies know they have finally covered this area. I hope so!

We rely on the answerphone. A lot of the automated phone calls recognise that they've connected with an answer phone and just stop after a couple of rings.

We are registered with the telephone preference service, but it does not block calls. If you tell them you are registered they do put the phone down pdq, but it does not stop the nuisance. DB only answers those numbers that he recognises from the display on his phone. I have not programmed mine in yet (only had it for 2 years).

Unfortunately they have no control over cold calls from international numbers. DH had the letter from the Financial Regulator informing him that his name and telephone number had been found on a list used by boiler room fraudsters and warning against them, but by then he had been receiving the calls for about 10 years and as we are neither gullible nor greedy he had never been tempted to let them get past the briefest of intro remarks before he put the phone down on them.

There was recently a very big multi-country police action that took out the majority of these operations and we have been call free for the last few months. Lets hope it stays that way.

You can complain to the Information Commissioners Office (www.ico.gov.uk). Unlike TPS you don't need the name of the company or a telephone number.

We are registered with the TPS but this only works for UK companies that use it. If I get a UK cold call. I usually say 'This call is illegal and you can be prosecuted and fined £10,000 for every such call you make (no idea whether that is true!), but they ring off pdq.

International ones we either do not answer, but if I do - and they ask for Mr FB. I sound subdued and say 'He is dead' and if they ask sympathetically when I say, 'This morning'. They too ring off pdq. I am hoping that if I do this often enough he will get taken off the Boiler room phone list. He has been on it for years and has never been even tempted to buy, or even stay on the phone long enough to find out what they are duff shares they are selling.

Galen Truecall would work for you, it would not stop you getting your work calls. If you go onto their website their is a good demo.

The chap that devised it took it to Dragons Den, and all the Dragons wanted in!

We do the same as Mollie and let everything go to answerphone. Family calls are easy to identify as each one has a little tune as a ringtone. I snatch the phone up quickly if I recognize the voice before they ring off.

I don't always have it on. And if it is on I don't always hear it. If they don't get an instant reply they try someone else.

Could you not give the important work people your mobile number galen?

That's the problem, my son couldn't set up his Skype to have a recognisable number show up on our phone when he rings, it comes through as number withheld even though he paid for a proper number, so I occasionally answer the phone and then could scream. I just put the phone down, but once it happens, they keep on trying for at least a week.