I'm steamed about telemarketers- What the hell can I do?

[callous taoboy]

I've been getting 5, 6 robocalls per day, usually letting the machine take them. I should probably get caller I.D. This morning I was waiting for an important call so was answering all calls which were all telemarketer robocalls. Finally at noon, after the call I was waiting for came through, I called Verizon and got a new, unlisted number to the tune of $40 plus $5 per month. They asked if I wanted to sign on to Direct Tee Vee (no way in hell, 20 channels is too much as it is). I then immediately get on the net and get on the national and state no call lists. Thirty minutes later I get a robocall from Verizon with some bitchy recording saying they've tried to contact me three times already about a great Direct T.V. offer. GRRRRRR. Then 30 minutes later phone rings and it's another robocall about a cruise contest. I about leaped out of my skin I was so pissed. I mean, this is my new, unlisted number. WTF? Went to work and came home to two more robocall messages on machine.

Any suggestions that doesn't involve getting a cell phone?

[NMDemDist2]

1. with Verizone you have to call and ask to be put on the DoNotCall list

and then list the number on the national DNC list. it will take about a month to totally kick in

[callous taoboy]

9. I am in the dark ages with my land line. Is there any technology

available that will make this nuisance tolerable in the meantime? Should I get caller I.D.? Would a cell phone do? Is there something I can get that will only allow calls to come through from phone numbers I have said are o.k.?

I recently came back from vacation and had over 20 robocall messages on my machine. There has to be a better way for me to shut this down.

[NMDemDist2]

13. the DNC list works, but you should have done it when you first got the number n/t

[question everything]

15. First, register with the national do not call list

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/donotcall/

Second, you can subscribe to a service - check with your provider - that will reject specific numbers, for about $4.00 a month.

Once you are registered, keep a track of the callers and then complain to the FCC.

One caveat: If you have established relationships with the callers, they are exempt. And, charity and political callers are exempt, too.

I know how you feel. In the evening, when everyone's at home, we don't even pick up the phone. We let the machine do it and, mercifully, so far most just hang up.

[NashVegas]

46. Not Without Paying Through the Nose

The national Do Not Call list WORKS.

[bluedeminredstate]

2. We're on the do not call list

and I swear I got about 15 phone calls today from various telemarketers, the Democratic party of Virginia, The DNC and the Sierra Club. I thought I was going to rip the phone out of the wall! I don't know what to tell you except I feel your pain.

:nuke:

[callous taoboy]

11. When I called Verizon to complain about getting a robocall from them

30 minutes after having signed up for an unlisted number to stop this shit they explained that anyone you are doing business with, charities you support do not have to follow the no call list rule.

[question everything]

18. The do nothing Congress?

he Issue: A bill that would subject political robo-calls to the state’s do-not-call list passed the Senate two months ago but is stuck in the House State Government Committee.

Our Opinion: House members should set aside their personal interests in this matter and vote for their constituents, who overwhelmingly favor the legislation.

We may be in the midst of the summer doldrums, but it really won’t be all that long until Labor Day and the traditional start of the general-election campaign season.

And with the general-election campaign — which will include not only the presidential race but also every member of the U.S. House, a third of the U.S. Senate, every member of the state House and half the state Senate — will come a seemingly endless series of robo-calls.

http://www.readingeagle.com/blog.aspx?bid=4&id=16673&t=Include-robocalls-on-donotcall-list

[Care]

51. Calls From Democrats Make Me Happy

I never mind getting a call from a candidate from our party. I welcome every one. Everyone should be able to block calls from that other party (I can't speak the name, sorry).

[Fla Dem]

37. The "Do Not Call List" does not protect you from

political party calls or charitable organization calls. They are exempt. We have been on the DNC list since it started and it virtually eliminated all commercial telemarketing calls. If you make contact (buy something) with a company then they can call you as they claim they now have a relationship with you. You must tell them to put you on the no call list. Tell them if they call you back you will report them. The DNC list was a godsend for us, as the phone never stopped ringing w/ telemarketers.

[Soul Creature Media]

3. Technology

If technology is bothering you then use technology against itself. https://www.donotcall.gov/ This is the link to the national do not call registry.

[csziggy]

4. The computers generate the phone numbers

But once the Do Not Call list gets your number distributed, they have to mark it not to be called.

