Is it legal to shoot tele-sales people for crass insensitivity?

[Bill]

As I walked out of a hospital last week having just left my fathers bedside, he had died an hour before, I received a diverted, from his home phone, call on my mobile from a salesman from a national double glazing company following up on a sale that they had made to dad a year before. He asked to speak with dad and I told him that he had died, an hour before. To this he replied that as I was presumably the inheritor of the home that he could speak with me instead, and proceeded to try and sell me more double glazing. He would not take no for an answer until I hung up on him.

Please tell me that in this circumstance I can track him down and shoot him, I would feel better and it may save others from an obvious idiot. I have used this company before, but they do not stand a cat in hell chance in the future!!

PS. I don't really intend on shooting him, but just may have done so at the time!!

[Bob Martin]

Please bear in mind that if you do shoot him you could possibly be saving the rest of us from a similar experience. ;-)

[N_Cook]

Only if you are both in Hereford and you use a cross-bow.

[tabbypurr]

write to the head office, tell them what hteir sales team is doing. And name them here!

NT

[mark.bluemel]

+1

[Mike Barnes]

Executing him seems a little harsh considering that you could have ended the conversation any time you wanted to.

[Brian Gaff]

Well, I don't think it is, but on the other hand there is a saying to the effect that the only reason some people are still alive is that it is illegal to kill them. Allied to this is the one that says, never hit a man with glasses, always use something bigger and heavier. Brian

[Jethro_uk]

They *will* have a copy of that call, which you can insist on hearing under the DPA.

Maybe find out if they are members of any professional organisations, and inform them in the same letter (cc).

[Brian Gaff]

I believe there is an old Law in the States of Guernsey which allows one to kill, but you have to use certain Guernsey language phrases and it must occur on your own property. It occurred to me that while all this reciting of old law was going on, the smart victim has probably made themselves scarce,which is probably why its been over 100 years since it was invoked. Brian

[Dave Liquorice]

doing. And

Condolences to to the OP and +1 for the above but do a bit of digging on the net and personally address the polite and factual letter (snail mail) to the MD or CEO. Just sending it to HO will mean only a customer services rep gets to see it.

Once all the formalities have been completed see what response there has been from the MD/CEO. If none or not satisfactory the tabloids love this sort of story, particularly if it involves a known brand name.

[Adrian]

Well, quite.

Why not just hang up as soon as it became clear it was a sales call?

[stuart noble]

I remember a lady ringing a theatre ticket agency to say her and her husband wouldn't be able to make the matinee performance as the husband had died suddenly. The guy at the other end offered to cancel one seat

[Bill]

He would never make a double glazing salesman, he was far too sympathetic towards her!

[Martin Brown]

You waited too long before hanging up in that case.

Worst one I had was Coop Insurance on the day of the funeral hassling me to use them to do the probate for his estate. I told them to get knotted in no uncertain terms and made a formal complaint.

The other lot who have proved incredibly difficult to get rid of have been Age Concern(sales dept) who should damn well know better.

Deceased preference service helps a bit but basically you need a stock letter, sticky labels and a big black marker pen for return to sender.

[Bob Henson]

That's a tad like the old tale of the chap sitting next to an empty seat in position A on the half way line at the Superbowl. The man next to him asked why the empty seat, when they were like gold to get hold of. "It was my wife's seat, and she died", he said. "Couldn't you get a friend to come with you?", said his neighbour. "They're all at the funeral", said the man.

[michael adams]

Condolences on your loss but you may possibly have been a victim of the fact that saying someone has just died may have been recommended by someone somewhere, as an easy way of getting telesales people off the line. Or maybe the telesales people have been trained to believe this. Obviously its impossible to know but it might be interesting to know just how often this is used as an excuse as compared to how often it actually happens to be true, as in your own case. Just a thought.

michael adams

...

[spuorgelgoog]

Condolences.

You should have told him the window falling out killed your father and asked him how much compensation he was going to pay you.

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

No jury would ever find you guilty. ;-)

[tony sayer]

Having met Bill he is perhaps to much of a gent to do that..

[Cash]

I can't really answer that Bill, but I can relate my own, rather painful experience.

Way back in 1969, we had just lost our 13 hours old son, (our first child) when a Jehovah witness disciple came knocking our door an hour after I had been told about this (and before I could even see my wife) and he tried his usual spiel of his version of religion on me; and even after I had politely explained that I wasn't interested and why, he persisted - right up until my fist hit him and knocked him over the garden wall.

The police (who were sensible and sympathetic in those days) didn't pursue the matter - and the god-botherers *NEVER* knocked our door again at that address. We moved house some years after, and lo and behold, the idiots made the mistake of again knocking on our door - and after I had verbally abused them and their god for a few minutes (ably assissted by my wife), they departed and have never darkened our door to this day.

My condolences for your loss Bill - and if you know the company, go and bang the managers door and lay into him!

Cash