Godamm Telemarketers....

[tight as a bull's ass]

It's getting to the point where I get 2-3 phone calls a night...
and it's getting annoying....


sometimes they will give me a fake company name like Call Center Communications so I cant track them down and file a complaint.

I keep asking them to take my phone number of their list but so far new companies call and it's on-going

has anyone successfully fought this BS and got them to stop without having to pay to have their phone numbers changed?

Thanks

em

[rstoll]

Caller I.D.?????????

[BrianH]

Even if you say no they keep calling in hopes of getting someone else in the household. They've been calling less since I started being extremely rude and abrasive to them. I can usually tell within the first few seconds that they are selling something. I interrupt them with "I don't want whatever it is you're selling, take this number off your list and don't ever call again" then slam the phone on the cradle. They still call sometimes, but not as much. Don't like getting the phone slammed in their ears, I guess.

[pbs911]

I loved the Sienfeld episode where Jerry asked for the TM'er home phone. The TM they said he couldn't give it out because they don't like to get phone calls at home. Jerry said, well now you know how I feel.

Seriously, next time, get their name and address them by name telling them in no uncertain terms that (1) you want your name, your wifes name and any name associated with your pphone number to be taken off their calling/mail list immediately; (2) remove your phone number fro mtheir calling list immediately; (3) remove any information they have you at all from any list they reference or use for marketing informaiton; and (4) do not sell, trade or otherwise share your personal info in nos. 1-4.

By law they must remove your name, address and phone.

I got married 6 months ago and the calls for my wife were coming from under every rock. I used the above process and for the past month or two there are no more calls.

[pwd72s]

Best response to these people I ever witnessed was a bit on Seinfeld..Phone rang, Jerry picked it up, said hello. Listened a while, then said something like: "I'm sorry, it's inconvenient for me to talk right now. Why don't you give me your home phone number and I'll call you back at your home later tonight?....what?
you don't want to be bothered at home? Now you know how I feel. Good-bye."
But one I got a couple of nights ago was really funny. One of those time share things, caller asking me how I'd like to win $30,000 towards the purchase of my "dream car". I just laughed, informed the caller that my dream car was already in my garage, then hung up...

[pwd72s]

No fair! The other Paul types faster. Oh well, we both enjoyed the same episode... Paul 1972 911S

[mwbaum]

I think there is a feature you can subscribe to from the phone company for a few bucks a month....when someone calls, a brief recording tells the caller that if they are a solicitor to place your name on their "do not call" list and then hang up. If a legitimate caller waits, shortly they are connected and your phone rings. When you hear the first ring the solicitors are already screened out and warned not to call back and the caller is legitimate.

[rscupper]

Most of the boiler room operators use computerized auto dialing.
A computer dials about 6 calls per salesperson, depending on their anticipated hit rate. A salesperson doesn't actually get on your line until they see that someone has answered. About 98% of the time you can tell it's a sales call by the pause after answering. Just hang up.

The computer won't purge your number but it's unlikely you'll get called by that company again for a long time. If you actually talk to them you're likely to get a call back within a week.

Better yet, go for a drive.

[stormcrow]

An answering machine will solve the problem.

Steve

[cegerer]

Depending upon my mood, I either: a) hang up as soon as I hear the computer-delay before they answer; or b) tell them "Sure, he's here. Can you hold for a minute, I'll go get him." Then I just leave the phone off the hook. Sometime's I'll pick it up again and say "He's coming, just hang on. He really wants to talk to you." Sometimes these idiots will hold for 10-15 minutes!

[jrdavid68]

The service availible in CA from the phone company is called Privacy Manager. I signed up this summer and have not had a single TM call since. I think this is the best feature ever offered by the phone company.

Sometimes (not) I kind of miss the calls. Before I told them to put me on the "no-call" list, I would always try to sell them something first - a car, a bike etc. Anything to keep them on the line longer. Once they know they aren't getting anywhere they will want to hang up and go on to the next call - the money is made in the number of sales or appointments that they make.

[autobonrun]

Jrdavid is correct. I have two items, one is Privacy Manager. Basically, many of the telemarketers show up as "anononymous" on caller id. Anyone calling with their number blocked or from a phone without id is requested to announce their name or enter their phone number. It then calls you and gives you the option to pick up or not take the call. If you are not there it leaves a message on your recorder. All this happens behind the scenes before your phone ever rings. Most telemarketers will just hang up rather than going through this. Most regular callers will just get right through because their phone number and name is available on the caller id system. You have a code you can give to selected individuals in areas without caller id. You'll need it to get in immediately if you're out of the country or at a pay phone.

