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

[Skiprr]

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.

Okay, Mark. You convinced me.

I'm tryin' it tommorrow...

[The Annoyed Man]

I recently went through a spate of calls, and I have been on the Do Not Call list since it began. But when I checked, my numbers were no longer in there. So my guess is that they only keep your number on the list for so long, and then you have to renew the listing.

The other thing I notice is that the home page says:

The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free.

I suspect that there are a couple of end-arounds telemarketers use circumvent the regs. One is simply to not update their list every 31 days, then they can keep calling all the numbers on their list, regardless of whether or not the numbers are on the No Call registry.

The other is simply that the call centers are offshore, and they ignore the law. US federal law says that even if the call center is offshore, if the company they are making calls for is based in the US, then they must adhere to the Do Not Call list. But what will happen if they ignore it? Somebody's going to go to the Philippines or India and arrest someone? There are supposed to be some pretty heft fines imposed for violating the rules, but I don't know how vigilant they are about enforcing them.

[The Annoyed Man]

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.

I have asked them for their home number so that I can call them back during their dinner time.

[rdcrags]

INAL, but my understanding is that two categories of callers are exempt from adhering to either DNC list: Political calls and calls from any organization that have ever done business with. That's a lot of exemptions. But when one of them does call, and my wife answers, she asks them to remove our number from their particular list of numbers. That works about 20% of the time, it seems.

[seamusTX]

I suspect that there are a couple of end-arounds telemarketers use circumvent the regs. One is simply to not update their list every 31 days, then they can keep calling all the numbers on their list, regardless of whether or not the numbers are on the No Call registry.

There absolutely are shady operators that set up boiler rooms and run some kind of scam until the FTC tells them to stop. Then they "go out of business" and reopen as a different corporation.

When I say "scam," I don't mean positively illegal fraud, I mean bad deals that cost a lot and don't give the customer/victim value. I'm talking about insurance, home warranties, credit repair, and the like.

They take advantage of the fact that the FTC pursues an escalating scale of actions from warning letters through lawsuits.

- Jim

[Carry-a-Kimber]

I have a fairly common name (think John Smith) and get calls all the time for a guy with my sam efirst and last name. Since it is a call for debt collection it doesn't matter that I am on the do not call list. This guy must owe a lot of folks money because I get called for SEVERAL different accounts. No matter how many times I tell these people it is the wrong "John Smith", I still recieve calls.

[PappaGun]

I was able to stop 100% of all unwanted calls.

I have ATT Uverse phone service.

One day while looking through their wesite I noticed a free service I had not activated.

Instead of requiring you to enter the numbers you want blocked, you enter the numbers you want to get through!

Shazam!

Let's see, our two cell phone numbers, mom, dad, sis, kids. That's it.

Everyone uses the cell number now any way. So my home phone is amazingly quiet.

I highly recommend it.

An unwanted caller gets a nice curt message "You are not authorized to call this number".

Love it.

[seamusTX]

That's great if it works for you.

We probably get a hundred legitimate calls from different numbers every month, because I work at home and my wife and I are involved in other activities. With people changing cell phone numbers or giving our number to someone for a legitimate reason, it wouldn't be workable for us.

- Jim

[PappaGun]

Yeah.

Would not be good for a business.

[Bullwhip]

Try having a business line at home, the list doesn't work for business calls. Same half dozen companies we never did business with, never will do business with (not even in the right business), call every day. Some 1-2 times a week, some 3-5 times a day. Clueless.

[seamusTX]

Hmmm. After dozens of calls in the past week, zip. It was like some kind of vermin infestation that ran its course.

- Jim

[Mike1951]

I recently went through a spate of calls, and I have been on the Do Not Call list since it began. But when I checked, my numbers were no longer in there. So my guess is that they only keep your number on the list for so long, and then you have to renew the listing.

Nope, effective in 2007, the numbers remain on the lists indefinitely.

This site allows you to verify whether your numbers are on the list or to add them.

https://www.donotcall.gov/confirm/conf.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[C-dub]

I think they have put themselves on the "Do not call" list. Whenever I try to call them back it says the number is not a working number.

Otherwise, like some, I have a good time with them and a few have hung up on me, but that depends on the mood I'm in at the time. Most of the time I just let it ring. My home voice mail is full and won't accept any more messages.

[seamusTX]

I think they have put themselves on the "Do not call" list. Whenever I try to call them back it says the number is not a working number.

Those are spoofed numbers.

That practice is illegal in a telemarketing context. These outfits come and go so fast they are hard to catch, though.

- Jim

[Dragonfighter]

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

<SNIP>

"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

So now if we are talking about you we can refer to you simply as "HIM"?

The wife and I have just had this conversation...what gives?