We're blocked for advertising calls on Swisscom Callfilter, have the '*' on local.ch and usually let all calls go to answerphone. But still the vast majority of calls on our landline are from call centres.

Today I was expecting a call, so answered the phone. Charming lady on other end wouldn't accept my 'sorry, I don't take unsolicited calls' and out-and-out threatened to call me ceaselessly ('at weekends, from dawn and through the night') until I confirmed who I was and whether I had Swiss health insurance.

I know times are hard but I've never been threatened before! Has anyone had any luck reporting these fiends? Or should I just disconnect our landline for good?

Disconnect the landline. It's nothing to health insurance, they want a meeting then will try to sell a flexible savings plan that pays them huge commission.

If it was a Swiss number then you can block and report it on local.ch. Enter the phone number and it should come up with details for it. You should then be able to access the page to block and report it. local.ch sends it on to the governing authority.

The proplem is that they got smart...I am getting calls with numbers from Norway, Romania and a lot CH Mobile Orange...they will always find a way to trick the system

I got cold called recently by some ambulance chasing law firm, who asked me if I'd had an accident in the last 5 years.

I said "sure, he's a year old and we call him Alex. Let me get him for you.. he loves a good chat."

Your phone has a disconnect button. Use it

Problem is that doesn't stop them calling you again.

Mind sharing the number they called from by PM? I'm curious which company is behind it.

Bit sad really, but I enjoy getting these calls (as long as i have the time). I don't welcome them but when I do it's time for some fun -well at least it amuses me!

If it's the one where they want to gain control of your computer, I make them explain every aspect of what they want me to do, constantly misspell, then tell them all i can see is a black screen. Eventually them tell me perhaps i should turn it on - no doesn't turn on, is it plugged in, no, etc etc. Then I make them hold while I take / make calls, and then it's such thirsty work they have to wait while I make a cup of tea. Kept one guy online for 3 hours till he gave up.

I've also had the ones that want your bank / credit card details. Same tactics re tea, calls etc but I give wrong card numbers / details and so on, then I tell them my wife has just come in after a very hard day catching criminals as shes' s detective (not true). They hang up very quickly.

Many variations of this but some time ago a friend of mine had one of these numbers you have to pay per minute. He made a very good income from cold callers.

If it's an Indian Microsoft technician scam, speak to them in Swiss-German. You don't have to speak it very well, as they can't speak it at all. Same works if you get a call in French which sounds as though it comes from North Africa.
Most of my cold calls are currently from solar panel scam artists, who claim they aren't selling anything, just wanting to give you advice. I point out that their advice can't be any good as they clearly don't know anything about laws and regulations.

What don't people understand about "hang up"? Don't get into any conversation, it's pointless - just hang up...

My calls rarely last more than 5 seconds, and funnily enough they don’t often call back. I think they may get the hint.

Don't leave us in suspense. Conversation goes like this?

I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you're looking to sell me medical insurance, I can tell you I don't have money... but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.

If you hang-up now, that will be the end of it - I will not look for you, I will not pursue you... but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you.. and I will kill you.

Conversation goes like;

Me: Oui ‘allo
Them: Click, clack, hum. Bonjour Madame,
Me: {disconnect}

That’s it, and I’m not a madame.

Bar-stewards.

It's 2021 just get rid of the landline

A well known phrase or saying with the second word being ‘off’ and then immediately blocking the number never fails .

When I get a cold call (not so often these days), as soon as I know it's a cold call I go into my script as I got sick of telling them to eff off.

Hello, this is the smelly cheese company how can I help you?

About half of people hang up when they hear me speaking English. Some switch to English.

I continue... how can I help you today? We have some amazing ripe tallegio in stock and some Vacherin and a little bit of Stinking Bishop left... oh I'm sorry, the cats just eaten it.

Sometimes they get a word in about insurance etc I just go on... Sorry, we don't sell insurance, just smelly cheese.

By now 99% of them have hung up, but once a young German lass went silent for a few seconds then burst out laughing and thanked me for the entertainment.

BTW, they never call back.

__________________
Mike

Monger of fine British Cheeses

Thanks for the varied advice. The call was from a mobile number: if they follow through on their threat, I'll have a go at making a complaint with Swisscom - and will post the results on here (not holding my breath on that one). Phone has so far stayed silent.... Just hope call-centre menace doesn't take out their frustration on anyone else.

They always ask for my parents and never call again

I did used to use them for free conversation classes. Or put the receiver right next to the (foreign) radio speaker.

I don't have land line but i get these calls all the time, they drive me nuts. I've tried everything from being polite, to being extremely rude, to pretending I don't speak German, to pretending they had the wrong number, to silently answering the call until I hear that call centre background noise and hanging up before they even say hello (I thought I was getting super cunning with this one, hoping it would seem like a tech fault but it doesn't work. They'd just immediately try again, repeatedly, like as soon as I'd hung up it would ring again before I even had chance to block the number. Three, four times before I had to put airplane mode on in order to do it!)

Recently I've been hearing them out, saying no thank you, then when they persist just repeating no thank you to everything they say, whether it was an open question or not