The other service I had first is Call Blocker ( I never removed it). It did not work for anononymous calls thats why I got the Privacy Manager. Immediately after receiving the call, you could invoke the blocker service on that number and no one could call you from it again. It can be removed at your discretion.

Both are offered by my local phone service and may be available in your area. I may get one telemarketer call a month now but I know exactly who they are in advance.

[Oldporsche]

Our great state of Missouri, has a no call list you can get on.

The State's Attorney General's office sponsors the program. Its a simple 800 number. You just follow the instructions and punch in the appropriate numbers on you touch tone phone.

If a tele-marketer ignores your warning or calls your number while its on this list, the attorney general's office sues the offender. Weekly we see in the nightly local news some company that has been successfully sued and is paying a bundle to the state.

The program seems to work. I enjoy hearing about the latest catch.

Get one started in you state. I'm sure that the attorney general (lawyer) could stand some good press.

Good luck,
David Duffield

[pwd72s]

David...the great people's republic of Oregon has a similar program. Like most other things the government does, it's pretty much non functional...

[scedmonds]

Ditto on the Privacy Manager from PacBell (an SWB company) here in San Diego. It's $2/month and we get ZERO telemarketer calls anymore.

Well worth it.

Cheers!

C.

[tmctguer]

i use telemarketing calls as an opportunity to do crank calling in reverse. usually, my wife hangs up on them. but if i get them, i do all i can to mess with them. in the past, i've:

1). told a telemarketer plugging credit cards that i am a chicken plucker and make $12,000/year. i could hear them laughing in the background, but i kept up the act for 15 minutes.

2). sent sears on a wild goose chase to find my trailer in the middle of a nearby county in CA. i gave them real highways for awhile, then started making them up. i ended up with a description of a cattle guard they must cross, but warned them to honk when they find my trailer due to my very mean pit bull. the dumb*****s called me back 2 days later because they aluminum siding rep couldn't find my trailer. i made up awhole new set of directions. they never called back.

3). acted very, very old and senile and agreed to meet a painting service in my home. when i asked if they would paint my furniture and dogs, they figured i had alzheimers and hung up.

4). when asked to put the lady of the house on the line, i called out to my wife, and just raised my voice to a soprano level and started yapping away. they finally hung up when they figured out i was really a man.

5). got a credit card in the name of some wierd woman whose first, middle and last names were spelled with letters i just pulled out of my *ss. it was a hyphenated muslim-hawaiian-russian sorta name. i still get letters from the credit card company.

there are many others..........i just do it to get a laugh. my wife and kids (when the kids still lived at home) used to be rolling on the floor while i goofed on these idiots.

[pwd72s]

You get your wife & children rolling on the floor? Took me a while to be able to type this...literally, laughing my rear off! I mean..the cattle guard & the pit bull warning? Gawd, I LOVE IT!

[RarlyL8]

HA!

A fellow that spoofs the same way I do!

Whenever I see the "out of area" flash up on the phone I'll answer it with "Ed's butcher shop, no one beats my meat", or "Freds fish market and whore house where you always get the catch of the day".

Pretty much shuts them down.

[Rod Walter]

There is a part of a Federal Act (and I can't recall the exact one right now) that requires every telemarketer to maintain a "do not call" list. If they make two more calls after your request to be put on the "list" the telemarketer is subject to fines and a suit.

Now for my story. I was living in Boulder, Colorado and the local newspaper doggedly called once a week - so it seemed - to solicit a subscription from me. Now I was a bit edgy, trying to study for my comprehensive exams. No, make that very, very edgy. I finally asked the paper to place me on its do not call list and began to keep a contemporaneous diary of telemarketing calls. I did receive two more calls from the paper within a month or two and duly recorded the days and times.

I then went to the courthouse and filed a small claims suit for $500 against the paper for its violation of the Federal (Tele)Communications Act of 1990 (I think that's the one). I waited and waited with no response and the court date drew near. A few weeks before the date I received a letter from the paper's attornies offering to settle for $350. I accepted the amount but said that I must receive some sort of assurance that the paper's operations had been changed in such a way to fix the problem permanently. The paper fired the telemarketing firm, the calls stopped and I dont' get that many from other firms even today.

It feels good to win one once in awhile

[BlueSkyJaunte]

http://www.antitelemarketer.com/