Offer: my recent purchase on a credit card (which card, they could not identify) qualified me to receive a free $100 gas card good at any station, plus a $25 gift voucher good at any "popular" restaurant in my state. Only 25 people in the US were receiving this offer, and similar offers would be repeated if I continue to use this unspecified credit card. (How'm I supposed to do that?) "Alan" asked for my credit card expiration date to confirm (I made one up) and read back my address to me. He asked me to verify that I was over 18, saying that he had to be speaking to "a major". (I didn't realize that use of the word "adult" had gone out of fashion.) He asked for the name as it should appear on the gas card, and although I gave a nick name, he spelled back my legal name, which has a variable spelling, so he obviously had that, too, and wasn't listening. I needed only pay $4.95 for shipping and handling and would receive my free gift in 4 days. I argued that first class postage is only 42 cents, to which he explained that the package was coming from AZ. (I told him that postage from AZ was 42 cents, too; he said the $4.95 was a handling fee. He also rejected my argument that a free gift shouldn't have a fee attached, by definition.) At my questioning, he said that I wouldn't have to pay it until the package arrived.
He transferred me to "his manager", "Lee". "Lee" identified his company as both "Caller Advantage" and "Callers Advantage" and said that their company's web page was www.smartshopper.com, which, incidentally, makes no mention of them. He said they were located in Phoenix, AZ, although the phone number is from NJ. He said that they needed the number from a plastic card with a Visa or MC logo from me to put through the handling fee. When I insisted that I do not give my credit card number out on the phone, he urged me to go out and purchase a prepaid Visa or MC gift card which I could give him when he calls me back this afternoon. He said they needed that before they could send out the free gift, which had already been processed, and that I could not wait until I had received it to give them that info, as "Alan" had said.
"Alan" and "Lee" both had strong Indian accents.
See also the July 30 post on 602-516-1114 and the Aug 8 post on 866-916-8814, which have almost identical scripts to mine.
I wonder how many times they'll call back if I let the phone just ring this afternoon?
Offer: my recent purchase on a credit card (which card, they could not identify) qualified me to receive a free $100 gas card good at any station, plus a $25 gift voucher good at any "popular" restaurant in my state. Only 25 people in the US were receiving this offer, and similar offers would be repeated if I continue to use this unspecified credit card. (How'm I supposed to do that?) "Alan" asked for my credit card expiration date to confirm (I made one up) and read back my address to me. He asked me to verify that I was over 18, saying that he had to be speaking to "a major". (I didn't realize that use of the word "adult" had gone out of fashion.) He asked for the name as it should appear on the gas card, and although I gave a nick name, he spelled back my legal name, which has a variable spelling, so he obviously had that, too, and wasn't listening. I needed only pay $4.95 for shipping and handling and would receive my free gift in 4 days. I argued that first class postage is only 42 cents, to which he explained that the package was coming from AZ. (I told him that postage from AZ was 42 cents, too; he said the $4.95 was a handling fee. He also rejected my argument that a free gift shouldn't have a fee attached, by definition.) At my questioning, he said that I wouldn't have to pay it until the package arrived.
He transferred me to "his manager", "Lee". "Lee" identified his company as both "Caller Advantage" and "Callers Advantage" and said that their company's web page was www.smartshopper.com, which, incidentally, makes no mention of them. He said they were located in Phoenix, AZ, although the phone number is from NJ. He said that they needed the number from a plastic card with a Visa or MC logo from me to put through the handling fee. When I insisted that I do not give my credit card number out on the phone, he urged me to go out and purchase a prepaid Visa or MC gift card which I could give him when he calls me back this afternoon. He said they needed that before they could send out the free gift, which had already been processed, and that I could not wait until I had received it to give them that info, as "Alan" had said.
"Alan" and "Lee" both had strong Indian accents.
See also the July 30 post on 602-516-1114 and the Aug 8 post on 866-916-8814, which have almost identical scripts to mine.
I wonder how many times they'll call back if I let the phone just ring this afternoon?
Me again. Curiouser and curiouser. When they called back (I let it ring) the caller ID now read the same number with a 909 area code, which is in Ontario, Canada. Either my phone's caller ID is on the fritz, or perhaps they have a device or software that invents numbers? Either way, it's not coming from AZ!