A couple times a week, I'm getting calls from Discover. They're driving me nuts!
We have a zero balance, so they've become stalkers. Yes, yes, I know about the "cash back" program. I also know how easy it would be to fall back into debt. I know the whole script by heart every time they call. I keep asking them to stop calling me, but nothing changes.
I'm tempted to stop answering the phone altogether unless I recognize the number. This is not such a great solution, as I do need to field emergency calls.
But there's no explaining this to the Discover Card people. Maybe I should cut the card up and send it back. Of course, then they'd probably start a new round of stalking, demanding to know why we "broke up" with them, asking for "one more chance," and promising us that they'll "give us more space" next time.
I could just start speaking French and act like I don't understand, or tell them I've just been elected the new president of Afghanistan, or maybe make up a story that I've just lost my job and plan on running up a bill that I can't repay, or some such. I could tell them I have to change phones and just never come back to answer it. I don't want to be mean, but after a while, aren't they kind-of obliged to back off?
Anybody have any good ideas?
7 comments:
Ask for their home number and say you'll call at dinner time.
Unfortunately, as long as you're their customer they have a legal right to call you.
So, in the end, canning them is your only option that is guaranteed to work. What might work is immediately asking to speak to the supervisor the next time they call. Has worked for me once or twice.
Tell them that your line cannot be tied up as you're waiting for an emergency call from a parishoner. It's all right for you to be a broken record.
I once just left placed the receiver on the table and left it there a few hours. That was when I could leave the room and didn't have to hear the noise on the other end of the line.
Change the phone number on the account to one that's no good.
Or buy gas with it once a week. They'll stop calling.
Why not just close the account? I'm with Pr. Lehmann and Dave Ramsey, you don't need Discover. The people that call you don't really have a brain, they just show up for work and do what they are told. Next time they call, ask them to close the account and send you written notice. Then it's over. That's my two cents.
Thanks for all the great advice, y'all. All much better than the air-horn trick.
Steve (Cholak):
Good advice (Dave Ramsey's economics is what we need, not the prevailing Washingtonian "stimulus" model).
The reason we keep the card (with a zero balance) is for emergencies. In hurricane season, we always have to be ready to come up with a lot of emergency money quickly - whether for an extended evacuation or for emergency home repairs.
So, the phone harassment may simply be the price I have to pay. But then again, if I do end up using the card for an emergency, they will make a lot of money off of me. So, I don't feel sorry for them.
Tom Mabe is your source authority on how to mess with telemarketers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un_PjRXV5l8
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