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Small ads, big trouble
DUBAI — People placing advertisements in the classified sections of the newspaper say that callers inquiring about the items for sale harass them at very odd times.
Despite the fact that advanced technology available in the UAE leaves no scope for harassment, several people simply lack telephone etiquette.
Says Fatima Zia, a prospective buyer through the classified section, “I am a regular user of the classified section because the UAE is a lucrative market for buying and selling used items, therefore, I occasionally place ads in the paper for different items.”
“Recently, I placed an advertisement for a car for sale, clearly stating that all calls should be made after 5pm. But to my surprise, someone wanting to buy the car gave me a call at 4.30am,” she said, clearly annoyed.
“First of all, I woke up with a start because I was not expecting any early morning call. My heart was beating hard and all my thoughts were focused on an emergency call from my home country,” she said, adding: “But to my surprise, there was this person inquiring about the price of my car.”
“My initial reaction was utmost surprise and then I asked the man to check the time he was calling on. He told me the right time and continued his inquiry,” said Fatima.
Fatima also said that on that occasion, she let it pass as a coincidence, but two months later, when she again placed an ad in the paper, she received another odd-timed call.
“This was the limit. I threatened the man that I would report the incident to the police because I had his number recorded in my phone,” she explained.
According to Fatima, the man simply replied that because he was back from his night shift, he was placing the calls, so that he would not miss on a good bargain.
Complaining about late-night calls by buyers who had scanned the classifieds, a prospective seller Fahd Zia said that he had received calls as later as 1am for a dining set that he wanted to sell.
“Though I did not mention the time of the call in the ad, I was not expecting a call so late. On top of the call, the person insisted on coming to see the dining set at that time,” said Zia.
Zia also said that he reached the conclusion that the people calling him did not intend to harass but they were only lacking in telephone etiquette.
“I guessed that the callers did not realise that they were calling at odd hours, but I was very upset by their lack of common sense,” he added.
He also suggested that newspaper classified sections should also warn people placing ads with them for the first time to expect calls in odd hours.
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