maybe some of you have experienced this and perhaps its even been posted before , but here goes
a couple of weeks ago i got a telephone call from the partenaire de edf bleu ciel about ways to reduce the bills "including using solar panels installed without cost to me "and i said yes i would be interested and then had another phone call a few days later to agree the rendevous.After 2 more calls to confirm the time and date (this afternoon) i got a call this morning to try and change the time so i said no you can come at the agreed time or forget it.So the guy said ok we will delete the appointment totally, which surprised and annoyed me at the same time so i called edf to complain who informed me they do not have any "partenaires" supplying solar panels and that unscrupulous firms are using their name to provide some credibility on the phone to gain appointments and that actually a loan or some finance would be needed to pay for the project without any guarantee of the savings covering the costs of the installation.
my electric bills are massive due to having 3 phase 24 kw supply for the house plus gites /pool heater etc so i was very interested at first !
So back to the drawing board now.
Steve
I tell them I don't give personal information (usually they ask if I own my house) and they hang up. I don't generally answer my French Telecom line for this reason and just pick up messages.
I consider nothing from cold call telephone solicitors. My response is usually "No speakee frenchy" and that's usually the end of it. If its home improvement sales (90% of the time) and the caller speaks anglais, I just tell them I am locateur. That sends them scurrying.
These "partner of" calls are really annoying and surely - fraudulent and dishonest as well? I can't run around saying I am the partner of someone or something, without being guilty of misrepresentation I would think.
There are fast operators around now asserting that they are Partners with Orange.
I know for a fact that one of our mobile operators has sold our details to Gawd knows how many phone operators and email spammers...... They (or maybe me?) made a mistake and address us by our surname instead of our first name. Not Susan Grunbichler, but Grunbichler Susan. So I get dozens of emails addressed to Dear Grunbichler. OK - the phone operator is b4you :-)
Be careful too of emails saying you have won a super prize, and that it is now awaiting delivery once your address and phone number are provided. This is another way of getting your details. In teeny print, you will see the word 'POTENTIAL' in front of WINNER.
There's another little
Your answers are so nice! I usually ask them where they are, then how much they are getting paid and then suggest that they find a new job. At this point they have unusually hung up with no goodbye - I guess the seconds count for them.
After seeing all of your replies, I guess I'm glad that I unplugged the phone. People I know who need to get in contact with me have my cell phone number. Most of the time, if people are calling my house, I know they are no friend of mine. The only time I use the house phone is when I'm making a call myself or if friends/family and I have agreed on a specified time for them to call me. I don't think my husband ever uses the house phone...
Anyway, Steve, sorry for the hassle you went through!
for those whos only comment is along the lines of "no such thing as a free lunch " etc etc YAWN YAWN
i doubt anybody involved in this discussion would naive enough expect to get a load of PV panels installed for free !
however when the telephone caller is offering a free study / advice and appears to be from a respectable source linked to the electricity supplier then it is of interest and perhaps for some worth looking into.
In my situation i was curious to see what was on offer and how that could fit into my set up / different roofs etc.
But i wasnt in any rush to sign up for any finance or credit to pay for it - but quite happy to let them come and advise , listen to the proposal and see what i think.
which is not quite the same as expecting it for free.................
Brian like it ! hahaha
just noticed this ad on the SF home page ! how topical and confusing as they told me on the phone that they dont do these panels ....................
www.edfenr.com/Photovoltaïque
I had four this pm at my Newbury flat then two this evening on my mobile....its epidemic proportions!
Nearly always get me at lunch :-(
A lot of them ring up when we are eating. Darned nuisance.
Nah, not ingenious at all. This thread just 'inspired' me to kick back with a bit of fun in it for me.
Get a loud whistle....news will get around and they will leave you be....
Perhaps we could start a group especially for our answers to cold callers....that was ingenious Brian...think of the fun we could have...
Could not resist it BUT about 40 minutes ago the call came. The caller naturally asked if this was X, but today I answered in the affirmative saying 'Enterprise X, spécialistes de l'énergie solaire et alternative'. The somewhat flustered caller kind of apologised and put the phone down. YESSSSSSSSSS! Give it a go people, the pleasure is almost without comparison.
I get loads of these calls from solar panels to Italian olive oil. They always ask if I own my house and I always say 'I don't give out personal information' and hang up. Sometimes they want to know if I am over 50 as well. They usually ring on my France Telecom number and not the broadband, so I never pick up the France Telecom phone and just listen to the messages. I have heard of scams where they ask you to come to a presentation at a local hotel so that they can burgle your house while you are out. I would never deal with these people, if I wanted solar panels or something, I'd prefer to do my own research. It is one of the most irritating things about living in a very quiet, small hamlet in the middle of nowhere.
My old neighbour assures me they do. In the little village we were in (she still is) it seems that the vast majority of people have PV solar now but they still get the calls.
Agree Norman. In the UK I always check out companies on line before considering if to use them or not...not quite so easy in France as the internet hasnt really been fully adopted....but we tend to only use an organisation or company on recommendation.
Did anyone pickup on the letterbox drops in the same category on French Channel 2 last night?
Purporting to be from the Mairies, the Police/Gendarmes etc., Favorite ploy apparently of the 'locksmith' ripoff merchants and others.
As an old Direct Marketing bod, and legit. with it, I would say immediately anything in your letter box or on the telephone follow the three basic rules - AVOID, AVOID, AVOID.