'Hello, are you looking to take a personal loan?'

It's happened to all of us at some time or other. You're attending an important meeting or running late for a social engagement and the phone rings.

"Hello sir, are you looking to take a personal loan?"

Or worse, you answer only to hear music playing at the other end of the line, because it's a call advertising ringtones from your cellphone service provider. AARRGH!

You can finally breathe a sigh of relief along with over 638 million other Indian mobile phone subscribers when the sun rises in the New Year.

Come January 1, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will punish telemarketing companies that make unsolicited commercial calls or send SMSes.

The TRAI is set to impose a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh (Rs 250,000) on telemarketers who cross the line.

We'd like to hear from you -- write in to us with your most bizarre experiences of dealing with unsolicited calls and SMSes.

Drop us a line at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject line: 'My experience with telemarketers') and we'll publish the best responses right here on Rediff.com

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh