[Rant] What happened to the do-not-call list?

[seamusTX]

We have been on the federal and Texas Do Not Call lists since they began.

This week we started getting three to five calls a day with bogus caller IDs like 000-000-0000 or area codes we have nothing to do with. I know from experience that these are mostly telemarketers. There has always been a little of this, but not dozens a week.

We only answer the phone now if we positively recognize the caller ID.

Also we have received several auto-dialer calls from a political candidate whose district is about 200 miles away. He gets extra demerits for wasting a call and irritating someone who otherwise would not have cared.

"The Annoyed Man" is already taken, so you can call me the Highly Irritated Man.

At least we stopped getting junk faxes since Sanford Wallace was arrested (again).

I feel better now.

- Jim

[steveincowtown]

I am also on both, and in addition have contacted the privacy departments of my bank and CC company and opted out of all contact from them and their direct affiliates.

When a call does get through, and I happen to be sitting on the couch, I do quite enjoy messing around with them.

Telemarketer: "Mr. Cowtown, I wanted to give you a call today and talk to you about some exciting opportunities for fire insurance."

Me: "Roy, is this you? Why the heck would you screw with me 2 days after my house burnt down"

etc., etc.

[fishman]

Maybe we should all do that and hope the calls stop.

[seamusTX]

I used to do stuff like that, but I realized that 90% of the people making these phone calls would rather be doing anything else if they could get a real job.

- Jim

[74novaman]

My dad had fun poking at telemarketers in the past. He actually had one call him back and cuss him out.

My favorite thing to do is let them start their spiel, then interupt in a husky, low voice and ask: "What are you wearing?"

[chasfm11]

I used to do stuff like that, but I realized that 90% of the people making these phone calls would rather be doing anything else if they could get a real job.

- Jim

but the problem is that the auto-dialing computers just keep dialing in defiance of the penalties. Like you we started to get a barrage of calls, multiple times a day to "lower your interest rate", etc. I've been able to slow down the wave of new calls significantly by:

1. Taking every call like this in the first 3 rings.
2. Pushing whatever button I have to push to get to talk to a person
3. Working to keep that person on the phone as long as I can without providing any information. Whenever that ask me a question that requires some kind of a factual answer, I start off with "you know, that is a very good question" and launch off into a completely unrelated direction. Depending on how belligerent some of them get, I calmly say "you know, it is great to talk to you today. How long have you been a law breaker?" They either hang up immediately or start into reading their canned pitch. I've had some of them start yelling at me but I just calmly keep asking the same questions over and over again.

I've found that the same organization will call more often if you don't pick up. So I'd just as soon invest a few minutes up front and try to tie them up for as long as they'll let me do it. I don't get mad. I don't respond to any data inquires. I just try to get a banter going. I've found that if I just filibuster, they'll hang up - and call back. I've never had any repeat calls from organizations where I was able to keep things going for more than 5 minutes. I suspect that their computers track things like that. It is a faster way to get on their do not call list and anything I could say or request.

We were getting about 25 calls per week and it is now down to 7-8. We made the mistake of donating clothing to one group once and they now call every other day. I haven't found a technique that works with them yet but I keep trying.

Like you, I used to rant alot. Now, I treat it like a game. Am I being unfair to someone who is just trying to work? Nope.

[seamusTX]

I just hate talking on the phone and resent every second of my time these people waste.

We were getting more than one message a day from some phony debt collection outfit (I don't owe money to anyone, but there are thousands of people in the U.S. with my name).

I ignored them for a while. Then I picked up the phone and told them never to call me again. They are supposed to honor that request, even if you really do owe them money. They didn't.

Then I started to pick up the phone and throw ever foul word in every language that I know at them. Think of a scene in The Exorcist, with a line that would rhyme with "your mother sews socks that smell." That didn't make them stop either, and it raised my blood pressure.

Finally my wife told them that Greg Abbott is her cousin and she was going to report them. They didn't know who Mr. Abbot was, but when she told them they quit calling.

BTW, either there are a lot of these companies or the same one operates under different names. Probably both. We still get these calls sporadically.

