Hang up on telemarketers -- for good

MSN ^ | Liz Pulliam Weston

[scourge]

Call it what ever you want, when all comes down to it, its still just a phone call.
One man's annoying call, is another man's time in jail. Call me in a few years and we'll talk. Unless of course, we're forced to email each other, because were all afraid of jail or law suits.

[norton]

Your 'free market' happens to house so many scams and loop holes as to make your statements either absurd or indication that you are part of the boiler-room culture.

My mother is on course for an early nursing home almost strictly due to her inability at 80 to understand the results of those 'friendly' and helpful people who call her with offers and stories of starving disabled firefighters.

With that other blessing of a free maarket - electronic withdrawals - she'd managed to zero out her monthly income several months in a row until I got hold of the bank statement.

("But son, see there, it says 'VOID' right on it....")

Odd how those free marketeers refused to accept delivery when I mailed their "save your credit" books and "fraud stopper" 'phone buttons back.

Odd that when one is shut down, a near clone emerges with the same call list.

The idea that government should not be involved is absurd on it's face: the no call list calls for a voluntary act by a free individual, in order to take some action to protect the individual's privacy, finances, and free choice (the real free market). Meanwhile your operator/pimp has NO protected right to my time, let alone my money.

Absent federal standing, it would be another 'voluntary' (meaningless) self regulation or a patch-work providing far less protection. Part of the government's role is to provide a stable and legitimate environment for business' to flourish - cutting out the vermin is a good way of doing that.

Oh, the electronic toys to tell the marketers to go away?
Cute, as soon as I get mom to understand those gizmos I'll be sure to give you a call; I know I'll get through your un-blocked line.

[m1911]

No, I didn't.

The FTC created a regulation based on a law Congress passed. That regulation makes it illegal for persons employed in a telemarketing campaign to call me "to induce the purchase of goods or services or to solicit a charitable contribution", if I choose to put my name on a national do-not-call registry.

[scourge]

if I choose to put my name on a national do-not-call registry.

Don't worry it won't be long until they realize the NCNCR isn't working, and they need stiffer regulations. If your not smart enough to hang up a phone, your certainly not smart enough to add you phone number to the list. They will have to do it for you. Again, welcome to your Paradise!

[m1911]

You may be right. Predictions of expanding regulation are often correct. Under these regulations, customers have to add themselves to the list, and the penalties apply only to solicitation callers.

[scourge]

I have a caller I.D on my home phone, If the person calling shows up as 'UNKNOWN' or 'NO DATA' I don't answer the phone. I let the answer machine take it. If its important, the caller will leave a message. Seldom do telemarketers leave messages. If the person leaving the message is someone I want to talk to I pick up. Sometimes I just turn off the ringer and let everyone leave a message, I'll call them back later if I want to. I'm more comfortable with doing it this way, than I would ever be signing up for some Government run program.

[Modernman]

This is called circular reasoning. "I don't want talking on the telephone to be outlawed, but if you call me on the telephone, then you are guilty of a crime"

You're guilty of a crime because the legislature, which has the job of passing laws, has passed a law. Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce, which telemarketing surely is. It's how our system works.

[Modernman]

Yeah! Down with free speech and the NRA members "calling" congress to stop anti-gun laws from being passed. Hip Hip Hooray, no more dirty fiflty-- Cancer, Goodwill, Childrens hospital, or any charity anywhere, trying to raise a couple bucks for a good cause. Welcome to Paradise!

This law specifically excludes political and charity phone calls. It would not in any way affect phone calls between regular citizens.

[scourge]

As far as I can discern from what I've read so far, they didn't pass a law that says telemarketers can't call out of state, all they did was create a program where if you join they can't call you. (Of course it will stop nothing) but it makes people feel good. When they realize that people are still getting called, they will have to take the next step. That is what I dread.

[scourge]

Oh, and leave it to the politicians to exclude themselves from any laws they pass. If they included themselves, the database of names would be every person who owned a phone.

[kmiller1k]

Has anyone else gotten spam text messages on their cell phones? I have been getting them fairly regularly (costs me 2cents each time) usually they are financial in nature but a few have been for "enlargement" supplements that are guaranteed to work.

Notified Verizon about this however because each of the texts are from a different and I think offshore ISP, they can do little to stop them from getting thru to my cell phone.

I've added all my cell phone lines and the home number to the DNC list.

[Feiny]

I LOVE to have fun with the folks calling me....I have a wide range of "material". I ask them for their home phone number so I can call them back at my convenience. Other options include acting very excited to hear from them & pretending to know them from high school....ask them lots of questions....it is pretty funny. Or, I tell them I am under house arrest and can't leave so I am very happy to talk to them....then I go on and on about how I was unfairly prosecuted and that I am completely innocent. When they start with their schpeil right away and don't allow for intteruption, I just put the phone down and walk away or stay listening but don't say a word....both are fun.

When my husband answers, sometimes he pretends to be my Pakistani butler and he talks to them about the dolphins in the ocean and other things using a very thick accent. I almost pee myself when when he does that!

[m1911]

We do exactly the same at home. It's actually worse for the telemarketers than the no-call will be. It costs them time to call my number and telephone charges when the answering machine picks up.

I'm not bothered by telemarketers (ok, a little), but I don't see this reg as the end of the free market either. It'll push some jobs offshore - we're already getting calls from telemarketers in Nova Scotia.

I think it's also possible that the telemarketers will come out of this smelling like a rose. The government is supplying them with a list of people who are their least likely buyers. I wouldn't bet my own money on it, but it could be that this will end up as taxpayer-funded cherry picking for the telemarketers. Unintended consequences abound.

[scourge]

Those are good points, Plus, the Feds will have a database filled with names of people (and their phone numbers)who they know don't mind more Govenment programs. As long as the program is "cost free" and can give them a little break from having to deal with the small everyday annoyances in their lives.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

I have been getting a couple of calls a week from MCI. I really enjoy telling the caller that I want to have nothing to do with an Anti-American company like MCI that would hire Danny Blubber to advertise for them.

You know they fired his ***?

[Jeff Gordon]

You know they fired his ***?

Yes, but they hired him. They aired him through out the Iraqi Conflict. MCI is done. Stick a fork in them.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

All the same to me. I hate MCI as much as anybody... I used to work for them! LOL

[Djarum]

In the same way, telephone solicitations, and commercials featuring Carrot Top are preserving my freedom, because they are part and parcel of the free market.

ROFL! Why didn't you warn us to start the national anthem before reading this post?

Hiding behind the flag won't save your telemarketing business.

[Djarum]

I tried to check his profile and the account is banned/suspended.

[Skywalk]

Crap, the dead air is how I identify them!

I hang up as soon as I don't hear a response after I say "hello."

That's my way around telemarketers.