Today was one of those days that I wanted to remove the phone, physically!
A while back I had a call from the Discover Card. The woman was pleasant and determined to send me a packet for a card. I made it very clear that I was not interested in their card and I would not use it. She was determined that I would use it and she was sending the stuff whether I wanted it or not! She said if I looked it over and still did not want it to just dispose of it.
It's just like being run over by a steam roller. She wanted information, you know, the usual and that included Social Security number which I refused. She was agreeable to that of course because she knew that a little further down the road they would get it out of me.
Quite a long time passed The packet came and I disposed of it. Junk mail is a whole new story.
More time passes and I start getting phone calls about my Discover Card being approved and all kinds of things I can do. The one thing I could not do was to get it through to them that I did not have an account. Plus, I did not want one!
Well it continued and I kept telling them the same thing. One night another call and again the same old routine but at the end the woman very nicely said, "You will have to call and tell them that you do not have a account." She gave me a toll free number to use. Now why did it take
months to tell me that?
Well today I attempted to use that number.......ended up with something called "Home Services". "If you are interested in Chemical lawn care press one."
"If you are in need of plumbing or furnace service press two."
"If you are looking for shopping aids and coupons press three"
"If you are looking for a credit card, need information on an account, press four."
By now I am so confused and getting so angry that I want to hang up. Then a voice says" Your account number please." I can tell this is not a human, a real person telling me this so I just sit there. I get the "Your account number please" message about five times. Then a whole new
spiel starts.
"If you need information about you account press one."
"If you need to increase your account limit press two."
"If you need to have additional cards press three."
"If you need to talk to someone about your account press four."
That did it, I pressed four and a real person asked how she could help me with my Account.
Aha! There it was a chance to say, "I do not have an account, I do not want an account, I just want your company to stop calling me about this account that I don.t have!!!"
"May I have your Social Security number please."
"No, I do not give it out."
She verified my address, last name, mothers maiden name and then wanted the zip code and the last four numbers of my Social Security number.
After having to verify my zip code, then try to remember the last four SS numbers, I was totally upset. I gave her the wrong Zip and had to tell her to change it. She thanked me and said for me to hold the line, a great number of different tones went off and beeps then zap and I am disconnected. So much for holding the line.
By now I am nearly in tears. I said to my husband, this is exactly what gets Senior Citizens in trouble. These people talk so fast that its just "garbley gook." Most of us older folks have some hearing problems and it also takes us longer to process what is being said. Its frustrating, humiliating and maddening.
I got into a mess about a year ago and was coerced into a scam. It worried me to death as I knew the moment I hung up that he had dragged some information out of me that I should never have let him have. I slept on it then decided to make a phone call to my credit card company and see if
they could do something.
They took all the information, then advised me to destroy my current card and they would issue me a new one that day. They informed me that I had been blatantly lied to, that the things that had been promised me were not possible, except thru my own card. They explained in a manner that I could understand and were more than happy to give the assistance.
That taught me a real lesson. I also cost me my self confidence, security and self esteem. I felt very stupid. The high pressure mode, rapid speech and persistence are very instrumental in confusing seniors and its then that they mess up and fall into these scams.
I worked for telephone company back when there were real operators to handle your calls. I have never forgotten the basic training I had for that job in all these years. Its hard for me to be rude to people -- times change though. It seems so often anymore that this is the only way to get away from them. Even if you have to just hang up.
Our local Safeway Pharmacy has a "call in" for refilling prescriptions. After the horrid episode with Discover I tried to call in my needed refills. I was still in such a state of emotion that the first time I got the wrong number. Stubborn, I tried again and fouled up the RX number. Now, that was devastating -- the old devil shadow that sings "I can't do anything right anymore" was right there chanting in my ear.
My husband led me to a chair saying quietly, sit down and relax! After a while, I gathered my self together and completed the task with no trouble. Seniors, do not need this stress in their lives.
Beware and stay on the alert!
© 2003, Barb Gould
Barb Gould is a regular columnist for the Peacock Chronicle.
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