Captive audience
I just got a replacement credit card for one that expired, and dutifully called the number on the sticker to activate it. After entering the number and my social security card -- from my home phone, all to verify my identity -- I had to sit through minutes of recordings as the automated system tried to sell me a credit reporting service that I neither want nor need.
Federal law makes it possible for you to request for free copies of your credit reports from major credit bureaus on a regular basis, which I do. This service wanted to basically do the same thing, but for $10 a month.
I'm hacked off, because the system held me hostage. The hard sales pitch on this $10/month service happened between the time I entered my info and the time I waited for the system to activate my card. And even after declining, the system insisted on rambling on again reiterating the benefits of the service, asking me if I was sure that I didn't want to get it.
Irritating. It's like spam by phone.