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I recently fell for this. I knew I could cancel at any time before 30 days. When the literature came in the mail, it was basically internet service. The call was maily about being published in a business directory. Side benefits were one hour of legal and accounting advice per month. But it essentially turned out to be a web service and a website.

I immediately called customer service. Boy, they did EVERYTHING to get me not to cancel. 1/2 price, free this, free that. I told them that I didn't want to deal with this again later and I don't want any special rates on anything. The only thing I wanted was an immediate cancellation, a reference number, and the employees name. I got all this.

I then e-mailed customers service with this cancellation number, the name of the employee, and a request to cancel my service.

So far, I haven't seen any charges on my phone bill.

I'm usually very good with telemarketers, but this method caught me off guard. I figured, hey I get listed in a business directory, I can always cancel.

Then I realized later the old poetry scam, where you are solicited for your poems and are sold a published book. The catch is that the book is only sold to those who submitted poems!! The same with the business directory, what good is it to get listed in a book with a small distribution?

So, whenever a telemarketer calls, if it sounds interesting, simply say the following: "Please send me some literature" or better yet ask for a website so that you can get more information.

After getting their website, promptly ask them to you off of their telemarketing list. I usually do this and many are reluctant to send information. If it's really a deal, then a legitimate company would send you something before you decide.

If it's really a deal, then a legitimate company would send you something before you decide.

Most of these companies, legitimate or otherwise, usually pay their telemarketers on commission. Sending you literature, even if you end up buying, produces no comission for the telemarketer which is why they are generally reluctant. Usually, even if they say they will send literature, they don't because there's nothing in it for them. Even more professional sales organizations that allow the telephone person to follow his contacts the way an outside sales person would don't like to just send literature, since they know it usually doesn't produce a sale after they've been trying to close the deal on the phone.