I had an unsolicited phone call from a well-spoken gent saying that I am
entitled to a FREE emergency alarm (I assume it's one of those you put
round your neck).
Anyhow he asked me if I was over 50 (I'm 81, and if he didn't already know
that why did he ring?) However he then started asking questions about my
health and mobility. This tickled my suspicious gland so I suggested that
he might be from some kind of insurance company. He said that he was from a
privately listed company.and that seemed so evasive I thanked him and
hung-up.
Any similar experiences?

--
Jim S

On Mon, 28 Mar 2022 13:31:53 +0100, Jim S wrote:

> I had an unsolicited phone call from a well-spoken gent saying that I am
> entitled to a FREE emergency alarm (I assume it's one of those you put
> round your neck).
> Anyhow he asked me if I was over 50 (I'm 81, and if he didn't already know
> that why did he ring?) However he then started asking questions about my
> health and mobility. This tickled my suspicious gland so I suggested that
> he might be from some kind of insurance company. He said that he was from a
> privately listed company.and that seemed so evasive I thanked him and
> hung-up.
> Any similar experiences?

Thanks to my call blocker phone I don't get those calls. Last week I
got an email with a similar subject. Everything depended on buying
their product on Amazon. I would then get the free offer.

As I live in sheltered housing with a telephone alarm system to a
control office the free offer wasn't accepted.

--
John the R-T (89 years young)

http://www.john-the-r-t.co.uk// Cruise and Family site.
http://www.recycledteenager.plus.com/

On 28/03/2022 in message <beave5dn1zlw$.1oha320j41w3q$.dlg@40tude.net> Jim
S wrote:

>I had an unsolicited phone call from a well-spoken gent saying that I am
>entitled to a FREE emergency alarm (I assume it's one of those you put
>round your neck).
>Anyhow he asked me if I was over 50 (I'm 81, and if he didn't already know
>that why did he ring?) However he then started asking questions about my
>health and mobility. This tickled my suspicious gland so I suggested that
>he might be from some kind of insurance company. He said that he was from a
>privately listed company.and that seemed so evasive I thanked him and
>hung-up.
>Any similar experiences?

Not yet but thanks for the heads up.

--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
It may be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.

On 28/03/2022 13:31, Jim S wrote:
> I had an unsolicited phone call from a well-spoken gent saying that I am
> entitled to a FREE emergency alarm (I assume it's one of those you put
> round your neck).
> Anyhow he asked me if I was over 50 (I'm 81, and if he didn't already know
> that why did he ring?) However he then started asking questions about my
> health and mobility. This tickled my suspicious gland so I suggested that
> he might be from some kind of insurance company. He said that he was from a
> privately listed company.and that seemed so evasive I thanked him and
> hung-up.
> Any similar experiences?
>
I had a neighbour with an emergency alarm, arranged by her daughter who
was worried that her mum lived on her own and if anything happened there
needed to be some sort of emergency response. So this was installed as
a planned arrangement not a response to a cold call.

The system was provided free as far as the hardware was concerned, but
there was an initial installation charge and a recurring charge for the
people who responded to the emergency alarm. They didn't automatically
treat the alarm as being serious, they spoke via a loudspeaker connected
to their alarm box so that if it was an accidental alarm they could be
told there was no problem, otherwise they would assume that it was a
genuine alarm.[1]

Assuming that you were being offered something similar, you would have
got a box connected to the phone landline that received a notification
that the emergency button had been pressed (which had a choice of a
necklace type or a wrist type) and dialled the emergency response
number, which activates a loudspeaker and microphone so that the
responder could communicate over an audible distance. The hardware
would be on loan and free, but the responder staff would be a recurring
charge.

It is a useful system if such an arrangement is wanted, but I would
never give that business to a cold caller, I would make sure I requested
it from an established and publicly advertising business.

Jim

[1] That particular company did ask if there was anybody local who could
check on her if the alarm was used, and when she asked me I told my
neighbour I would do that. I was given a door key, and the emergency
response company was given my phone number. I was only phoned twice in
the years that followed. The first time was a false alarm - the lady was
gardening and managed to press the emergency button on a bush she was
pruning, and because she was in the garden she didn't hear the
loudspeaker in the house. They called me and said that she wasn't
responding when they asked what the problem was. I went in and found her
happily pruning in the garden and I reported a false alarm to the
microphone. The second time was genuine. The lady had fallen down the
stairs, and I told the microphone that she needed an ambulance. I stayed
with her until the ambulance arrived and locked up after the ambulance
had taken her to hospital. The emergency responder then called the
lady's daughter who lived some miles away, and she dealt with the hospital.

John the R-T submitted this idea :
> Thanks to my call blocker phone I don't get those calls.

Likewise, only the known number get through, or those where the call is
made manually and the person on the other end listens to the message
suggesting how they can get through - everyone else is blocked.

Jim S presented the following explanation :
> I had an unsolicited phone call from a well-spoken gent saying that I am
> entitled to a FREE emergency alarm (I assume it's one of those you put
> round your neck).

Maybe the alarm was free, but then you would need to pay a subscription
for it to work?

Harry Bloomfield Esq formulated the question :
> Maybe the alarm was free, but then you would need to pay a subscription for
> it to work?

A subscription could be £200 per year.

Jim S <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:
> I had an unsolicited phone call from a well-spoken gent saying that I am
> entitled to a FREE emergency alarm (I assume it's one of those you put
> round your neck).
> Anyhow he asked me if I was over 50 (I'm 81, and if he didn't already know
> that why did he ring?) However he then started asking questions about my
> health and mobility. This tickled my suspicious gland so I suggested that
> he might be from some kind of insurance company. He said that he was from a
> privately listed company.and that seemed so evasive I thanked him and
> hung-up.
> Any similar experiences?
>

Not as yet , but thanks for the tip off …

--
§mokey