Coldcalling America style

Posted by: MichaelC on 07 February 2005

As of today my impression of the U S of Eh has fallen to precisely the square root of diddly squat.

Why?

Received a cold call (to you Americans that is an unsolicited phone call) from a firm of stock brokers just before mid-day. They get more devious as each day goes by so as not be filtered out by my receptionist.

The caller identified himself as c*** face from Everest stock brokers in New Yooork (Everest 1, Inc is I believe the full name of the brokers in question) in that shite drawl of theirs.

So I said to him "sorry but I am not interested" and, I can assure you all that is what I said, as I was about to say goodbye the faggot sent a high pitched tone down the line. It hurt I can tell you. The ringing has just about settled down now to a low throb in my ear and I am typing this more than four hours after the event.

An email to the firm gets a who gives a toss sort of reply.

I have now filed a formal complaint with the NASD who is the firm's relevant regulatory body. I won't hold my breath for this to be investigated.

I phoned the police here but they feel there is not a lot they can do (no surprises there).

I phoned BT at the police's suggstion but they have no counterpart in the usa to take this matter up with.

I even phoned the New York Police Department - basically they couldn't give a flying fuck. Put me eventually through to "someone who can help", The Better Bureau for New York and guess what you have to have your credit card ready.

Well, all I can say is "Fuck off America" for reason of the brokers and for reason of the NYPD's attitude.

I will never support the us of eh again - why should I? No goodwill left after today.

This is my toned down version of the post and I make no apologies for the poor language but you may have gathered that I am pretty hacked off.

Have a nice day

Mike
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by Emil
Speaking of "cold callers" see this movie
Boiler Room

On behalf of myself and all Americans, we apologize for the behavior of this turd.

Now, have I restored a teensy-weensy bit of goodwill? We cant all be British
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by 7V
That high-pitched tone stunt sounds as if it was particularly unpleasant. I'd be pissed off too.

Thankfully, I haven't yet heard any instances of such a thing being done by some of the more unpleasant and persistent of the UK cold-callers but I dare say it's only a matter of time. It will then be interesting to see how much interest our own Boys-in-blue take.

Regards
Steve M
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by long-time-dead
If I get a cold call, I just put the receiver down next to the phone and get on with my work. They usually go away after about ten minutes or so.
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by JonR
Mike,

Can I ask what you do for a living? I'm just wondering why you would attract a cold call from all the way across the pond?? I sympathise with your view of Americans although I'm wary of sweeping generalisations here lest I might offend our fellow American forum members!

I last went to the States in 1992 - to New York in fact, and one of my abiding memories of that visit was getting in someone's way on 42nd Street and being told in no uncertain terms to "fuck off" by some embittered New Yorker. I seem to have taken his advice to heart, because I've not been back since.

Having said that I deal with our New York office quite often at work and pretty much all of them are actually quite civilised and easy to deal with, so as I said earlier, I'm loath to generalise.

The high pitched tone is nasty. Are you sure it wasn't the sound of a fax machine? I ask this because I used to get repeated calls at home from what seems to have been some kind of computerised cold-call set-up where a set of numbers are dialled repeatedly over short intervals. Sometimes the calls would come through in the early hours of the morning, making it very creepy indeed. Inevitably when I picked up the phone all I'd get is silence or a fax machine going off.

Eventually I called the BT operator. They said that though they couldn't tell me what the phone number was they could actually set up a facility on the line to block any further calls from this unknown party. Not only that but it was done for free. The strange calls stopped and I've never heard from them since.

JR
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by bec143
1) As much as I hate telemarketers and the like, I strongly suspect that the noise you heard was unintentional.

2)I am assuming that your use of the term "faggot" must mean something different than in the US of Eh, where it signifies someone who is bigoted, narrow-minded, and intolerant.

3) Hard to believe that the NYC police department didn't jump on the case of the trans-Atlantic loud phone call.

4) I think that you need to put this into the proper perspective. It was irritating and annoying, but hardly the Boston Tea Party.

Bruce
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by MichaelC
Ten hours later and my ear is still throbbing.

Upon reflection my post is perhaps a little out of order - not all Americans are bad. Honourable exceptions to all those who are part of Nana and fellow forum members naturally!

Nonetheless I was astounded at what had happened. I simply tried to be polite in saying that I was not interested and then...

Emil - thanks for your comments and apologies for my ott comments.

What really had me fizzing was a) what happended b) the response from the firm and c) NYPD's attitude which seemed to be we are dealing with a crank.

Quite frankly if the NYPD don't see a problem and are unwilling to investigate...blood pressure rising. Thank god I was a few thousand miles away otherwise I fear I would have done something I may have regretted.

JR - it definitely was not a fax machine. It was definitely a high pitched burst of sound and the timing was more than coincidence.

As for what I do for a living, sadly my name and firm's name is public information and there is nothing I can do about that unless I relinquish my membership and practising certificate.

Steve/Dave - talking to BT I get the impression that it won't happen here. I gather that it is a criminal offence to do such a thing within the jurisdiction of the UK.

LTD - you are spot on, simply put the phone down and not even communicate. Lesson learnt.

Regards

Mike
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by MichaelC
Adam

Thanks for tolerating my outburst and for making your life difficult!

