[VoIP] Fun with Pat and Jane

[Ian Jolly]

Both my home telephone number and one of my mobile numbers appear in our 
telephone directory in the UK.

The predictive dialler usually calls my home number first and it is usually 
'double glazing' or 'cheap phone calls'.   I don't give them the chance to 
start their spiel  !  " Sorry - Not interested " and down goes the phone.

A couple of minutes later, the mobile phone goes as they work down the list. 
"Ah - cheap double glazing/phone calls/line rental- Tell me all about it"

I then keep them taking as long as possible making them think I'm 
interested.  Once they think they've convinced me, I point out that their 
offer of  'Free windows at the rear of the house if you buy those at the 
front'  (or the like) isn't much use to me - I'm camping in a tent in the 
Highlands of Scotland !

What they don't realise is the cost of the call!  Here in the UK the caller 
pays the whole of the cost of the call to a mobile phone and the number I 
use costs them approx 30p per minute compared with about 1p per minute to a 
landline!  Longest call I managed was for cheap line rental on my landline - 
kept him going for an hour !  :-)))

Ian J




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Rudholm" <mark at rudholm.com>
To: "Voice Over IP Tandem for Analog Switches" <voip at ckts.info>
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:38 PM
Subject: Re: [VoIP] Fun with Pat and Jane


> I've had success with "oh, lower interest?  I'm definitely
> interested in that, but you caught me in a meeting, is
> there a way I can call you back when I have time to talk?"
>
> Steph Kerman wrote:
>> Brian,
>>
>> YW.  Another factor is probably this:  For predictive dialers to work
>> well, a large groups of attendants and placed calls is necessary so the
>> statistical delays involved in dialing ahead can average out.  The
>> smaller the group size, the greater the probability that all attendants
>> will be in the midst of a call and no on will be available for the call
>> that has just answered.  It's basic traffic theory.  As more and more
>> small boiler room operations engage in this, it's inevitable that there
>> will be more and more hang-ups as a percentage of the total calls placed
>> by all of them.
>>
>> I receive calls on a regular basis from a specific organization that
>> claims to offer debt consolidation.  So far, though I have gotten better
>> at it, I have not succeeded in learning their identity.  Each time I get
>> further into the dialog with them.  Of course, I am recording each of
>> these calls for quality assurance.  ;-)    And so that there is a record
>> of the time, date, duration and exact details of each call in case I
>> eventually am able to report them for violation of DNC regulations.
>> But these folks are crafty and as soon as you say the wrong thing you
>> are met with an immediate loop current interruption as they summarily
>> terminate the call.  Asking who they are or how to contact them is the
>> first big "no-no".   Answering with anything about your credit situation
>> that does not match their target produces the same result.  So far
>> they've probably called me 6 or more times.  I have no need for their
>> services but I am slightly outraged that they blatantly ignore the DNC
>> rules and play this anonymity game.  I wonder at what point if any they
>> would reveal who they are.  Perhaps they are just phishing for
>> identities to steal from the gullible.
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