Here, if you tell someone "Do not call this number again." any calls after that are considered harassment and you can file charges with the local police. I've used that to get off some lists. Plus I get so snide and obnoxious, I think they have decided it is a waste of their time to call me.

[CTyankee]

36. Yeah, I wait for the robo part of the call to end and I press the number to speak to a "live"

agent. When they say "Can I help you?" I say "Yes, you can help me by taking my number off your list." It's time consuming, I know, but then I'm retired.

[csziggy]

39. Yes, I am also retired. If I didn't have so much time I wouldn't pick on telemarketers so much

I got a little deranged with them when I was recovering from surgery - moving at all was intensely painful and getting up to answer the phone was a trial. Now we have better cordless phones (the old one held a charge for about 15 minutes) and I can be a pain to them.

[CTyankee]

40. I had several surgeries last year and a long recuperation.

It would have been terrible if I didn't have a cordless phone. IT's fun being a pain to THEM!

[csziggy]

42. Yeah recovery is a bitch especially when you are not set up for it

I went through a few years where every time I turned around I had an injury that laid me up. And no time or money in between to get the conveniences that would have made life easier. Now I am set up to be disabled if I end up that way - the new house is completely handicap accessible.

[CTyankee]

43. Luckily, my surgeries were not disabling (I had complications from elective surgery, of all things).

I'm glad you have an accessible house. My mother's house had to have accommodations when she was in her late 80s. At age 90 she went into assisted living, which was a wonderful thing. It was a great place and I knew she would be safe...

[csziggy]

50. I'm not disabled - yet - but I may end up that way

But I've got no cartilage left in either knee and so have increasing arthritis, bad back, had one shoulder completely rebuilt, etc. My knee doctor says someday when I can't stand the pain anymore, he'll do knee replacements. My shoulder doctor has told me not to tear it up again since he will not be able to repair it again. And I am watching both my parents and the way they are physically declining. Since we had to build a house anyway, we made it handicap accessible and very energy efficient. We've been on this property for 30 years and intend to stay here 30 more or until we die, so building a good house was worth it!

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Put them on hold. n/t

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

12. Put them on hold? They are robocalls .

[ColbertWatcher]

14. Hmm...

I bet there's something in one of the internets tubes about how to disconnect them.

Like a device you can hook up to the phone and screw them over.

[callous taoboy]

17. Oh do I fantasize about that. Some frequency I can blast them with,

some "telefunkin' ray blaster" that bounces their call to some expensive point on the planet that they are obligated to pay for.

[ColbertWatcher]

21. LOL! I like the way you think! n/t

[EV_Ares]

6. On the do not call list and have caller id. One thing that helps if you get a number

that keeps calling you and you can't block it, get call forwarding and forward it to time and temperature or something like that.

[orleans]

7. have fun with the calls. carpet cleaning? ask if they can get blood

out of the carpet--tell them there's a TON of it EVERYWHERE

scroll downand click on the samples--
6. crime and the carpet cleaner
8. cemetery
11. stand up comic
14. wrong number bill collector
http://www.tommabe.com/album.php

[malaise]

8. Try this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkE1Nbk-wuI&feature=related

[callous taoboy]

26. OMFG! That could've been me today. I was that livid. Thanks for the laugh.

[1]

10. an unlisted number won't help. those robocallers just roll through phone numbers...

call version and ask for your money back on that.

if you want to be "unlisted" just have them list you as "john smith" or some obscure name. that's free...

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

20. Good advice. The billing name has to be correct but the listing

name can be another name.

[callous taoboy]

27. I don't know about John Smith. Could I be Art Vandalay? Or Herb Greenbud?

I've always wanted to be an architect.

[callous taoboy]

16. All good suggestions. Thanks. Phone just rang. I cautiously answered:

It's a good friend, so I bend his ear about this and he is having the same problem despite being on the national DNC list.

Is this problem getting worse as the economy continues its decline? Is this corporate desperation?

[Lint Head]

19. I reported one to the FCC and they were shut down.

I had to fill out a long report and document every instant, date and time, when they called. Turned out to be from a prison in Florida that was set up as a subversive call center. :dem:

[Richard D]

23. This works

http://www.telezapper.com/

[Captain Angry]

22. I love my cell phone. I have gotten two telemarketing calls in the last 5 years.

In both cases, I told them *THIS IS A CELL PHONE* and they apologized and hung up.

