I have a lot recently.
- I have tried asking them to remove me from their lists - no success
- I have answered but hung up - no success
- I have been rude - no success
- I have told them that the person they want to speak to (me) is dead - perhaps delayed a repeated call
- I have told them that the target is no longer available on that number - no success.
My latest plan is to discredit the data collected and hopefully, should this catch on, the validity of data submitted to the sponsor will be suspect and therefore unreliable for making business decisions.
How - simple - I lie when I answer their questions. Depending on how well the caller understands English determines if I tell them after 20 minutes or so.
I have spread this approach to many others receiving these calls and hopefully the use of "tele-harassment" may decrease.
If YOU are bothered then help this approach to succeed by adopting this tactic, and encourage others to do likewise. Many friends now do this, and most don't advise the agency that the information is bogus.
UPDATE:
17th August 2011. received a phone call from a financial services company with regard to the answers I provided to a recent phone survey in which i stated I was born in 1986, retired in 2005 and living in a 5 bed detached house having separated from my wife. In all cases I NEVER accept offers of having someone contact me. On this occasion I told them after the interview that all the information was bogus.
The Financial Services guy was concerned when I told him the above story, so score 1 to me.
