Accident claims cold calling...

[Dave]

Last night just after I kitted up to leave the office, standing by my desk, this dude cold calls me in the office asking if I have been involved in an accident, and the conversation went along the lines of…

Me: yes.
Claims: was it within the last three years
Me: how did you know, it was last week, a car run me over when I was just walking
Claims: what happened
Me: I was walking along the side of the road when this car hit me, then it reversed back to see it I was hurt and ran over my legs, then it sped off running over my legs again

Now the lads in the office had all started to look at me in puzzled way…more puzzled than normal that is.

Claims: did you get the registration number
Me: get the number, I got the whole plate, as I was holding onto it as it drove away
Claims: what
Me: as the car drove away, I held onto the number plate and it broke off, so yes I have the registration number and the whole plate
Claims: what was the registration number
Me: AB123YZ
Claims: (I could hear him typing) that not right
Me: I know it is not right, my legs are broken and also my hand while being dragged along by the number plate before it broke
Claims: what is your registration number
Me: I don’t have a number, I am a person, and I was walking at the time
Claims: good, can you hold while I get my supervisor
Me: its not good, I have broken legs and fingers

Now there are many people in the office listening, some laughing so much that tears are flowing

Claims supervisor: (now there is someone else on the phone) you have been involved in an accident
Me: yeah, I got knocked over, then run over when the car reversed over me, then run over again when it sped away dragging me by the number plate breaking my fingers
Claims supervisor: did you get the registration number
Me: as I told your colleague, I got the whole number plate, it broke off after dragging me some distance
Claims supervisor: very good
Me: no it not very good, it’s very painful, ran over three times breaking three legs and my hands
Claims supervisor: what is the registration
Me: ABC123VW
Claims supervisor: that no work
Me: my legs don’t work, they are all broken
Claims supervisor: what is your registration

At that point I hung up, as I was giving someone a lift to there can and he was waiting outside for me.

[willian]

You've way too much time on your hands!

[RK6]

You've way too much time on your hands!

My thoughts exactly.

[Zathos]

Used to get a load of those calls on the house phone, fun to mess with once or twice and then it just starts getting old.

I got a 'new' call blocking phone for the house. It forces unrecognised callers (not in the phone contact list) to record a short message telling who they are. The phone then rings internally and asks if you want to accept the call.

Most of the spam merchants hang up straight away and the number of spam calls has dropped to zero.
Best bit of kit I have bought in ages.

[al]

I had to get a TrueCall box about 7 years ago when those "Microsoft" scam calls started. Works a treat.

[willian]

I just hang up straight away if there's any delay in someone speaking or if i hear a call centre bustle, if it wasn't for the broadband i'd get rid of the house phone entirely.

[Gazza]

I had a scammer call me a couple of years back in Perth. Phone rang and some Chinese voice starting asking for me by name. Told him to F.O. and hung up. He immediately called back again so I just picked the phone up and set it straight back in the cradle.

Her Indoors took the third called and told me it was the postman outside the house trying to deliver a parcel

[haiax0]

I just hang up straight away if there's any delay in someone speaking or if i hear a call centre bustle, if it wasn't for the broadband i'd get rid of the house phone entirely.

You don't need a physical phone to make the broadband work. Just disconnect it like me. Job done..

[Gazza]

I just hang up straight away if there's any delay in someone speaking or if i hear a call centre bustle, if it wasn't for the broadband i'd get rid of the house phone entirely.

You don't need a physical phone to make the broadband work. Just disconnect it like me. Job done..

I like my home phone. We have it on silent answerphone mode only and use it when we have no choice but to give a telephone number to somebody. The only messages left are all genuine callers and I have to guess we've been dropped from the regular call list as we hardly get any cold calls nowadays.

It's also useful when you have to give numbers to people who might call when you're overseas, which is frequent in my case. If they ring my mobile whilst I'm away it costs a quid just to answer it.

[willian]

I just hang up straight away if there's any delay in someone speaking or if i hear a call centre bustle, if it wasn't for the broadband i'd get rid of the house phone entirely.

You don't need a physical phone to make the broadband work. Just disconnect it like me. Job done..

Oh I know that, but someone I might want to speak to might call

[chaos]

Ah yes,

Cold caller baiting, one of my favourite hobbies.

Just remember, when they exclaim 'its about the accident you had', dont react enthusiasticly with "wow, how did you know about that", coz they just hang up, no sport in that at all.

And no, Zathos, it NEVER gets old, it just gets better