Odd cold callers on doorstep

smallclone · 01-08-2023, 20:04

Just had an amusing knock at my door. Two scruffy young guys dripping wet with bumfluff on their faces, asking if I had wireless connectivity issues. Asked who they represented: Select Compare. Never heard of them.

They said that I was probably with Virgin or BT and had probably been having dropout issues. They said they could get me much faster internet with a company called Fleur Broadband (seems a legit company).

I asked to see their business card or manager's number and they said they didn't have those details. They were down from Birmingham for the day staying in an AirB&B trying to get business. I said that seems a long way to come for such a job and he said "It's ok mate don't worry I make £1000 a week"

Anybody else had similar cold calling?

Mr K · 01-08-2023, 20:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallclone

Just had an amusing knock at my door. Two scruffy young guys dripping wet with bumfluff on their faces, asking if I had wireless connectivity issues. Asked who they represented: Select Compare. Never heard of them.

They said that I was probably with Virgin or BT and had probably been having dropout issues. They said they could get me much faster internet with a company called Fleur Broadband (seems a legit company).

I asked to see their business card or manager's number and they said they didn't have those details. They were down from Birmingham for the day staying in an AirB&B trying to get business. I said that seems a long way to come for such a job and he said "It's ok mate don't worry I make £1000 a week"

Anybody else had similar cold calling?

Wouldn't know. I have a polite notice on my door:-
'If you're a cold caller, kindly feck off'

The alleged £1k a week he's making, is a sign that you're being fleeced for his benefit.

Jaymoss · 01-08-2023, 20:40

No ID = confidence trickster

tweetiepooh · 02-08-2023, 09:40

Probably VM or BT - yes the 2 biggest makes that more likely.
Probably having wireless dropouts - how would they know? Unless you are living in houses that all have wifi issues they don't know what you have on the LAN side of your connection. I suppose they could have a "scanner" that may detect if the VM/BT wifi is present and suppose wifi issues from that.

heero_yuy · 02-08-2023, 13:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by tweetiepooh

I suppose they could have a "scanner" that may detect if the VM/BT wifi is present and suppose wifi issues from that.

If I click on the wifi connection in the tool bar my laptop shows all the available networks, signal strength, security and usually the ownership.

OLD BOY · 02-08-2023, 13:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by tweetiepooh

Probably VM or BT - yes the 2 biggest makes that more likely.
Probably having wireless dropouts - how would they know? Unless you are living in houses that all have wifi issues they don't know what you have on the LAN side of your connection. I suppose they could have a "scanner" that may detect if the VM/BT wifi is present and suppose wifi issues from that.

They had no ID, which tells you everything you need to know.

People should have no truck with cold callers these days. You deal with them at considerable risk to yourself.

Jaymoss · 02-08-2023, 14:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

No ID = confidence trickster

Also ID can = confidence trickster. So if not expected or requested say bye bye

OLD BOY · 02-08-2023, 15:35

Indeed. I was really just pointing out that the lack of ID proved the point.

tweetiepooh · 03-08-2023, 11:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Indeed. I was really just pointing out that the lack of ID proved the point.

Absolutely - they should be uniformed and have ID if they are engineers with providers.

I'm just commenting that con men can have information about your service so appearing/being knowledgeable is not a mark of authenticity. As mentioned above some of this data can easily be gleaned with readily available tools without connecting to the network.