Megan sent us this transcript of a recent phone conversation she had with someone from a mysteriously generic “cardholder services” that called her.
phone calls
Wave Of Fake Debt Collectors Hints At Possible Data Breach
By 8.4.09
The Better Business Bureau has released a warning to be aware of scammers calling to threaten people with arrest “within the hour” for defaulting on payday loans. What makes them stand out from normal debt collecting scammers is these callers have huge amounts of personal info on their victims, including Social Security and drivers license numbers; old bank account numbers; names of employers, relatives, and friends; and home addresses.
By 7.24.09
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If you’re an E*TRADE customer who lives in California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, or Washington, you may be eligible for a class action settlement regarding the undisclosed recording of phone calls. The deadline to file your claim form is September 25, 2009. [Settlement site]
NY Attorney General Shuts Down Abusive Debt Collection Operation, Puts Owner's Rap Career On Hold
By 6.24.09
The New York Attorney General shut down a network of debt collection agencies today that were run by convicted felon Tobias Boyland, who along with his colleagues impersonated police officers, threatened debtors with arrest, and told them they were being sued in civil court. Boyland is also an author and a musician, and he has an awesome website, bagsofmoney.us, which—warning—launches into a street-friendly rap song as soon as it loads.
This Subway Shop In Virginia Promotes Timeshares
By 6.17.09
Tim thought he was entering an innocent giveaway at his local Subway in Warrenton, Virginia earlier this month. Nope. It was just timeshare bait. We wish the Subway would have known better than to allow the dropbox in their store to begin with, but after reading Tim’s story you’ll know what to watch out for should you run into a similar contest.
"Sprint Won't Stop Calling Me To Make Sure I Am Happy With Them"
By 4.8.09
One of our readers can’t get Sprint to stop calling him. He’s happy with the service, and they just want to make sure he’s happy. Repeatedly. To the point that they’re starting to get on his nerves.
Tired Of Telemarketers? Try Suing Them
By 8.29.08
In yesterday’s post on rude telemarketers and the people who hang up on them, reader/advice giver Amy Alkon said she just successfully sued a telemarketer in Santa Monica Small Claims Court—and won! If you’re one of those unlucky people who can’t get the calls to stop, here’s how she did it.
Angry Telemarketer Calls Back, Chews You Out For Hanging Up
By 8.28.08
This telemarketer has had it up to here with all of you people at home hanging up on her every time she needs to sell you something! Randall Whited in Austin, Texas, received an earful recently, when he answered the phone shortly after hanging up on the unnamed telemarketer.
FTC Listens To Your Complaints, (Mostly) Bans Telemarketer Robocalls
By 8.20.08
After reviewing the more than 14,000 comments left by living human beings, the FTC yesterday amended its Telemarketing Sales Rule to ban most types of robotic telemarketing calls. By this December, any recorded calls will have to lead off with an automated opt-out option; by September 2009, telemarketers will need prior written permission to contact someone—simply being a recent customer won’t cut it.
Preemptively Praise Customer Service Reps And They Will Do Your Bidding
By 8.18.08
Before asking customer service representatives to tackle thorny issues, win them over by first offering to praise them at the end of the call. According to Psychology Today, the offer establishes a reciprocal relationship that CSRs will try to honor, even if solving your problem takes, ugh, work.
AT&T Calls 9 Times In 12 Days Trying To Sell DSL
By 8.5.08
Would you buy DSL service from a company that either doesn’t care about Do Not Call lists or doesn’t know how they work? A man in Missouri was harassed to the point where he considered calling the police, because no matter what he did, AT&T wouldn’t stop calling. Every time he tried contacting AT&T to get it to stop, he ended up in automated phone systems with recorded messages, busy signals, and disconnections—but never a live person. Only after he wrote to a local consumer advocacy columnist did AT&T pay attention and turn off the telemarketing fire hose. AT&T didn’t, however, explain why they were targeting this person, or whether anyone else is facing the same barrage of calls.
T Mobile: Listen To The Most Pointless Customer Service Call Ever
By 5.12.08
Kapil’s brand new Blackberry arrived with a battery that won’t charge. He wants T-Mobile to exchange it, but he says T-Mobile wants to replace it with a refurbished Blackberry instead of a new model. Kapil is fighting back, but even at the executive support level all he’s found are rude, uncooperative T-Mobile employees who keep saying there’s a process, and that someone will call him back—which never happens. Kapil refused to hang up on the fourth day and demanded to know what happens next after nobody calls back, which seemed to confuse and anger the T-Mobile rep he was speaking with. And for those of you who can’t listen in, we’ve transcribed some of the juiciest parts.
Holiday Stress Drives Tim To Shout "Fuck Off!" At Customer
By 1.10.08
Here’s the strange, sad tale of Short-Tempered Tim at New World Video Direct in Brooklyn, NY. When Nicholas called NWVDirect a week or so ago with questions about an extended warranty for his new plasma TV, he got terse answers from a generally unhelpful man on the other end. The call was abruptly disconnected. Undaunted, Nicholas called back and got the same man, so he asked to speak to a supervisor, which is when things started to spiral out of control at the NWVDirect call center.
Pranking US Airways Exec In Charge Of In-Flight Credit Card Pushing
By 11.23.07
JH: You know why? Because you’re not captive on a plane.
The obvious next evolution is that customers can opt to sit in a part of plane that doesn’t have hear the credit card offers, provided they pay a small additional fee.
Recorded Customer Service Call Roundup
By 4.26.07
Recording customer service calls is fun! And if you submit them to our contest, we can provide value-added services (like mocking them) and you can win fabulous prizes! Let’s look back at some of the customer service calls we posted in the past to help us get in the spirit.
How To Record Customer Service Calls
By 3.15.07
It’s good to get into the habit of recording customer service calls. It gives you proof if they mess up and maybe you’ll get a really bad one that you’ll want to submit to The Consumerist. Here’s some tools to help you.
What ConEd Thinks Of IDT Energy Slamming Its Customers
By 2.13.07
ConEd spokesman Alfonso Quiroz let us know that they, “always encourage customers to shop around.” He pointed to poweryourway.com as a great place to find alternate energy service companies or ESCOs.
