Oh NO she did NOT just say that!

[Alex2507]

You must have more important things to do (e.g. posting on AH, upgrading your system, looking at porn ).

Straight porn, right?

 

[jinjuku]

Is that honestly worth your time? At the end of the day, aren't you better just saying "f-off", hanging up the phone, and moving on with your life? You must have more important things to do (e.g. posting on AH, upgrading your system, looking at porn ).

Egging and TP'ing aberkowitz's house...

 

[jinjuku]

I work in an office which (like many others) uses copiers. We regularly get calls from people we’ve dubbed “Toner Pirates”. Here’s how they operate – they call and act like your best friend as they tell you they are the ones who supply your company with toner, and they just need to verify the model number. An unwitting person goes along, and before they know what hit them, they’re receiving toner at MSRP pricing along with a bill (how these people can operate legally is beyond me).

How would you be on the hook to legally pay them?

 

[gmichael]

How would you be on the hook to legally pay them?

If you install the toner.

 

[lsiberian]

Egging and TP'ing aberkowitz's house...

I prefer clear plastic forks. But in the AH spirit we could dump used audio equipment in the front yard. Rusted would be an important attribute.

Seriously I find it fun to play with people on the phone.

My favorite one is to try to sell them something.

 

[lsiberian]

Straight porn, right?

Come on Alex somethings are just better live.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I work in an office which (like many others) uses copiers. We regularly get calls from people we’ve dubbed “Toner Pirates”. ...

Can you find out whom they represent and either report the company to BBB and others, or call the company head?
Or, just ship it back, collect, and not pay?

By the way, too bad you didn't keep her phone number and call to see if she would accommodate you

 

[rmk]

First the sweaty fat guy and now "Toner Pirates" ...
You need to find another job

 

[mperfct]

First the sweaty fat guy and now "Toner Pirates" ...
You need to find another job

No kidding. Do you work at Dunder Mifflin?

 

[adwilk]

No kidding. Do you work at Dunder Mifflin?

or Initech...?

 

[Adam]

Hey, Craig. Yeah. I'm gonna need you to come in and work on Saturday...

 

[adwilk]

Yeah, that would be great...

 

[CraigV]

Is that honestly worth your time? At the end of the day, aren't you better just saying "f-off", hanging up the phone, and moving on with your life? You must have more important things to do (e.g. posting on AH, upgrading your system, looking at porn ).

If there was a chance that by shedding some light on their shady business practices that some legislation would be introduced to make what they do illegal, then yes, it would be well worth my time.

 

[CraigV]

Can you find out whom they represent and either report the company to BBB and others, or call the company head?
Or, just ship it back, collect, and not pay?

By the way, too bad you didn't keep her phone number and call to see if she would accommodate you

That’s just it - the calls always come from an “unidentified number”. Sure, they can call and harass me because they know there’s no way for me to find out who they are.

 

[CraigV]

First the sweaty fat guy and now "Toner Pirates" ...
You need to find another job

No kidding. Do you work at Dunder Mifflin?

Oh the stories I could tell, but there is a theoretical space limit for the internet.

 

[mtrycrafts]

That’s just it - the calls always come from an “unidentified number”. Sure, they can call and harass me because they know there’s no way for me to find out who they are.

Did someone in the office supply the copy number? Received the package and bill? It must have a billing address. Got them, or a way to get them.

 

[MatthewB.]

I get these cxalls all the time where I work, and they normally say they are a Xerox rep and are just upadting their files and can I tell them what my model number is. At this point the game begins. It's called how long can I keep them on the phone so they can't bother others and since I'm bored at work, it helps kill the time. I tell them to hold on and have to go down the hall to get the number. Let them wait 3-5 minutes then tell them, I can't locate the model number. Then ask if they know where it is. Then ask them to hold. 3-5 minutes later, tell them a fake number then they go, "I don;t think that's right" Hmmm hold on let me go back and check. 3-6 minutes later, tell them it is the Model N-E-1-4-6-9 made by Jablowme Industries. (Some get it and some don't have a clue). By this tiem I have managed to kill 15-20 minutes of their scamming time. Every now and then I change the scenario but each time ends in frustration on their part.

Would love to get a call back, but that hasn't happened yet.

 

[Davemcc]

How would you be on the hook to legally pay them?

Yeah, I'm under the impression that you are under no obligation to pay for unsolicited items sent in the mail and that you can keep those items, as if it were a sample. I think these companies rely on division of labor within their "customer's" organization to hide the fact that nobody requested the items. Basically, they send the invoice and hope that accounts payable pays it without question. If AP asks around, yes toner was delivered. This scheme should fail if your organization has a proper buyer PO and AP invoice matching system. A lot of mid-sized companies don't have these checks and balances in place to prevent these scams.

Worst case scenario in this scam is that you get free toner in the mail.

 

[Audioholics]

Would anyone here stay at a job where it was fully explained that you call copy machine owners, lie about who you are and then sell them toner without them realizing it?

Not sure I'd call them innocent employees. More like shady people who really need money more than they are concerned about being honest in business. If someone tells me to do something illegal they can take a hike.

 

[CraigV]

Would anyone here stay at a job where it was fully explained that you call copy machine owners, lie about who you are and then sell them toner without them realizing it?

Not sure I'd call them innocent employees. More like shady people who really need money more than they are concerned about being honest in business. If someone tells me to do something illegal they can take a hike.

This practice has been going on for years, and I have to believe by now there have been enough complaints that if they are indeed operating illegally, they would have been shut down by now.

I have worked in retail sales, but I would NEVER do anything involving phone sales, let alone phone scamming.