[Breeze54]

24. Get ---> The TeleZapper

The TeleZapper

http://www.telezapper.com/

When you or your answering machine picks up a call.

The TeleZapper emits a tone that tells the telemarketer's computer your number is disconnected.

Within seconds, your number is dropped from that computer's list. And that annoying telemarketer

doesn't get through. As your number is eliminated from more and more lists, you'll get fewer and

fewer of those annoying calls. If it's not a computer-dialed telemarketing call, you'll be connected

to the caller as usual.

Buy the TeleZapper online or at Radio Shack



-------------------

It worked awesome for my elderly Dad!

[callous taoboy]

25. I'd rather it was called the telemarketeer zapper, but hey...

I want someone's equipment to get fried! I'll check this out.

[Breeze54]

29. It IS the telemarketeer zapper ....

:P

They just shortened the name to fit on the device. ;)

[SmileyRose]

47. I have it and it works great - gets more than 99% of "surveys, charities and politicians"

The only one's it doesn't get are the telemarkers from home hand dialing for a group not included on the Do Not Call list.

[EFerrari]

28. I love caller id. I haven't answered a call I didn't want to get in years.

And that Verizon rep might be wrong. You have not given your permission to be contacted for other offers to Verizon and you're paying for an unlisted number.

[callous taoboy]

30. I badly need to update my phone equipment, but my landline

phone is so cool. It's an old hotel phone with the red light that flashes when it rings.

[EFerrari]

31. That is really cool!

Maybe there's a gadget at Radio Shack you can plug in that displays caller id. I love those hotel phones, too. :)

[Tracer]

32. If your phone is a business line ...

... it's my understanding that the DNC rules DON'T APPLY and any telemarketing firm can call you at will.

I should know, since 8 out of 10 calls on my business line are robo / sales calls.

And don't get me started on my house phone --- which DOES have DNC.

Any time that I pick up the phone and there is a few seconds of silence (while the computerized phone system tries to figure out if they've got a live person on the line), I immediately hang up, since I know that it will be some sales pitch.

[treestar]

33. If this is a residential phone, this is actually illegal and they can

be liable for liquidated damages. if a business phone, not much you can do about it.

[begin_within]

34. Turn the ringer off so the phone is silent, and disconnect any answering machine.

You'll never hear it ring or receive any messages. The phone will only be useful for outgoing calls. You can advise everyone to send you e-mail instead of calling you, and if you want to speak live you can call them. This may be inconvenient but it's very peaceful.

[callous taoboy]

44. Folks are old, so I need to be available.

[LynneSin]

35. This is why I have a cell phone

I still have a land line but that's for my DSL AND to give out for anyone who needs a phone number whom I know I don't want to hear from again. Trust me, if I give you my land line number you're someone who I think very little of (I wouldn't do that to you).

My ringer is turned off and I have my land line setup to the answering machine. About once a week I clear out all the messages.

As for real calls - I get them on my cell phone.

[callous taoboy]

45. I know it's pretty silly to not have a cell phone, but I'm vying for being

that guy you might hear about one day:

"The Last Land Line?"
AP
According to records compiled by the FCC, the office of Homeland Security and the telecom industry it has been revealed that there is but one person left in North America who still uses only a land line. The reason? He likes how the little red light lights up on his old hotel phone when it rings. "I bought this old hotel phone at a garage sale back probably 50 years ago, in the 90's, and I've been very happy with it ever since," says Callous Taoboys who just turned 104 last Thursday.

[dkofos]

38. Have fun with them. See how long you can keep them on the phone

before you say never mind and hang up.
Look at it like cheap entertainment.

[LWolf]

41. I've gotten a few on my cell phone.

I get loads of text messages, which pisses me off.

Especially since I can't even figure out how to delete them.

When I called the cell phone company to complain, they suggested that I change my phone #. ?!?

[NashVegas]

48. Put Yourself on the Nat'l 'Do Not Call' List

It works.

[npincus]

49. www.donotcall.gov

https://www.donotcall.gov/

Go NOW!!!! It takes a bit to kick in, but works very very well. I used to get as many (or more) than you and almost threw my phone out the window. GO NOW and sign up!!!!