COLD CALLS

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

04/IV/2024

 

Have you guys faced a challenge of something called “Cold Calling”. Many companies have a call centre located in a slum in Dharavi to a swanky mall. They somehow get hold of your details and call you for buying homes, selling cars and you name it, ‘only at odd hours’.

 

Bank finance people, loan services, credit card services are on a lookout whom to call and disturb. These days there are frauds of umpteen kinds which access your number or social media account. One mistake and it is ‘Mayday’ for you.

 

Like these days, I am fighting Airtel as they are very concerned about my mobile bill. “Hello Sir, main Aarti baat kar rahi hun Airtel se. Kya app ‘Mr El Tee Kol’ bol rahe hain”. “Haan ji bolo”, ignoring her ignorance. Her voice sounds so dusky and sweet that one thinks chalo sun lo kya kahti hai. Though my BP shoots to 360/420 when such calls come.

 

“Aap Vodafone use kar rahe hain aur xx amount ka plan use kar rahe hai”? How does she know all that? “Mera pass ek bahut achha family plan hai sir, x amount ki saving hogi”. Now comes the crux, “kya aap Airtel main ye number “port” karwana chahenge”. Hum 5G services dete hain, Vodafone gives you third grade 4G”.

 

Madam, why are you so interested in me changing my service provider. How did you access my personal information? How do you ‘mine’ all this data. “Mujhe nahi chahiye” and you disconnect the phone. You block it and report it as spam. Within the next hour, you get a call from another number with the same aim this time it is Juhi calling.

 

TRAI needs to take note, to stop these cold callers and take such companies to task. The whole day they won’t call but moment you sit on the ‘throne’ or close your eyes for siesta, the phone has to ring.

 

Let me talk about Tata Sky also. I have a suggestion for them. Why can’t they have all promotional or paid channels other than what one has subscribed to at one place. If you surf channels every second channel is a blank channel which tells you that you can’t see it because you have not subscribed to it or pay X amount to watch it.

 

Can’t all such channels be made into a bouquet and kept to one side to avoid inconvenience. Or, have a system in the remote to lock or skip those channels. Tata Sky please note. Remote ghis jata hai bhai.

 

Another thing, moment you recharge, a call comes, why don’t you add xx amount to get this and that additional benefit. Tata ji in heaven, please tell your call centre chap to avoid being a pest. Peechay parna chor do.

 

Though I have no issues as a retired chap. I can chat with such namunas till cows come home and still be firm on my answer which is NO.

 

I had a phone number, which was handed over to me as an official number of a company where I worked by the previous incumbent. It has been fifteen years since I have been using that number but still all his pension details, and credit and debit card transactions, along with his wife’s add on credit/debit card spending and even new card delivery details keep flashing on my phone at odd hours. Bank walo jaag jao.

 

That number is still in the bank records. His pension account is in SBI, linked to Credit and Debit cards of SBI, HDFC, CITY, AXIS and ICICI. Banks don’t bother to whom they are sending those details of purchases that couple makes but I know. I wish I was so rich to see such transactions being done by me and my wife. Finally, I got hold of this person to get the needful done in all the banks.

 

That person must have also showed interest in purchasing a house in Pune and shared the number. You name a builder who doesn’t have my number now. They start off in Marathi to explain to me the benefits of a house which I cannot afford.  Since that number is in their records they keep chasing me as if buying a house is like buying Vada Pav.

 

How many phone numbers can you block and report? What happens to those which have been reported as spam. Some messages are computer generated which you cannot reply/block, like Dream 11 and Rummy circle type of messages.

 

Thank God, I am not getting personal calls and messages from film stars who promote gutka. Don’t you guys get fed up of such cold calls and unwarranted messages? I wonder!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND
© ® NOEL ELLIS