Is it just me or is anyone else finding that they are getting lots more sales calls and companies making out to be Market Research Companies. I must get about 6 or 7 a day now and it is really driving me mad as they always call when I’m just walking in or out of the door or really busy. I’ve found a product that I am going to give a go and thought I would let you know about it. Its not particularly cheap but if it works then it will be worth it in the long run. Its called True Call Sales Call Blocker. I have cut and pasted the information about it below…..
True Call (as seen as Dragons Den) gets rid of all sorts of unwelcome callers quickly and politely with the trueCall TC2 nuisance call blocker. It checks every call you receive before letting your phone ring. It connects your friends, family and invited callers straight through, but stops all sorts of nuisance calls - telemarketing, silent calls, market researchers, calls from overseas call centres, fax calls, offensive or threatening calls, misdials, wrong numbers and recorded message calls.
And trueCall is easy to use - just plug it in and go! It has an integrated answering machine, and for the more adventurous, there are plenty of features that allow you handle calls exactly the way you want, with a wide range of configurable options if you have specific requirements. It really is like having your own electronic telephone operator!
You can ‘star’ people who you always want to get through to you, and ‘zap’ people who you don’t want to be disturbed by - you can even do this on the fly. Clever trueCall can also ask and record the name of the person calling you – their ‘whisper’ – and announce this before you decide to pick up. So if that pesky telemarketer does say their name – and they definitely don’t have a chance of getting through to you if they don’t - here’s an example of what you can expect:
Your phone will ring, and when you pick up trueCall will say:
“You have a call from … Bob from Great Deal Home Improvements - Press 1 to accept the call, hash to ‘zap’ the caller, or just hang up to ask the caller to leave a message. Press star to accept the call and ‘star’ the caller”.
You can choose how you want to deal with the call:
If you don’t want to speak to Bob and don’t want to hear from him again you can press the hash key on your phone to ‘zap’ him - this plays him a polite message: “I’m afraid that we’re not interested in your call – please hang up now and don’t call us again”.
If Bob is a cold caller then his company is legally obliged to not cold call you again. If Bob’s caller ID is available, this also puts him onto your ‘zap’ list. If you’re not sure whether you want to speak to Bob or not you can just hang up your phone. This will send Bob to trueCall’s integrated answering machine – if you like, you can listen to him leaving his message through trueCall’s speaker. If you decide that you do want to speak to him you simply pick up your phone again.
Let’s say that you do let Bob through – perhaps you do need some double glazing. We have all had problems with persistent salesmen who won’t take ‘No’ for an answer – if Bob is being difficult you can press the Hash key on your phone during the call. trueCall will play him your ‘zap’ announcement:
“I’m afraid that we’re not interested in your call – please hang up now and don’t call us again”.
If Bob’s caller ID is available; this also puts him onto your Zap list. trueCall comes pre-programmed with this ‘zap’ announcement, but you can record your own if you prefer.
You can plug trueCall into any telephone extension socket in your house. If you have a cordless phone system, TrueCall must be located with the base station, otherwise, since trueCall is also your answering machine, put it in a convenient place for checking your messages.
The price of TrueCall is £79.90 (as I said its not exactly cheap but I have found this £5 off discount code FMAG30 which gives you £5 off any order over £30 (excludes gift wrap and postage). It expires on 31st August 2009. Click here to go to the website or to order.