So it seems like an increasing number of companies have access to my cell phone number, and it's slowly getting a little out of hand, whereby probably half the calls I receive are from someone trying to sell me leg warmers or half-deaf children from Somalia.

I realize there are certain steps you can take to help stem the tide on a landline phone, but does anyone know how I'd go about this on a cell?

By the way, if any of you have amusing telemarketer stories, feel free to post them... I could use a laugh. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

Well... would you belive that I am going to quote Jerry seinfeld... [img]smile.gif[/img]

I love that scene, so tactful... :D

[ 02-18-2005, 08:37 PM: Message edited by: Jorath Calar ]

Start asking them what they're wearing. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

heheh...I like that, Jorath. Think I'll use it on the next one calls my house!

I'd have to do some research for the cell phone issue, but I can say from personal experience that having a private number AND Privacy Director is not helping my land line. I'm going to have to put that on the "No-Call List". I get around 3 to 5 calls daily and have started the habit now of (literally) logging the calls (when they call and how many times from what company). EACH TIME they call I warn them to quit calling my home.

In one month, I had approximately 45 calls from ONE company alone when I was just letting them get the answering machine.

So now...I log and I warn and I will next be recording them calling and me telling them NOT to call back so I can report them.

jerks

If I find something on the cell phone issue, I'll post it up here for you, Alex. Until then...best thing I can suggest is you answer, make it brief and tell them to quit calling your cell phone and wasting your air time unless THEY want to start paying your bill.

It may not be true, but it might make them think twice before calling you back. ;)

Otherwise, you'll probably need to be more diligent about programming your phone with all the numbers of those who *should* be calling you so you won't answer a number that is unknown to you.

Plus, if you have voice mail, just let a number you aren't familiar with go to voice mail. If they leave a message and you know who it is, call them back. If not or no message is left, you know they were probably a sales call. ;)

First things first... put your number on the don't call list.

Next thing... when you get the call, ask for the company they work for and their location. Then tell them to put you on their don't call list, and if they call you again, you will contact your state's attorney general to register a complaint against them. Some company recently paid something like US$100 million in penalties for not following the don't call list.

Explain to them that they're calling you on a mobile phone, which is a violation of federal laws. Ask for their contact information so you can pass it along to the attorney general.

If that doesn't work, you can have fun with them. Ask if your bankruptcy would prevent them from providing you credit on the purchase. If they ask what kind of bankruptcy, tell 'em you've read the whole book -- chapter seven, chapter 11, chapter 13...

Ask if they can provide it to you while you're in prison, 'cause while you weren't guilty of that manslaughter charge, they're keeping you locked up until the trial.

Whatever they're offering, tell 'em you've got one that's better. Mortgage? I've got a 1% rate... top that. "Performance" enhancers? Your brother in law is a drug rep, and he gives you all his extra samples.

There's also the police whistle next to the phone... :D

You could also tell 'em you're the janitor and can't make those decisions. Or you just stole the phone, and you've got to split before the cops come.

oh...there *is* a no-call list for cell phones, Bungleau? I knew there was one for land lines...a national one that you pay $5.00/3? years for.

But I didn't realize they'd done one for the cell phones.

And just one thing to note, guys...asking the company *itself* to put you on *their* "no-call" list is a waste of time, imo. They don't log that stuff and they DON'T remove you from their calling list from what I've been able to tell. So unless you record the call and TELL them you are recording it, there's no way to *prove* you told them to take you off their list. They'll wait a little while, then start calling you again.

If there *is* a National no-call for cell phones, then WONDerful. [img]smile.gif[/img] I shall be listing mine on there, too.

Have you a link to such? If not, I'll go find it. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Oh...and LOL@SomeGuy and even MORE so @ Bungleau... ;)

*jots these down for dealing with the jerks when they call me* :D

Wow, thanks a lot Brenda and Bungleau, that certainly gives me something to work with. I'll be sure to get myself onto that no-call list as soon as I can.

Ordinarily, this whole situation might be okay, but tonight really was the icing on the cake. I'd arranged for my friend Stanley to give me a call; he's from the Caribbean but studying up here in Maine for a while. So my phone rings, and I, thinking it's him, pick it up and go "wa guan, erytin ari?" in my best Jamaican accent, only to find out it's some guy trying to sell me a useless satellite dish.

Gah... :D

There was a funny post way back. It was about an AT&T call and they left the phone off the hook for 5 minutes, came back, and the telemarketer was still on the line. Then they said something off topic like, "do you guys sell water guns?" or something like that. Do a search for the topic.

grrr! I'd have been cheesed off, too.

After a bit of researching, this is what I have found for all of us suffering from the malady of "spam calls"...

Article about cell phones and no-call list

And...so that we can add our land lines AND cell phones to the National Registry...

