What's your pet peeve?

Tell us what peeves you off or annoys you?

Mozzies

I musta got bitten alive last nite :S

The latest source of annoyance to me has been sending SMS messages to my mobile phone by people I've never heard from before who are trying to peddle all kinds of rubbish I'm not interested in. I decided to fight back! After getting yet another piece of trash from someone trying to sell me a kayak, I made a few phone calls to find out what I could do about it. I rang my mobile phone provider, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Communication Media Authority, the Office of Fair Trading, and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman ... believe me, mentioning the TIO strikes the fear of God into these telemarketers.

After finding out that there wasn't much I could do to stop receiving this garbage, they all advised me to send back an SMS message instructing these dodgey businesses that I wanted the advertising to stop. Now this is the part I object to. I didn't ask for the advertising to start in the first place and now I'm expected to spend 25 cents each time I get this rubbish to tell them I don't want any more of their rubbish. Huh? Why should I have to pay for their lousy behaviour? (I realise 25 cents isn't a lot of money - I spent several times that amount making my telephone calls - but it's the principle of the thing.)

Anyway, I tracked down the source of the advertising and located the companies' websites. Sure enough, they had a "contact us" form which I had great delight in using as the following example illustrates:

In the past couple of days I have received two SMS messages to my mobile phone 04XX XXX XXX. These messages advise me that, if I wish to "opt out" I should send (at my own expense) the message STOP to 0421 268 600. Indeed, I wish to opt out!

I did not ask to receive SMS messages from "Anaconda" - the latest one, today, reading "Anaconda Xmas VIP night Thu 18 Dec! 6-9 pm. Huge specials & your chance to win a kayak" and some more promotional rubbish that I'm not interested in.

I have been in touch with ACMA, ACCC, TIO and Telstra (my mobile phone provider) and I am extremely angry that (a) I need to somehow disprove that I gave my approval to this SMS [dis]service on my mobile phone and (b) at MY expense, I have to organise cancelling receiving further messages.

STOP

I don't think I could make it any clearer to you. I shall regard further SMS messages on my mobile phone as an invasion of my privacy and I will, indeed, take up the matter with both the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and the Australian Privacy Commissioner.

As I do not know who YOU are, I feel that I'm under no obligation to provide you with anything other than the minimum amount of information about me.

The messages stopped! Yes!

In one case I even received an apology (... well, sort of)! I received two emails, the first of which read

Thank you for your email. We will opt you out of this service immediately, apologies for any inconvenience.

A day later I received a second e-mail from this mob (obviously their customer support personnel aren't talking to one another):

Thankyou for your email. We apologise for any inconvenience you may have suffered in receiving the promotional SMS from BlueSkyFrog.

By way of explanation, the only way we would have your mobile number is if you were a member of the BlueSkyFrog website. I am not sure of your particular situation, but if you do not recall such a membership perhaps someone else in your household or a previous owner of your number (mobile numbers are often recycled by carriers) have registered a membership to your number. We take care to adhere to the guidelines set out in the SPAM Act and Privacy Act to protect our customers. The STOP reply message is the standard opt-out functionality used across the mobile marketing industry and is accepted as the most appropriate and simple way for consumers to cease any promotional marketing messages being sent to their phone.

I am happy to remove your number from the database manually but the fastest way would be for you to reply STOP to the message, as instructed in the SMS.

Rather than argue the principle of my complaint to them, that (a) I didn't "request" their advertising and none of my family or friends requested their advertising on my behalf and (b) what gives them any right to demand that I have to waste my money writing SMS messages back to them, I'm just happy that the messages have stopped. I recommend that, if you're getting SMS messages from these mongrels, you do as I did and use the internet to send a strongly-worded protest back to them. Why should we have to pay for their lousy behaviour? And tell me this: what makes it possible that anyone, other than I, can "request" this advertising junk getting on my mobile phone in the first place? Answer me that!

On a related subject, around the same time as I was getting pestered by kayak salespeople, I've been getting those random phone calls on my mobile phone from someone who, just at the moment that you answer the call, rings off. I called Telstra's nuisance calls department (1800 805 996) and they fixed the problem. If you do a search on [the phone number] 08 6210 2310 you'll see pages of complaints from people who are fed up with this really bad telemarketing practice.

According to the Telstra representative I spoke with, the company that's responsible for this (in my opinion) highly unethical practice - and I said so - apparently calls about 100 numbers at any given time and the first 25 of them to answer (or however many they have staff on duty at the time) are connected to their telemarketers. The other 75 calls eventually "time out" ... but, of course, they leave the fact that their call to your phone was a "missed call" and you're tempted to call them back. Don't, under any circumstances, call back these "missed call" numbers. I take the view that if someone's not prepared to extend you the courtesy of leaving a message on your voice mail explaining their intrusion into your life then they're not worth the trouble of you phoning them just to satisfy your curiosity.

Anyway, I haven't received any more calls from 08 6210 2310 and I've registered my mobile phone number with www.donotcall.gov.au/ . I recommend you to do the same.

I have registered my number (home) with that do not call site a while ago and havent had a telemarketer ring since -- its been wonderful blisssssssss lol : )

Havent had any on mobile - and it better stay that way : )

I have a real problem with telemarketers which I am glad I dont get any more or door knockers - they all peeve me off

If I want something I will come and find it thanks - dont come hassling me in my domain - nick off : )

People in vehicles, who don't signal!! aghhhhh!!

Also people who who cut you off on the inside lane when the road goes from two to one lane!

Apart from that I'm ok and had a great Christmas. lol x

My pet peeve is downright untruthfullness/dishonesty. :-o

Rude (no manners) People

Hi Tushy. I'm a pom, only been over here for four years, so I've not growed up with mossies.

I used to think it was my English blood they liked, but then found out that the little buggers weren't that fussy who they blood sucked. lol

I've been taking vitamin B complex for a few months, and have found...could be a coincidence but I hope not!...that I have only been bitten once, and only slightly, not the usual red weals.

Could be worth a try? Hope I've been helpful anyway.

Janti x

Hi Janti x you would be loving this heat today hehe
Hope you have settled well in Melbourne

Thanks for the info, I never used to get bitten but I musta had something they liked -- depends on the day lol

Had a lady at work that was bitten the night before so they must be out in full force at the moment -- lil pests lol

take care x