Are you the homeowner?

[F]

That's what I was told but I can't see how I can take over paying for a call someone else initiated.

[F]

My wife answered the door to someone touting an alternative energy supplier recently. She has more patience than me when it comes to such enquiries. She said 'No thanks' four times. The pr*t carried on with the script (he'd started, so he was going to finish). I got fed up with listening to it and with his bullying, went to the front door and asked him which part of 'No thanks' he had trouble understanding. He b*ggered off.

How much longer should he have been given?

[geoff]

In message , michael adams writes

The day before yesterday was "I'm not selling anything, we have some surveyors in the area and ..."

Well he WAS selling and he was a lying bastard with it - why should I be polite

[geoff]

In message , michael adams writes

I don't argue with them

Alien concept to me, that

I do enjoy that bit

So you think telling them to f*ck off in another language would make them lose interest ?

No, they'd just start waving their arms around and make gestures involving the few words of French that they remember from school because its forrin and you're a forriner

No - "Fuck off" works

No other language on the planet is so well blessed with meaningful words of abuse as English - use it in all it's expressive glory

Good gutteral language like german for example?

Verpiss dich, hau ab

Nah nothing has the verbal force of our anglo-saxon heritage

[Mike Clarke]

I think some insecurely configured private automatic exchanges used to provide the facility of transferring the call back to the system by pressing 9 thus enabling the caller to dial another extension or even an outside line.

[David in Normandy]

Hmmm. You've got me wondering now. I was under the impression it was the case in the UK. It is like that here in France, pressing 9 when prompted by such phone calls initiates some sort of call back. I'm sure I've heard it mentioned in the UK - isn't it supposed to be a mechanism for doing a reverse charges call if someone phones you? Maybe I'm just going senile...

[Bob Eager]

No, it doesn't work. This has been done to death in the uk.telecom newsgroups in the past...hang on...

an good example.

[John Rumm]

Bollocks.

The only way you can be charged for receiving a call is if its a reverse charge call connected by the operator.

The maximum you can be charged for any premium rate call is also limited to £1.50/min IIRC.

[John Rumm]

and also:

[Bob Eager]

If further proof were needed: as noted elsewhere, I have on several occasions pressed 9 and talked to the operator at the other end, usually to ask the colour of their underwear .-)

I have never been charged ANYTHING (and I check my bills carefully).

[Chris J Dixon]

To demonstrate that you have not lowered yourself to their level?

My usual response to "I'm not selling...." is, "That's fine, I'm not buying, good day."

Chris

[Stuart Noble]

I like that one

[Huge]

Yes there is. They've already been rude to you by intruding on your personal space and time to try and sell you things.

[David in Normandy]

Interesting. Thanks. Looks like it is an urban legend then.

[Stuart Noble]

One's home being one's castle. How deeply entrenched that notion is in English culture. These days it's more likely to be the bank's castle anyway.

[geoff]

I enjoy it

[alan.holmes]

I had a double glazing salesman come to the door a long time ago, asking me if he could come in and discuss my needs, he had with him someone who he was training, after about half an hour I suggested to him that he was not very good at his job as he had not noticed that we already had double glazingm he left in a bit of a hurry!

Many years an american gentleman had posted, one way to deal with cold callers, unfortuately it only works if the caller is a female, let them chater on for a while, then ask if you can ask them a question, the answer is always 'yes' so you ask 'what colour knickers do you have on', most times they just hang up, on one occasson the manaager told me off for being rude and I pointed out to him that I didn't make the cal he did, on one other occassion the woman told me what colour they were, we both had a laugh about it, but she gave up.

Alan

[alan.holmes]

I did think of putting a notice on the door saying 'If you are selling something or offering a service I do not want, and you want me to be VERY RUDE to you, please knock on the door!

Alan

[alan.holmes]

We have one of those cards, but SWMBO would not have it near the front of the door!

[alan.holmes]

A lot of very good suggestions, I must try to remember some of them!(:-)

Alan