FTC Do Not Call Registry

[img]smile.gif[/img]

Excellent stuff, thanks so much. [img]smile.gif[/img]

You're always welcome, dear. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Use answering machine. that way you'll know which call to pick up. Which call to ignore. OR use the phones which can list the callers phone number, that way you'll know who is calling. Which mean you don't need to pick up on unindentifitable(sp?) phone numbers.

If you don't recognize the number, don't answer the phone.

Like others have said, register your number with the national Do Not Call registry at
https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx
It's free -- there's no fee to register, and it's good for land lines & mobile phones.

If you have any small children in the house, just hand the phone to them & tell them to talk to the nice salesman.

Cerek posted a story (or link) about a comedian who plays with these callers. He got a call for carpet cleaning & asked the guy if he could get blood stains out of carpet, furniture, and curtains.

Or, as soon as you hear the caller start a speech, just hang up...

Arledrian reminded me of a call I took a few months back. I answered the phone, and the person asked for me. I said hold on, he's right here... waited a few seconds, and then came back on in my best southern good ol' boy accent. Had a mighty nice talk fer a few minutes, and then I allowed as how I wasn't going to do that right now...

Oooohhh... I just remembered another option. Roll the Bones (McCoy, that is): I'm sorry... he's dead.

That'll stop a lot of folks in their tracks.

Yeah...what I've been doing the last couple of days is this:

They ask for me using my "old" married name - Stallings - and I say that she "no longer exists", please stop calling. ;) The other day I got an "uhhh...oh" response to that. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

They ask for me using my maiden name and I tell them there is no one here by that name, please quit calling. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

What I hate the MOST? That, when they call, most times they ask for me by my first name only like they are my long-lost friend! grrr! That just burns me up! Don't you DARE be so familiar with me when I don't know you, didn't give you my number, don't want you to call and do NOT want your stooopid product!

;)

Start eating carrots and celery noisily while they're doing their thing. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I work as a telemarketer.... [img]smile.gif[/img]

You could always slip into whatever RPG character suits your fancy. It's seems to unnerve them when you tell them the Lich-Queen is pounding down your door and wants to drink your blood and reanimate your corpse. Ask them to send help quickly. Banging pots and pans in the background to simulate your battle with her skeleton army is effective too.

My sincere condolences.

Any stories of what people have done to you? :D

Yes, I know! They always start with 'how are you today?' like that makes the call more pleasant and personal. It doesn't, it just wastes more time, not to mention being presumptuous because they don't know me! Whenever they ask me how I am I just respond with 'what can I do for you?' I'm always polite to telemarketers - it's their job and they're not personally doing it to annoy me, and yelling at them and being rude isn't going to stop their companies from using the technique. Which obviously must work or they wouldn't do it! Dunno how though. But I have a lot of trouble being polite with some - we usually just say 'we don't deal with telemarketers' so they might get the message that it isn't that we just don't want their product, like when they call to 'help us' with our home loan (out of the goodness of their hearts, like :rolleyes: ;) ) but we don't have one, but that we wouldn't want their product regardless because of the way they're selling it. But sometimes they say 'oh, we're not telemarketers!' Uuorrr!! Very annoying! [img]graemlins/idontagreeatall.gif[/img]

The one thing I find with telemarketers is that the Canadian based ones are actually polite. [img]tongue.gif[/img] They don't keep trying to sell you stuff (for the most part) if you tell them your not interested. If only more were like them....

We're on the Do Not Call list, but non-profits and religious groups can call. I don't mind when the blood bank calls, or other non-profits like that (Even though they're basically saying "Ve vant your blood!!"). A Jehovah's Witness called yesterday though, and I was pretty surprised. Maybe they do not go door-to-door anymore?

Anyway, I don't appreciate being preached to over the phone by strangers. I said no to the free Bible, as I don't want to give out any addresses. I said simply, "I'm going to save us both some time and hang up. You have a nice day."

I love Bungleau's suggestions. They should come on a cue-card with every phone purchased, but I can't think to do anything but play defense when someone catches me off guard like that.

A few years ago a telemarketer called me on a saturdaymorning !!! Usually they stick to workdays, but this one took it to the next level i guess. :rolleyes:

Unfortunately for the woman i just went to bed, pretty much wasted from beer and stuff. :D So i started out "oh yeah, just what i needed. Talk dirty to me baby... i'm so hot right now... For a moment it was silent, then she hung up. :D

Yeah, Aelia, I don't bother to yell at *them*, but in my head... ;)

And LOL Johnny! I don't think I could get away with that! [img]tongue.gif[/img] At least, not if it's one of the male telemarketers calling. ;)

Sure you can, just call a sexline sometime and listen how they do it. Be creative. :D I bet i could do it to a male as well. Just lower your voice and whisper what naughty things you'd do to him. :D

NONOnoooo! [img]tongue.gif[/img] Silly creature. ;)

I don't think I could say what YOU said to the woman on the phone! The guy might take me seriously and THEN where would I be!?

