I received a letter from a company sort of loosely masquerading as the credit union which holds our home mortgage, which offered to refinance my loan at “the lowest rates in recent history.” Out of curiosity, I called the number on the letter.
I was told that the company was “managing a government program designed to help low income people reduce their mortgage payments” and was offering rates as low as 2.75% at this time. She needed, she said, to ask me a few questions to “qualify” me for the program. We are not low income, and are not burdened by an underwater mortgage or a high payment, but I agreed to answer her questions within reason.
My answers, if she was actually operating a “government program to lower payments for struggling homeowners,” should have caused her to call me dirty names for wasting her time and hang up on me. After finding out that we have about a 25% loan-to-value balance in our home and getting the amount of our current payment, she asked if making that payment was a struggle for us. I said it was not, and was wondering to myself how she was going to suggest that her “government program” might have anything to offer me.
Instead of telling me to take a long walk on a short pier, she went into an enthusiastic sales pitch about their “fabulous rates” and wanted to make an appointment to come to our home to sit down with me and my wife to discuss all of the “wonderful options” which they could offer us.
Either the government is more idiotic than I think it is, which would be quite a stretch, or that woman was lying her ass off. I did not, of course, make the appointment.
But I’m pretty sure I didn’t need to tell you that.
You must be bored and time on your hands. Or are a secret market research evaluator. Or just being Bill.
ReplyDeleteThe salesperson probably gets commission or is required to do that with all callers, unless they are obviously un-qualified. And may have penalties if she is rude. Not all telemarketers do tha of course, but this one came to you via letter, witch they probably pre-screened via property tax rolls, voter registrations, or even bulk credit checks. Maybe this is a better method for finding higher class of people to market to. I'm even doubtful that it is related to a "government program", but could be wrong.