I like to email their sales, marketing, or other departments with strange questions and such. Most of those emails addy's are on their websites. I ask them for advice and complain to them, it can be pretty funny.
Do they answer? I think Cnetter's should collaborate on a book. 101 Ways to Drive a Collection Agency Bonkers.
Sometime they just ask me my acct info or refer to another dept. I will keep replying until they give up. SOmetimes tell me them jokes or irrelevent info. I have also put candy wrappers and such into the return envelopes that they used to send.
Here's one that I use on telemarketers that could also be used on bill collectors: When they call you, say "I'm sorry, I can't hear you. I'm hard of hearing. Can you please speak up?" They'll oblige. "Hello, Mr. Doe. I'm from the XYZ Collection agency..." Interupt them and say, "I'm sorry, I still can't hear you. You'll have to talk louder." Keep doing that until they are speaking at the top of their lungs so everyone in their office can easily hear them screaming at you. "HELLO, MR. DOE!" Then hang up. Hawg Hanner
I make sure that I return EVERY single "business reply postage paid" envelope with torn up newspaper, etc........... -Cliff
"Hello, Is this Mr. Radi8?" "Hello" "Is this Mr. Radi8" "Who is this" " I need to speak with Mr. Radi8" " Just a minute"...... "Hello" repeat ad infinitum.... or: " Im' calling from xxx collections" " Good! I bought that Elvis decanter collection you advertised on TV, and I want to return it" No sir, I'm calling about a past due bill with XXX" " who the hell would collect past due bills? are they framed?" "No sir. YOU have a past due bill with XXXX that we need to take care of" "Thats mighty nice of you folks to take care of it. I still want a refund on the Elvis stuff, though." or: "Hello, may I speak with Mr. Radi8?" "I told you THE MONEY IS IN A SACK AT THE PLACE YOU REQUESTED!" "What??" "PLease return my child. Please" Mooohhahaha I have waaayy too much free time lately. Radi8
Somehow I'm not suprised. Try and remember that a telemarketer is usually just a kid trying to get through school and might actually be selling something that could help you. Acting like a PR|CK only shows your true colors and probably ruins some poor slobs day, who already knows he/she has a lousy job. Don't confuse telemarketing with collection agencies. Weren't you the one giving us all moral lessons the other day?
Aw, C'mon Butch. Do you really enjoy telemarketers? I pay for telephone service, for MY convenience. It is not there for them to attempt to make money off of me. I try to sit down for supper with my kids, and Riinngg! They KNOW that they are calling at suppertime. If their product is so great, they can mail me something I can look at at MY convenience. It's really rude and arrogant of them to expect me to listen to a sales call, placed at a time that is convenient for THEM! Yes, I'm on the "do not call" list. They ignore it routinely. I feel sorry for the kid who is attempting to make a few bucks and getting hung up on, but that's the nature of cold call selling. It's in the same category with email spam, only without a delete button. Radi (dont' bother me when I'm eating) 8
The process of finding investors has always involved some phone time. Nature of the business. Fortunately I don't have to call anyone anymore unless they send me a card first. Radi, Sure you have a good point too. But to play nasty games on someone for fun is over the line and in a strange way worse than ruining your life (I mean dinner) with a simple, and actually relatively rare, phone call when you happen to be eating. (Unless of course you're always eating. LOL) A simple "no I'm not interested and please don't call me again" would certainly be acceptable. I always include the brief line "Good luck on your next call".
Re: Ever do this to collectors for Yeah AmEx sells every product you could imagine on the phone. Its not really convenient for the salespeople, i seriously hated the hours i want to eat dinner not interrupt others dinner. Its that most people are home at dinnertime. I guess the companies dont have the state issued "do not call" lists because we ALWAYS got people on the list and it sucked because they would get extremely pissed off. I loved getting hung up on then i liked it better than a sale, because a direct hang up doesnt effect the agents averages so the coaches can't get pissed, sales take forever lol. the environment is really high pressure and the managers are mean, their excuse for everything is "i had to work on the phones for 2 years to get this job" i would never do it again, fast food is better even with the lowest pay but i get paid more doing fast food because i just couldnt stand working there so i called in sick every day. lol. i dont know if its like this everywhere, it could just be AmEx. But telemarketing sucks.. when people swore at me it usually made my day because it can be really funny, the worst line is "can i have your home number and call later" its just a retarded line from seinfeld just ask to be put on the do not call list and if they call within 5 years you can sue them.
Re: Ever do this to collectors for I'm helping a friend with a CA, Genesis, and I called them a while back. The 1st person that got on the phone said that she could answer any credit related question. I asked her why they broke Federal Law, the FCRA and the FDCPA. I was put on hold 4 minutes. The 2nd guy got on the phone and assured me that he could help me. I asked him the same question. He answered that it wasn't his department. 5 minute hold. The 3rd guy, was the head guy, and I asked him the same question. He stammered around and then said that he couldn't help me unless he had my SS. I told him that I didn't have an account with them, but I would like him to answer my question. He insisted on my SS, so I said if I give you my SS will you answer the question. He said yes. I gave him a SS and he ran it and then he told me that since I didn't have an account with them that he wouldn't talk to me any more and hung up on me. It really made my day. Charlie
Re: Ever do this to collectors for Dearest Butch, I own a phone, and while public access to the phone is legal, I tend to believe that public access to the instrument attached to the phone line IS NOT. There is very little difference between the person hired to hawk their goods during my dinner hour and liesure time than the person who tried to collect on a debt. There's a big difference between me turning away a person soliciting business and the person who doesn't pay a debt that they owe (less interest and collection fees...in order to keep this thread on topic). I don't give a two hoots about what the person on the other end of the telephone line. The telemarketing industry has done it to themselves. If they wouldn't call so much, I'd be much more polite. And in the CREDITNET.com spirit, I've begun a personal crusade of my own. When they call, I ask them what company they work for. "No, not the company you're representing, I want the name of the company you actually work for." Then I ask what city they are calling from, their name and their address. I then send them a certified letter instructing them of my rights and reminding them to put me on their "do not call" list, and if they fail to do so, I will see them in court. I'm not at all a litigious person, but telemarketers have become one of my biggest pet peeves. It's actually beginning to work...except for one company that persists. I plan on filing court papers immediately after their next call to me. Luckily the state of Wisconsin passed a new law that prohibits telemarketers from calling consumers in the state who register with them requesting that they are not called. Each offense is worth $1000 to the consumer. That law goes into effect 1/1/2003. I can't wait. Hawg Hanner
Re: Ever do this to collectors for sometimes its fun to act like you think its some kind of joke. keep tellin them ..Im not gonna fall for this one! and laugh alot. Im glad i dont get those calls anymnore.
Re: Ever do this to collectors for I like Jerry Seinfeld's Approach. You let the telemarketer give their schpeil, then when they try to seal the deal, you say I need a little time to think it over. "Tell, you what, give me your home number and I will call you back tonight and let you know" Telemarketer: I am sorry, it is against company policy to give out our home numbers" "oh, that's Ok I won't tell" "Sir, I can't give out my home number" "Why? you don't like getting calls at home?" "No, sir this is my job, I don't take calls at home" "Well, now you know how I feel!" Hang up. I did this once and got a bang out of it. Sorry Butch.
