(OT) Learn to use a phone

[jw]

I can understand some people. Why cant they learn to use a phone and an answering machine. Maybe they should be required to take classes before they can get phone service....

Here's the deal: I saw a car in front of someone's house with a FOR SALE sign on it. It just has a phone number, which is not a local number. So I call this long distance number and get a voicemail, so it appears to be a cellphone, judging from the message.

I leave a message saying: "I saw your car for sale over on 12th st. I'd like to know a little about it. How many miles, what year, the asking price, and does it have anything wrong with it? And I leave my number".

Pretty basic questions. The next day I get a message on my answering machine. It goes like this: "I got your call about the car I'm selling, call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx. (same number I called the first time). OK, that was a complete waste of time......

So I call again, waste another costly LD call, of course no one answers again. I say the same thing as before. I got your reply to my call today. I'm calling again, please tell me a little about the car. How many miles, what year, the asking price, and does it have anything wrong with it? I am normally not near my phone, so please answer my questions if you get my machine. And I leave my number".

The next day I get a message on my answering machine. It goes like this: "I got your call about the car I'm selling, call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx. (same number I called the first time. same message I got the first time).

So I waste another LD call, and more of my time, and call again. I ask the same questions as before, but this time I stress. "I MAY BE INTERESTED IN BUYING IT, SO PLEASE TELL ME AT LEAST THE ASKING PRICE ON MY ANSWERING MACHINE.

The moron calls back the next day, and guess what he says?

You guessed it....

"I got your call about the car I'm selling, call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx."

This is my #1 pet peeve in life. I had an urge to call back one more time and tell the asshole "learn how to use your fu###ng phone, and an answering machine", but I wasn't going to waste another call on a moron who's apparently too stupid to own a telephone, and for that matter, if he cant use a phone, I sure the hell dont want a vehicle from this idiot.

He lost me as a possible buyer!

[The Henchman]

"I got your call about the car I'm selling, call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx."

This is my #1 pet peeve in life. I had an urge to call back one more time and tell the asshole "learn how to use your fu###ng phone, and an answering machine", but I wasn't going to waste another call on a moron who's apparently too stupid to own a telephone, and for that matter, if he cant use a phone, I sure the hell dont want a vehicle from this idiot.

He lost me as a possible buyer!

------------------

Sounds like a scam. Long distance phone number is the clue. He or she wouldva left an email address if they knew they were gonna be outta town for awhile.

See if that car is listed in Kijiji or Craigslist....

[mm]

Hey, I think you're right. I don't know why but I have vague memories of a story like this.

I forget how they make the money. The area code wasn't in Upyoursistan, was it?

[The Daring Dufas]

Other posters have already mentioned this but what is the area code. Long distance calls to some area codes can cost outrageous amounts of money. Many of the area codes are in the Caribbean islands that have area codes that look like those in the U.S. but are actually considered international and the owner of the number could have it set up like a 900 number that charges you per call. I would Google the phone number and find out if it's a reported scam number then contact your phone company and explain to them what's going on before you get a huge phone bill.

TDD

[jw]

No scam. It's a cellphone. Actually a tracfone to be exact. I realized that when I noticed I have several friends with that same exchange and they all have tracfones.

[aemeijers]

I feel your pain. I run into the same syndrome all the time when I try to buy stuff off CraigsList. Plus, in reply to my first message, they leave a mumbled message on my answering machine that is spoken so fast that I can't make out the numbers.

Secondary rant- people on CL who won't take email or voice calls- they tell me to 'text them'. Get a clue kids- not everyone is set up for texting, and we want an actual conversation with more than a couple of dozen characters.

[The Henchman]

Hey, I think you're right. I don't know why but I have vague memories of a story like this.

I forget how they make the money. The area code wasn't in Upyoursistan, was it?

--------

Basically the trick is to phone up or email the "seller" at which point they tell you either they are in another country or they themselves are a 3rd party representing someone from another country and they need a deposit before the sale goes thru so that the 3rd party can proceed with the sale. You can imagine what happens to your deposit. The idea of the scam is to get the deposit, not sell the car, by putting the hard sell on you while you are on the phone. It's alot easier to get a deposit of $500 or $1000 outta somebody than it is $5000 or $10000 for the car.

If it were a genuine seller, they would have called back in person or have said in t heir message, car was already sold.

[HeyBub]

Not necessarily. Cell phone numbers allow a portable person mobility. Once can buy a cell phone in Seattle and move to Iowa and the number moves with them.

