Info From Telemarketer
Operator: Amy
Number called from: “213-537-1401”
Company representing: First Advanced Funding – asked her to repeat it a few times to ensure
Location of Company above: Vancouver
Info on company
Website returned by google http://firstadvancefunding.com/index.html
Email:
[email protected]
Phone numbers on contact page: 1 does not work and the other is just voice mail.
1-860-266-2846
1-860-266-2808
Date: June 26, 2008.
Purpose of Call To try to get me to prequalify for a credit card (loan) whose interest rate is based on credit card sales that my business reports using their service / set up.
My Responses record call
Act friendly and interested
Get more information about them then they get about me, asking at fitting times
Take a lot of time – Amy still gets paid, her company makes less sales – making such call centres less profitable
Notify them that I am not interested
Request I be put on do not call list, notifying this call has been recorded, and will be used as legal evidence.
My feelings People who call you should identify themselves completely
you should never give out anything more than first name
The People on the other end are humans too…just have a really bad job with poor work conditions
If I have time I hear them out if they are forward and respond to my questions.
Any sign of sketchiness or if I feel it is not of benefit to me,
I thank them, let them no I am not interested and request explicitly to be placed on a do not call list
IF it is a problematic company –
I waste as much of their time as I can, if everyone did this – they would not be feasible
record the conversation
And demand they do not call any more
On occasion I do get a useful call from a telemarketer – of course personal preference and perspective plays a lot here
THIS CALL – notes:
After calling twice before two weeks earlier, an after which I received numerous daily hang-ups from that number.
The Phone rang, I picked it up, the line was dead…I said “Good Morning” and waited a 15 seconds and Amy came on the line and introduced herself, (I believe it is a call centre that is poorly set up and the workers have an auto call generated cue they are trying to keep up with – and she had a hard time speaking English clearly as well).
I made sure to be agreeable this time, I asked her to hold a second (so I could start the recording – USB mic input off of a audio mixer to which a phone splitter is plugged in that you can pick up at any Circuit city (Originally bought because you can use it to play hold music, but being bi-directional – I realized I could record with it too. Recording going, I apologized for the delay and I continued to act friendly and interested. When she said She was calling to let me know that she wanted to offer me a loan, without application or credit check I replied that we were “in the market for a large loan, what company was it from?” she volunteered “First National Advanced Funding” – the number on my display was “213-537-1401”, I asked where it was located and was it a banking institution that fell under the guidelines of the bank of Canada as I was from Canada, Amy volunteered they were “located in Vancouver.”
I reminded Amy that we are interested in a large loan, as we have a high credit rating and I was concerned that credit checks are regarded as a strike against my credit rating, and want to be sure that the company I am having do any credit checks is the one that will be loaning me the money, so I do not have to do too many credit checks and lower my credit rating.
She continued to tell me she would like me to receive some information, and then asked some questions like who I am, and how long have I been in this business, I told her as those are harmless questions. Then I asked with regards to the loan “what was the interest rate” she told me she did not have an answer for that for two reasons:
1 Her Job was only to prequalify me – with an application
2 The interest rate varied and she was not aware of what it was as it fluctuates
I asked Amy from “First Advanced Funding” from “213-537-1401” on what basis does it fluctuate, she responded that it was based on my credit card sales for the month.
It would appear that they are trying to get you to apply for a credit card and to apply to accept credit cards for your business, you accept credit cards, they make money off your sales and off your loan as well.
I told her in our business, most of our clients spend a minimum of $2000 a transaction, and very rarely do they even ask to use a credit card,
Amy asked if it would benefit my business to accept credit cards, I said I didn’t believe it would, she asked if I thought I ever lost sales because people couldn’t pay with a credit card.
generally they pay cash or cheque, we have close contact with clients, our business requires that kind of relationship – only once in the last five years that I can recall has someone even asked to deposit over the phone with a credit card to secure a date, but no one has ever paid the full amount and we are a seasonal business so we would be paying high interest in the off season so it does not sound like a good deal. I paused…no response
I said “Amy”
She said “yes”
I told her that “ I would like her to put my number on the do not call list immediately as I have received numerous calls and hang-ups from her number and I believe she herself spoke to me briefly two weeks ago, and that I had recorded our conversation and this request and if I receive another call from her number I would have to go to the police.”
I could hear her line still on and her coach instructing her to hang up. Then the line went dead.