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This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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Author
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Topic: telemarketers!
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Bruce McGee
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1776
From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular.
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted 01-30-2003 11:41 AM
I decided to not start a new topic on this subject.
This morning I was awaken by a telemarketer who was instantly told 'do not call me, do not call me.' Within 5 minutes, I was called back again by another marketer selling something else. Again, I said do not call me--twice. Over the next 2 hours, I got a total of 12 calls. I suspect that all of them came from the same center, as they all sounded the same when I answered the phone... a moment of silence, then the sound of a room full of people, then incessant yammering that only stopped when he/she took a breath.
I called the phone company. I reminded them that I have a feature on my phone called 'anonymous call rejection' and was told that this does not include telemarketers. "Your lawmakers have made it possible for telemarketers to lawfully call you and bypass any systems you have in place to stop them." Also, for an added charge, I can stop the telemarketers. My reply was that I feel that by paying an 'anonymous call rejection' charge, I should not have to deal with this crap. They told me that there is nothing that I can do. While on the phone with Ma Bell, I had 5 call-waiting beeps. The ID said that they were all 'unknown name/unknown numbers, and 'out of area' calls.
I am fed up with this. I had my puter set-up so that if a call came in, the puter would let me know who was there. I disconnected it after the first day. Nothing but sales calls.
They should all ROT IN HELL.
Anybody else on the forum feel this way?
And now, back to rational thinking. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) Bruce
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Barry Martin
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 203
From: Newington, CT USA
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 01-30-2003 02:24 PM
I signed up for the MA state "do not call" list which so far is looking pretty good. Of course, the day before the list went in to effect some company called "Orca Glass" or something along that line calls me up and just asks if my windshield is cracked or chipped. I had to stop and think for a minute because I didn't actually believe this to be a telemarketing call (someone found my car somewhere, etc.) When I said I have no idea, my car is dead at my mother's house in the next town over they just said "Oh, okay, goodbye." ![[Confused]](confused.gif) Now I see that the telemarketers are fighting the "do not call" list calling it unconstitutional. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif) What about my right to enjoy a good meal without being interrupted 3 or 4 times. Or to relax after a long days work or better yet a day spent as a good consumer going out and purchasing products and services (most instances the same people that call) and just want to kick back when I get home. ![[Mad]](mad.gif) I can't say I, or anyone I know, has ever bought anything when called, at least that they were not planning on buying already. Emails are a different issue, I occasionaly purchase from email ads but those are ads I requested to be informed about. I never asked Orca to call me up and ask how my car was doing. ![[fu]](graemlins/fu.gif)
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Mitchell Dvoskin
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1869
From: West Milford, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 01-31-2003 12:56 PM
Anonomous Call Rejection only works with calls that specificly block your caller id (protected calls), it does not work on calls that your phone company thinks are "out of area", ie, no caller id. This is because of Federal Regulations that make no sense to me.
Prior to getting laid off last April, I did computer work for a collection agency. They, like tele-marketers, use predictive dialers. What these dialers do is go though lists of phone numbers, dialing away, until they get a human being on the line. They then transfer the call to an available operator, along with a computer screen full of information. The silence is the time it takes between when the dialer figures out that a human has answered and the time it takes to find an available operator and transfer the call. The moment I get silence, I hang up.
I have all but eliminated unwanted calls by:
- Never directly answering calls from numbers I do not know on my caller id box.
- Verizon, and some other phone companies, offer for a fee, a call intercept service. What the service does is intercept all calls without caller id and make the caller identify themselves. It then rings your phone and plays back the recording of the caller identifying themselves, and gives you several option on what to do with the call. Most tele-marketers don't even try, since they know they will not get though.
Prior to having this service, I had an answering machine that required you to press 1 to leave a message. I had a very brief message indicating what to do, which was usually over by the time the tele-marketers predictive dialer transfered the call to the tele-marketer. When they finely got on the line, all they got was dead air with no idea how to leave the message. - Always turn off the phone when sleeping. There is nothing important enough to wake me up in the middle of the night. Legitemate callers can leave a message.
/Mitchell
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 02-03-2003 02:05 AM
I find that the answer is to screen calls using my answering machine. Telemarketers seem to be trained not to leave messages, as none ever has on mine. So I look at the incoming number as the 'phone rings and if it's withheld, listen to the machine. If the caller starts to leave a message and is legitimate, then at that point I pick up.
As yet, they don't seem to call mobile 'phones at all in this country. This might be because of the sheer cost of calling them, but it can only be a matter of time before the telemarketers do a deal with the mobile 'phone providers to make outgoing calls en masse at reduced prices. Another reason could be that people tend to change their mobile 'phone numbers far more frequently than fixed line numbers (possibly because, as I discovered last week, it costs £75 to move your old number across to a new contract), and the networks are afraid that if one of them gets a reputation for allowing telemarketers to pester their customers, the customers will take their business elsewhere.
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