All the best

Mike
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by Emil
quote:
I last went to the States in 1992 - to New York in fact, and one of my abiding memories of that visit was getting in someone's way on 42nd Street and being told in no uncertain terms to "fuck off" by some embittered New Yorker. I seem to have taken his advice to heart, because I've not been back since.


On behalf of myself and fellow New Yorkers I would like to apologize for that individual who was rude to you. Winker
JonR, please come back Smile

Anyone else? Smile

I have always felt a kinship with you Brits but it seems times have changed. So sad. Frown
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by JonR
Emil - thanks for your sentiments. Smile

Just for that the USA has officially been removed from my 'Never Again' list!

Hey if I get a chance to meet some US Naimees, I'm sure that would make a difference to any future visit!

Cheers,

JR Winker
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by Bhoyo
Michael:

What you describe, if accurate, is illegal here too. The correct procedure would be to complain to the FCC here: Contacts

It's nothing to do with the NYPD. That would be like me calling Scotland Yard. Still, rest assured that they all would have had a great laugh about it after you hung up.

BTW, your rant against this entire country is ridiculous and petulant - and yet another example of the deep-seated, ugly anti-Americanism lurking just beneath the surface among the sad, dull and narrow-minded on this forum.
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by Justin
quote:
Originally posted by Bhoyo:

BTW, your rant against this entire country is ridiculous and petulant - and yet another example of the deep-seated, ugly anti-Americanism lurking just beneath the surface among the sad, dull and narrow-minded on this forum.


I concur in every respect.

judd
Posted on: 07 February 2005 by NaimDropper
How could making a loud and annoying noise into a telephone be illegal? Must be that UK lawyers and lawmakers have gone wild.
How loud could it have been? Really enough to cause temporary or permanent hearing damage?
Surely enough to piss anyone off and ruin their day, I understand your anger but I don't understand the direction of it.
Let it go. Keep the next one on the line knowing that it is costing them long distance charges and the cold caller's "precious" time while you string them along. Give them other numbers to call you back. FAX numbers, numbers for pizza take-out, etc. Waste their time and money.
Yes, the FCC is the place to go with issues in communications. How could you think the NYPD would have any interest in your problem?
But the FCC is busy stealing spectrum from radio services and handing it to cell phone companies. They don't have time for spurious obnoxious noises on land lines. Or salesmen.
If there are no obnoxious sales people in the UK then I'll apply for residency. Unfortunately they're as numerous and prevalent throughout the world as e coli in a sewer.
David
Posted on: 08 February 2005 by J.N.
Just to redress the balance here; during my holidays and business trips to the States, I've found Americans to be polite, helpful and positive.

Arseholes do not have a specific nationality - but exist everywhere.

I've encountered a few cold callers in the UK who can be pretty unpleasant.

Sadly; they generally will not take a polite "No thanks" for an answer; and I have used LTD's method when the caller is particularly persistent.The best way to deal with cold-callers in a polite manner is to say "No thanks" and replace the receiver immediately. That really screws up their next line!

John.
Posted on: 08 February 2005 by Adam Meredith
quote:
Originally posted by MichaelC:
Adam
Thanks for tolerating my outburst and for making your life difficult!
All the best
Mike


Mike
Moderation – the simple and the complex.

The text of your original post got caught by the ‘autoprude’ system. You, very reasonably, chose not to go Supernova at this censorship but e-mailed me to acknowledge.
With the benefit of a second thought you reduced the post from its 18 rating by the substitution of **s.
However, the content, as in message, remained unmitigated.

The forum, by being a permanent record, makes hasty remarks difficult to retract and encourages escalation. I hope I am right in thinking that you know this too. Upon reflection you may find that you were, with justification, annoyed by the actions of one American.

I apologise for choosing your thread to make what is so obviously a general observation but you seem, from the dialogue you initiated, like a reasonable person.
Posted on: 08 February 2005 by matthewr
Michael,

1. How do you know the noise from your phone was made by the man at the other end and wasn't just some phone related thing?

2. You heard a loud noise down the phone and called the police force on another continent? Do you not think you might possibly be over-reacting?

3. As others have pointed out, your post is a disgrace for a number of reasons and, I would argue, reflects far worse on the English than your original tale does on Americans.

Matthew
Posted on: 08 February 2005 by Nigel Cavendish
I had a phone call from the USA last night (Monday) from a PC supplies wholesaler, trying to convince me that it was cheaper to buy from them rather than from the UK. He did not take offence when I declined.
Posted on: 08 February 2005 by MichaelC
quote:
Originally posted by matthewr:
Michael,

1. How do you know the noise from your phone was made by the man at the other end and wasn't just some phone related thing? - I am certain the high pitched tone was set off deliberately and I consider it highly unlikely that it was a phone related thing - BT confirmed that this is not unheard of and that similar complaints have been made over time.

2. You heard a loud noise down the phone and called the police force on another continent? Do you not think you might possibly be over-reacting? - it was not just a loud noise it was designed to hurt. Was I over-reacting, at the time I certainly did not feel that I was over-reacting but with the benefit of hind sight possibly. I still believe what happened to be totally out of order. Period.

3. As others have pointed out, your post is a disgrace for a number of reasons and, I would argue, reflects far worse on the English than your original tale does on Americans. - err, I hate to admit it but you are right. I was out of order.

Matthew



Mike
Posted on: 08 February 2005 by Adam Meredith
Thank you all for being so reasonable.