Getting rid of nuisance sales calls

Right I’ve had it. I’ve just had the third spam call this week and it’s only Wednesday. You know the ones I’m on about..


“Hi, I’m calling from your provider to offer you a special deal on a new Nokia something-or-other.”


You can’t get rid of them. It doesn’t matter what you do or say there’ll be yet another company calling you the next day. I’ve tried every trick in the book. I ask them nicely to remove my number from their database, but they say, “It’s a computer that dials every number combination possible”. You hurl abuse, they call back. You say “No”, they call back. Now I’ve got into the habit of just putting the phone down on them. Yes, it’s got to the point where I don’t give a stuff about listening to them or being courteous. Just slam the phone down. End of.


Today was the last straw and it prompted me to write this. I got a call which wasn’t “Withheld number”. I don’t answer “Withheld” or “Unknown” numbers any more as it’s bound to be one of these muppets trying to sell some Nokia that I don’t want. This was a number starting 00 40 – I did some checking after I put the phone down on them and noticed that this checked back to Romania ! AGH! They’re trying to sell me phones from all over the world!


So, I’m curious – how do you guys deal with these calls? Do you have a technique for getting rid of people trying to get you a new contract and new phone? Tell us all about it!