Credit card rate telemarkers ARGH!

[WolfeMacleod]

Over the past few months I've been DELUGED with telemarketing calls for "Lower your credit card interest rate" offers from "Debt Management" corporation.
I mean just..DELUGED. Morning, noon, and night.

I've found the company that provides the phone service to these places and have complained up a storm to "David" there who swears he's sent out memos to have my number taken off the list several times. However, the calls keep coming, even though thier clients swear to them they're not calling me.

YES, I'm on the Do Not Call List.

Who else is getting these calls and is also on the list? I assume that everyone here is smart enough to be listed...

If you're getting these calls too, please call David at (866) 708 0401 - www.tmcallerid.com and ***** to him. Let him know that these companies are blatantly ignoring the do not call laws. Keep track of the numbers that call you, and give them to him.

TM Caller ID is located in Portland, and I'm getting real tempted to drive there and pound someone's face in.

[john walker's workshop]

calls that are "unknown caller", 800, 877, out of state, etc, i let go to the recorder. they usually hang up anyways, as soon as the recorder voice kicks in. easy. forget trying to stop them.

[mossguy]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

calls that are "unknown caller", 800, 877, out of state, etc, i let go to the recorder. they usually hang up anyways, as soon as the recorder voice kicks in. easy. forget trying to stop them.

We do what John does, and it works well for us.

Best,
Tom

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

calls that are "unknown caller", 800, 877, out of state, etc, i let go to the recorder. they usually hang up anyways, as soon as the recorder voice kicks in. easy. forget trying to stop them.

I'd love to John, but you know small business...we gotta answer every call that comes in or we don't make the dough.. And because I deal with the whole world, that makes it even worse.
Most legit people that call and get the machine...don't bother leavign a message. grr.

[Gogar]

Answer the call, and tell them that the number they are calling is a CELL PHONE, even if it isn't. That will help sometimes.

[Rick Lee]

I've never picked up a call from a number I didn't recognize. If it's "unavailable" I am too.

[legion]

I've found polite requests do not work. Threats do not work.

What works is making the call expensive for them. Keep them on the phone as long as possible, but agree to nothing. When they call, first tell them that "Mr. Blah Blah" no longer lives here. Then tell them you are interested in the service, but you need to know more. Let them give their spiel. Ask questions. Keep asking questions. Never stop asking questions. When asked a question, answer with a question. Never give an answer. They will give up. They will put you on the super-secret list of people who waste the time of telemarketers.

After two years of hard work in 2000-2001, I haven't gotten a telemarketing call since...

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Answer the call, and tell them that the number they are calling is a CELL PHONE, even if it isn't. That will help sometimes.

They hang up immediately if you says anything other than "I want to reduce my rates" or somesuch.

Originally Posted by legion

I've found polite requests do not work. Threats do not work.

What works is making the call expensive for them. Keep them on the phone as long as possible, but agree to nothing. When they call, first tell them that "Mr. Blah Blah" no longer lives here. Then tell them you are interested in the service, but you need to know more. Let them give their spiel. Ask questions. Keep asking questions. Never stop asking questions. When asked a question, answer with a question. Never give an answer. They will give up. They will put you on the super-secret list of people who waste the time of telemarketers.

After two years of hard work in 2000-2001, I haven't gotten a telemarketing call since...

I've tried polite about 100 times with these people. As said above, you might get to "please don't" before they hang up. I've been hung up on before even getting that out. I've also tried taking up thier time, that didn't work.
It's usually a recorded message that ends with "press two to be taken off our list or one to talk to a person" pressing "take me off" didn't work.

They will NOT stop. I've gotten FIFTEEN of these calls today.

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I've never picked up a call from a number I didn't recognize. If it's "unavailable" I am too.

Wonderful. I get a lots of legit calls for business that are "unavailable
from overseas. Can't do that now, can I?

[stomachmonkey]

[Heel n Toe]

Freon horn

[island_dude]

Since you have a business phone you probably can't use this technique, but it absolutely worked for me. When you dial a disconnected number you hear a set of tones before the message. The tones tell most equipment all they need to know. Automated dialers hearing these tones will usually mark your line as dead. If you set an answering machine to play the tones before your outgoing message the dialer will be tricked into thinking that it should take you off the list. Here is a link to a file with just the tones.

I have done this and I don't get callbacks.

http://www.scn.org/~bk269/errorbeeps45.wav

[GH85Carrera]

At work we get calls all the time for services we don't need or want. At least once a month someone calls and wants the serial number of our copier. We just go into BS mode. I tell them we don't have a copier. All we have is one pencil that we all share it and we just write on the back of envelopes. Several time a week someone calls and wants to talk to the owner. I tell them he lives in a different state, he has only been here for 20 minutes total in the last 4 years.

It must be a rotten job to be a telemarketer.

[WilsonTC]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

It must be a rotten job to be a telemarketer.

But someone must be buying the crap these guys are hawking, otherwise the industry would have dried-up a long time ago.

I can't slam down the phone hard enough when I get a sales call at the office. Don't waste my time. Put it in writing (direct mail)....that way I can toss it at my leisure.

[GH85Carrera]

+10.

I hate it as much as spam.

[herr_oberst]

I thought you were entitled to a payday if you were on the Do Not Call list and you could prove that a company was not complying with your request for privacy.

1000 bucks a throw is what I heard.