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Bizarre Phone Call About Windows

  • 13-05-2010 11:18am
    #1
    johnfás
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,342 ✭✭✭


    I just answered the phone (cold called), was greeted by hold music and then quickly transferred to speak to some chap with a heavily accented voice. He told me that he was calling from "Online PC Care" on behalf of windows. That my computer had been downloading files which I didn't want and that he was here to help. When I began to question him on how he got my number, or what he wanted to call me about, he became increasingly agitated. He became even more agitated when he asked me what version of windows I am using and I replied that if he was ringing on behalf of windows to help me, surely he would already know what version of windows I have. Then I hung up.

    It was a very similar experience to this one, outlined on a blog I found through Google.

    Has anyone here experienced this? Most bizarre.... but then you are for a moment thinking what if I do have some problem!!
    First there was music. Then a heavily accented voice from a call centre in India. This minion's job was to get me to turn on my PC so they could achieve something. So, three mistakes there:

    1. I don't have a PC that I use for anything except specialist purposes
    2. This was a silent call, music notwithstanding. If they had been a UK company this would have been illegal
    3. I am not the idiot they think I am

    So I told the very nice and heavily accented gentleman that my PC takes ten minutes to boot. And that I would put him on hold. I explained he would hear music.

    Then I turned the radio on and put the handset by the radio.

    After 5 minutes I apologised that it would be another five minutes. He was still on the line!

    After ten minutes I apologised that the machine had just crashed, and that it would be another ten minutes. He was still on the line!

    After 20 minutes I told him that the machine had booted successfully!

    Not only was he still on the line, he put me on hold then so I could speak to his supervisor. I decided to hold.

    A much less accented lady came onto the line and asked me to look at my keyboard, so I did.

    She told me where the Alt key was. Interestingly it is there! Bottom left hand side. Oh joy. Next to that she told me was the Windows key.

    Ah yes, the windows key. That is very hard to find on a Mac. I explained that I couldn't see it.

    She asked me to look at the bottom left hand corner of the screen and told me that there was a little button marked "Start". I told her there wasn't. What I have is "Finder', which has a smiley face.

    When she asked what was there I told her that I had a smiley face. I believe in letting cold calling idiots hang themselves.

    Instructed to click the smiley face, I did. She didn't believe me when I told her that a list of files opened.

    At that point she got a bit upset and accused me of not having turned my PC on. I was waiting for the old customer service joke of being told to take the machine back to the store and to ask for a refund because I'm too stupid to own one!

    Instead she actually decided to hang up!

    Go me!

    Another glorious way to annoy an unethical telesales company!

    The thing about this lot is that I really can't see where the scam is. I suppose at some point they ask for payment for whatever it is they pretend they can do to your PC. Unless, of course, they deploy some sort of Trojan onto it and create some form of unpleasant botnet.

    Whatever it is I don't want it.

    This call is just like those guys who turn up in an old Ford Transit with a load old asphalt on the back and ask if you want your drive resurfaced, and then rip you off rotten by doing a bad job. You do not give access to your PC with your personal data, your bank details, on it to any old Tom, Dick or Harry. Instead you take up references.

    I went to their web site at onlinepccare.com (and no, I will not dignify it with a link!):


    Look! Top right. The satisfaction rating.

    Of every 100 people, seven are dissatisfied! That's pretty poor!

    No, that's awful!

    That's apart from the silent call, and telling me that I had been contacted because I filled out a form when I bought my PC!

    Scam artists!

    Oh yes. Total call time was 24 minutes 51 seconds. I think that's a new record!

    http://timtrent.blogspot.com/2010/04/online-pc-care-just-spam-cold-called-me.html
    Failed to load the poll.


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