[img]tongue.gif[/img]

Different approach perhaps ? Involving whips ? :D And use your best Butch voice. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

*snort...giggle* [img]tongue.gif[/img] yeah...maybe I'll try that. ;)

How come johnny comes up with the best ideas? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Alcohol frees your mind. I know you're underaged, but you should really get drunk sometime. :D

Funny enough i'm not drinking any now, but thanks to you that will change in about 30 seconds.

Hey, always here to keep you drinking. ;)

Only 2 years, johnny, 2 years. I'm counting down the days. ;)

Any stories of what people have done to you? :D </font>[/QUOTE]Well, one tried that sinefeld thing, I was tempted to give him my cell number (what do i care if he calls me?), but I think he hung up before I had a chance to consider it :D

I've had tons of jelous boyfriends who have refused to let me speak to their girlfriends. But most people are actually quite nice and listen to what i have to say.

I think telemarketing in sweden differ from other countries. If someone tells me he dosen't want what I have to offer I ask why, if he has a good reason i say goodbye and hang up, if not, I try to argue with him. If they tell me to bugger of before I've had a chance to tell them why I called I try to refer them to our national free of charge "don't call me" list, if they hang up before that I often mark it down as a 'no' and we'll call back when there's a change in our offer (usually takes about two months). We are required, by law, to compare our list with that one at the start of every project.

What i would recommend you to do if they won't stop calling and won't let you say no is to say that whoever the're looking for recently died. When that happens to me i just say "my condolences" and end the call, then i remove them from the list of numbers.

I'm not that evil, I'm actually quite nice when I call and if someone dosen't want to talk to me i respect that. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Finally, even though I don't do it I know that some of my co workers often use pretty dirty tactics when trying to land a sale. So basically my recommendation to you would be to never ever buy anything over the phone :D

Edit, oh, almost forgot, Its company policy to ask if whoever you're calling is busy and if you are disturbing him/her.

I just felt i needed to defend my line of work a bit :D

[ 02-20-2005, 08:02 AM: Message edited by: bjorn ]

Yes, I know! They always start with 'how are you today?' like that makes the call more pleasant and personal. It doesn't, it just wastes more time, not to mention being presumptuous because they don't know me! Whenever they ask me how I am I just respond with 'what can I do for you?' I'm always polite to telemarketers - it's their job and they're not personally doing it to annoy me, and yelling at them and being rude isn't going to stop their companies from using the technique. Which obviously must work or they wouldn't do it! Dunno how though. But I have a lot of trouble being polite with some - we usually just say 'we don't deal with telemarketers' so they might get the message that it isn't that we just don't want their product, like when they call to 'help us' with our home loan (out of the goodness of their hearts, like :rolleyes: ;) ) but we don't have one, but that we wouldn't want their product regardless because of the way they're selling it. But sometimes they say 'oh, we're not telemarketers!' Uuorrr!! Very annoying! [img]graemlins/idontagreeatall.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]I can relate to this, Aelia. I usually tell them 'no thanks, please don't call again' about 2 lines into their canned speeches and most are quite pleasant and say goodbye, but now and then one will continue as if he/she has a chance to convince me to buy whatever it is. That's when I repeat the 'take me off your list' part and hang up.

Your last part reminded me of a guy who called the other night and my husband told him we don't take marketing calls but the guy insisted he wasn't a telemarketer because we had an account with the bank he was calling for and as such they can call existing clients by the 'do not call list rules'. So we took the call, only to have the guy start trying to sell us financial planning information! He got the boot as soon as he answered 'yes' to the question, 'So you ARE selling something?!' :rolleyes:

You're a polite telemarketer though... I don't mind those. It's the rude ones that keep going after you've told them no 10 times that are truly annoying. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Btw..did anyone ever get called by Domino's pizza, right after you got a pizza delivered ? They've done it a few times overhere, and one time it was nearly 15 minutes after the delivery. I was still eating the pizza when the phone rang. It was someone from Domino's... if i enjoyed the pizza, and if i thought there was room for improvement and stuff for the next time i order. I was like "maybe if you'd let me finish the damn thing first, i could talk back with an empty mouth". [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

I understand they want to know if their customers are satisfied and all, but at least wait until the next day or something.

Lol! Never had that happen here, johnny. Must be a Netherlands thing. ;)

Heh, a group of us were watching a movie in the school sixth form centre, when we all got called in succession by the same guy. Unfortuanately for him, the one who got called first gave him a real hard time. And then he answered all of our phones as well. The poor guy must have been going spare, every number he was calling was answered by a raving psycho killer! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Bjorn,

Thanks for stepping up to defend your profession. Personally, I have nothing against the individuals who call. For the most part, they're normal folks trying to make a living, and someone's paying them to make calls.

I have issues with the companies that do it, and they're the ones I focus on. Stop the companies, stop the problem.

And most companies do have a disclaimer that says they will share your information with other sister companies to provide things you may be interested in. It's a loophole, but it's there. I actually accept spam-type messages from companies I actively use (like my bank or mortgage company). They may indeed have something of interest to me. The others.... pffftt.