You can sign up for VoIP with, say, Vonage and PICK your area code. If all your relatives are in Massachusetts and you (fortunately) live in Texas, you might choose 508 as your area code such that when they call you, to them it's a local call.

Assume you're a dweeb living in your parent's basement in Dead Otter, Minnesota but have developed an internet application involving tuna fish sandwiches. To impress potential clients, you can give out your number as having a 650 (Palo Alto, California) area code, thereby exciting them sufficiently to dump bags of money into your venture.

[Frank]

I have a Tracfone too and consider it a good deal as I seldom use it but like it for emergencies.

Lot of people buy them as throw away's and I know of someone that used one in a scam costing neighbor big bucks.

Atrocious phone manners or a scam, I'd look elsewhere for a car.

[Jon Danniken]

Don't get me started. I also see the "no emails" mentioned in some ads.

My take on this is that the person is very computer illiterate, and has heard that emails are an indication of a scam, or SPAM. I do know that this is a relatively recent phenomenon, likely due to the preponderance of cheaper computers going out to the masses.

Jon

[mm]

That's true. My brother moved from Texas to Florida 2 years ago, and still uses his Texas number. And why would he want to change? People have that number. And I think there is no roaming charge.

[krw]

Same here. We still have our VT phone numbers, though we've lived in Ohio and now Alabama. Why change?

[HeyBub]

Heh! My current squeeze is two weeks into her new job at a new psychiatric hospital. She's the primary intake interviewer (has two master's degrees - do you think I'd mess with a dummy?).

Anyway, a doctor stopped by her desk to ask an arcane question about a new patient. She said: "I think that information's on the chart. I'll get it for you."

"That's okay. Just text me the answer," said the Doc.

My squeeze responded: "My cell phone doesn't text."

The doc, somewhat puzzled, said: "I think there are web sites that can send a text message..."

"Look around," said my dearly beloved, "Do you see a computer on this desk, or anywhere in the room?"

Doctor, somewhat flummoxed, finally said "I think Morris (the head nurse,

6'4", 310#) can send the text. I've gotten some from him before."

Problem solved.

[jw]

If I use craigslist and the person wont accept emails, I just move on to the next ad. I dont like phone tag, and most of the time that's what happens. I can send an email right now, and be done with it until they reply. And since I use dialup internet, to call, I have to disconnect to call, which means I am always disconnecting and reconnecting, or else I have to copy and paste the ads to notepad.

I also have sold on CL and I refuse to give out my phone number in public. I dont need some idiot calling and saying my ad was in the wrong category or some other BS. I've gotten emails like that, but it's easy to just delete them.

As far as texting, I have no means to do that. Last year a local tv station had an early morning contest to attend an event I really wanted to go to. The first person who answered a question correctly was the winner. I knew the answer and would have likely won, especially since it was very early in the morning when there would have been few callers, and the answer would not been known except by someone in my line of work. However, you HAD to TEXT in your answer. I was pissed..... Later that day, I called the station and told them that they are not being fair to ALL viewers, explained the situation, and said they should accept voice phone calls and emails as well as the text messages. The person I talked to said they understood my frustration, and they would discuss this with the staff. She said that voice calls would be a problem at 5am because there is no one to staff the phones, but agreed with me about email.

Starting a week or two after my call, they have always offered both text messages and emails for all contests since then. So, it does help to complain about things like this.

[jw]

Where would this be? I thought those were called emails ?????

[Shaun Eli]

Consider the possibility that the person is selling more than one car but doesn't want to admit that he's not a long-time owner but someone who buys cars and resells them.

Or he doesn't want to leave any information that would drive you away as a buyer so he first wants to ask some questions and overcome objections before giving out information.

Or that for some reason, reasonable or not, he's not actually listening to the voicemail messages, just looking at the caller ID.

And let's at least appreciate a bit of irony in someone posting off- topic on usenet a complaint about someone else's phone manners, even if the posting is labeled OT.

[George]

Carriers typically offer a web interface and there are third party ones. VZWs is :

http:\\

[jw]

I was mainly wanting a rough idea of the price and what the car had as far as miles. I'd only have been interested if the price was below a certain amount. He succeeded in driving me away by NOT giving me any info. Three strikes and youre out. I called 3 times, that's enough wasted calls.

[Jan Philips]

How costly? A one-minute LD call in the US should cost 25 cents max.

[Jon Danniken]

I don't think most participants mind OT threads like this in this group, it's the political bickering that many find distasteful. Anywho, we do buy tools and such from CL for our homes, so this thread is somewhat on topic.

This post, however, is definitely OT.

Jon