- Jim

[apostate]

I don't think any device can be called a smart phone unless it recognizes fake numbers like 000-000-0000 and refuses to ring.

[fishman]

Wow, that gave me some ideas... Can't wait to see the look on my wife's face the next time I get one of those calls.

[chasfm11]

Then I started to pick up the phone and throw ever foul word in every language that I know at them. Think of a scene in The Exorcist, with a line that would rhyme with "your mother sews socks that smell." That didn't make them stop either, and it raised my blood pressure.
- Jim

You might want to be careful with that. One of the string of calls that we started to get was from the same unidentified group. They were calling, looking for the previous owner of our house (we've lived here more than 5 years). I was convinced that it was a collection agency but I never could get a human on the phone. Finally, I did and I was I livid. Guess who it was? Yep, the collection arm of the IRS. It took me a while to get them convinced that I wasn't him and then those calls stopped.

[seamusTX]

As I said, I quit dealing with these people at all. However, in this case, I already knew they were a private company from trying to talk to them reasonably.

I also avoided anything that could be considered a threat.

- Jim

[LikesShinyThings]

I used to do stuff like that, but I realized that 90% of the people making these phone calls would rather be doing anything else if they could get a real job.

- Jim

<snip>

We were getting about 25 calls per week and it is now down to 7-8. We made the mistake of donating clothing to one group once and they now call every other day. I haven't found a technique that works with them yet but I keep trying.

I've had pretty good luck, when talking to a human, with "Please put us on your do-not-call-list".

I agree with SeamusTX, though - most telemarketers are some "poor" (yeah, I know, most people are there from their own actions, still....) schlub who is just trying to make a living. I give them credit for actually having a job. Except when I'm having a really bad day, I try to be polite, but get off the phone pronto. I'm pretty good at hanging up.

[Piney]

We've been on the do not call list with this number since we moved. We dont get telemerketing calls. It seems to have worked OK.

We do however get collection calls for two different people that were either at this address or had this number 5 years ago. When a human actually gets on their line, telling them so and so hasnt lived here for at least 5 years has stopped them after a couple of calls.

[MegaWatt]

I met a guy that told me at one time he was a telemarketer. I asked him if he couldn't find a more respectable job like a piano player in a cat house but he said he was in college and needed money. OK, so I asked him what I could do to stop them from calling. He told me the thing that really gets them mad is not to curse them and hang up or not to answer, they only call back, but to waste their time because they get paid based on how many calls they make. So it's become a game with me to see how long I can keep them on the hook before they hang up on me. I do things like string them along for a while acting interested in what they're selling then say " Can you hang on a second?" then set the phone down for 5 minutes or so. Most of the time they've hung up. I had one call back and I acted like I never heard of him when he said we must of been disconnected. Then I did the same thing all over. He didn't call back. I like asking totally ridiculous questions about whatever they're trying to sell. Then ask them things like where do they live and can you come over and meet them for lunch. Ask them if it's raining where they're at. Anything to keep them on the line. Sadly I can only do that when my wife isn't around. She doesn't doesn't see the humor in it. She's funny like that.

[chasfm11]

I met a guy that told me at one time he was a telemarketer. I asked him if he couldn't find a more respectable job like a piano player in a cat house but he said he was in college and needed money. OK, so I asked him what I could do to stop them from calling. He told me the thing that really gets them mad is not to curse them and hang up or not to answer, they only call back, but to waste their time because they get paid based on how many calls they make. So it's become a game with me to see how long I can keep them on the hook before they hang up on me. I do things like string them along for a while acting interested in what they're selling then say " Can you hang on a second?" then set the phone down for 5 minutes or so. Most of the time they've hung up. I had one call back and I acted like I never heard of him when he said we must of been disconnected. Then I did the same thing all over. He didn't call back. I like asking totally ridiculous questions about whatever they're trying to sell. Then ask them things like where do they live and can you come over and meet them for lunch. Ask them if it's raining where they're at. Anything to keep them on the line. Sadly I can only do that when my wife isn't around. She doesn't doesn't see the humor in it. She's funny like that.

Bingo...a kindred spirit.