Unwelcome Phone Calls

UNWELCOME PHONE CALLS
I do not welcome a call on my cell phone while driving, as it diverts the attention, and is even illegal to use in some states while you are in the driver’s seat. It was therefore with some irritation that I switched on the device to answer the call on the third ring, while proceeding to my office the other day. Maybe something really important my wife needs to convey to me, I thought. It was a stranger’s voice who called me by my exact name and requested me to spare him a moment’s time to talk about something very important for me, with all the humility at his command. He introduced himself as the Special Officer of XYZ Insurance Company whose insurance policy I had bought some two years ago, and unfolded a scheme which would make me richer by about forty five thousand rupees in a period of one month. His talk continued for about seven minutes, outlining his plan, which in essence boiled down to my giving to his contact person a crossed cheque for Rs. 21,000 in the name of XYZ Insurance Company as seed money to win me the promised bonanza by the end of next month. The seed money will also be returned to me along with above sum, he assured me. He wanted my consent right at that moment, or latest by 3 PM the same afternoon, when he would call me again. His glib talk and attempt to corner me for an immediate response sent my antenna up, and I asked him to call me only at 5 PM, and not earlier. In the meantime I called my friend, the Manager of the local branch of the XYZ Insurance Company, who had earlier sold me the investment-cum-insurance policy. He expressed his ignorance of the special scheme narrated by the Unknown Caller (U.C.), earlier in the day, and wanted me to be wary of such traps.
At 10 AM next morning I again got a call on my cell phone from a Delhi based land line having the number similar to the U.C.’s, except that it had two last digits different. This time I felt no irritation; only a sense of fulfillment of an expectation. It looked like a game of cat and mouse, I being the cat for a change. I pulled the car to the side and killed the engine, preparing for a long talk. The familiar voice, dripping sweetness, started repeating what he had told yesterday. I cut him short and said, “Look here Sir, I fully remember what you told me last morning, and to prove that, I will do the talking, and you will please listen. Do you agree?” He replied with some hesitation, probably because the matter was drifting in an unexpected direction, “Yes, yes, by all means. Please proceed.” I continued, starting off with his exact words as heard by me the previous day, “I am extremely indebted to you for trying to help an old man like me with money which I certainly need. But unfortunately I do not know you. I am unfamiliar with your name, address, telephone number and exact position in XYZ Insurance Company. I tried to contact you back yesterday on your calling number displayed on my mobile, but your telephone was either engaged or not attended. So you are beyond my reach even before we have started any transaction. Suppose I hand over my cheque for Rs.21,000 to your contact, what is the assurance that I will get back Rs.66,000 next month or ever in my life time? What do I do in such a condition, except curse my gullibility in believing a total stranger like you? You will no doubt pocket your commission of Rs 2000 or Rs.3000 or whatever is the prevailing rate of the Company for enticing new ‘bakras’ for a scheme which may even be age barred for a man of my years…..” Nonplussed, U.C. interjected, “Sir, how can I get any commission from the Company? I am not a private player. I am their paid employee, and get only a regular salary.” I however cut him short once again and said, “You had agreed to listen to me first. Please do so as I have not finished yet. After talking to you yesterday, I called the Manager of the local branch of XYZ Insurance Company, and he advised me to tell you to contact him and make him aware of your scheme as he himself never heard about it. In case he clears it I will certainly pay any money he advises, but not a paisa without his telling me to do so. His name and telephone numbers are as follows……” There was a soft click on the earpiece side of my mobile. U.C. had rung off.
I was wondering whether such a call could be termed as an unsolicited call from a telemarketer and qualify for a fine of Rs.2.5 lacs, as mooted by the authorities for enactment of rules with effect from January 11, 2011. And then I remembered another incidence when my gullibility would have put me in the red for several thousands of rupees, a few years ago. The story goes like this.
I got a call from a local landline number, congratulating me for having been shortlisted as recipient of a highly subsidized holiday package in one of their several holiday homes spread across the country. I along with my wife are invited, he said, for a presentation by them in a local hotel at 3 P.M. next afternoon, followed by high tea and a special gift for important participants like us. With the lure of free chow chow topped by a gift, and also next day being a Sunday, made me say, yes; we will come. When we reached the venue at the appointed time, we found the hall nearly full, with about 30 couples like us, and 8 hosts. Some of the participants were known to me. The registration formalities were completed quickly, and the guests were divided in five groups. Each group was addressed by a well attired youngster, with a fine gift of gab. We were shown well thumbed glossy magazines with pictures of beautiful hill stations and exotic places of tourist interest. All the documents were superscribed in bold print with the logo of their firm, M/S ABC Holiday Homes Private Ltd. The prices asked for different packages appeared to be quite reasonable, with free transport from and to the concerned Railway Stations or Airports. Complimentary breakfast and/or dinner were thrown in as extra attraction on different days. On the whole, the offers appeared to be too good to be refused point blank. But the rub was—the prices were still in several thousands of rupees, and they wanted us to commit our acceptance or otherwise immediately, before leaving the hall. I wanted at least two days time to decide in consultation with my son, who was away on tour, and to mentally convince myself that I could really afford to spend the large sum of money at that point of time. The Organizers, however were not prepared to grant us any further time to give our final decision. With a heavy heart, we said ‘No’, and quickly left with the gift, a cheap porcelain flower vase, missing the high tea.
A month later I happened to run into one of the participants who had said ‘Yes’ after the presentation, and asked him as to how the holiday with M/S ABC Holiday Homes Pvt. went. The gentleman exploded with all the expletives in his vocabulary, and said the trip was a complete wash out. It was a thoroughly ill organized tour and the Company did not deliver most of the freebies they had promised, giving unacceptable excuses. They do not own any of the Holiday Homes they had shown in the pictures; they get these on off-season rates from second class dirty hotels, who fail to get clientele in normal course. He had to abort the trip half way, and returned home. He said he intends to report to the Authorities against the Company. I wished him good luck in getting even a faint scent of the Organizers, who must have by now vanished into thin air.
Unfortunately, such fraudsters are still in business, as only quite recently one of my friends reported to me enthusiastically the receipt of a similar telephone call, to which he intends to respond positively, he said. I recounted above story to him which came to him as a big damper.
Any law on the anvil against such scam mongers?