Just wondered what strategies you have for dealing with cold callers either at the door or on the phone.

me, i don't have much time for cold callers, if i want something i research it, compare prices and then make an informed decision, i hate being coersed into something which usually is far from the best value!

depending on my mood and available time I sometimes politely say no thanks and put down the phone, but other times i have been known to place the phone on the table and go off to do other things leaving the caller talking to themselves, or sounded really interested only to say no after they go through the whole spheel thinking they have hooked me!
we often get religious groups knock at the door on Sundays asking why we are not at church, my reply is usually either 'i am an atheist' or I was taught god is watching you all the time, he knows everything you do and think, if that is so then i don't need to go to church to say hello to him i can do that anywhere!!

charities usually get the response 'is your charity going to help me find the £30K it is going to cost me to get upstairs to the loo?' (i am a 24/7 wheelchair user!) i know charities do great work, hey i am a director of one, but i believe it is wrong to ask the sick or vulnerable who are clearly on a low income or living below the breadline to donate money they need themselves.

ok my responses are not that nice, i just get fed up with the constant pressure to spend or give away the cash i have been saving for years by scrimping and making do so i can eventually adapt my home and get the much needed lift so i gan stop bumping backwards upstairs to bed or the loo.