Telemarketers & Phone Surveys

[sansei]

:o Hi This is sansei and i have a question,may anyone here had or has a phone call from people who survey and if anyone did and you'd put them on the do not call iist and they do it a second and third time even though they are on the do not call list,what may anyone's thought's be is i shared with this lady,that i put them on the do not call list and she kept hounding me if i would let her survey me and i mentioned thank you only that's ok and she kept trying to request to me if i would respond to her survey since she say's she didnt have enough guy's who she need's to survey and when i shared with her thank's only that's ok,she then hung up and i'd wish to know if something like this happened to anyone here?

Well thank's for your time:O)

[kani-lehua]

for some reason, we still keep getting phone calls to answer surveys even though we are on the do not call list. i just tell the person that i am not interested and hang up.

[tutusue]

If you've done business with the company in the past they can still call you whether or not you are on the "do not call" list. I've had similar experiences recently but the calls came from the headquarters of my bank and insurance company. Other telemarketers have been reported.

If you have caller ID, note the phone # then file a complaint (https://www.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx) at the donotcall.gov web site. You should also tell the offending party to put you on the "do not call" list. They are obligated to do that once you tell them. Will they? Who knows. I've noticed over the past 4 months or so that telemarketing calls have ramped up quite a bit.

[Fritz]

I tell them that 100% of the residents at this number will not participate in their survey and they are wasting their time.

[Amati]

Or, to discourage telemarketers, you might follow this example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv3UCvxUh8E

(Warning: Not all of the remarks are Politically Correct, so don't go there if you are easily offended.)

[scrivener]

I'm not sure exactly how the Do Not Call list works (because I'm kind of opposed to the list, to be honest), but isn't it true that certain kinds of surveying are exempt from having to abide by it, such as political polling?

Ah, I was right. Relevant stuff here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Do_Not_Call_Registry#Except ions_to_the_do-not-call_rule).

Part of the article says

A person may still receive calls from political organizations.
A person may still receive calls from charities.
A person may still receive calls from those conducting surveys.


Wikipedia is my friend.

[Walkoff Balk]

Survey says, "Don't Answer the Phone." I got a trace on that phone call. It's coming from inside your house. Quick, Run for your life!

[kani-lehua]

just got another one this morning. i could hardly hear the person. but, once i heard survey, i hung up. i don't hang up on the charities and haven't gotten any political calls yet.

[Walkoff Balk]

just got another one this morning. i could hardly hear the person. but, once i heard survey, i hung up. i don't hang up on the charities and haven't gotten any political calls yet.
So, that's why the silent ring on the phone is included. Those 5:30 in the morning telemarketing calls on your bedroom phone.

[kani-lehua]

Survey says, "Don't Answer the Phone."

good answer. let's play, "the phone feud.":p

[cyleet99]

Never get them now as we use cell as home phone. But I do hang up on charities, after I ask them to snail mail their info to me and explain that I do not donate over the phone. I figure if they have my phone number they have my address.

[sansei]

:confused: hi this is sansei and just a few minute's ago,i received another phone call when someone saying they are from the starbulletin that they wanted to know if we're already taking the starbulletin and if we arent,they would've like to have us subscribe to them and for sunday's edition also and i told them we do take it and not sunday's since we take the advertiser so they said thank you and hung up so i hope no one had this same experience as i just did?

Well thank's for your time:confused:

[Mike_Lowery]

:confused: hi this is sansei and just a few minute's ago,i received another phone call when someone saying they are from the starbulletin that they wanted to know if we're already taking the starbulletin and if we arent,they would've like to have us subscribe to them and for sunday's edition also and i told them we do take it and not sunday's since we take the advertiser so they said thank you and hung up so i hope no one had this same experience as i just did?

Well thank's for your time:confused:
I had those when I subscribed to the SB when dorming at UH. I stopped subscribing to the SB when THA was provided for free to all dorms there, and the phone calls from SB stopped.

[acousticlady]

Caller ID and an answering machine does the trick. If you don't know the number, let the answering machine pick up. Telemarketers and survey solicitors are not allowed to leave a message. They will hang up.

[zff]

I don't know if letting the answering machine get it is a good idea. It confirms to the person or the machine calling you that your number is a valid one, and they'll just try again later. I answer and immediately hang up. My hope is that they'll think there's something wrong with the number and take it off their list.

I wish I had a way to play the disconnected-number recording. You know, the one that goes "Boo-bee-BEEP. I'm sorry, the number you have reached has been changed or is no longer in service. Please check the number you dialed and try your call again." Any person or well-designed auto-dialer software that got that message would probably take my number off their list.

I could just make it my outgoing message, but then valid callers would think my line was disconnected. I don't want that. I want to be able to look at my caller ID then press a button that would play that message. Does anyone know a way I could do that?

[helen]

A disconnected number is not forever disconnected. Sooner or later it gets to be used up by someone new in the exchange prefix area.

[zff]

True, but then I imagine these telemarketers have tens or hundreds of thousands of numbers on their list. Calling all those numbers must take up a lot of time, and I imagine there is great value in optimizing their call lists.

From the telemarketer's point of view, there's no sense calling back a number they've verified to be disconnected -- not for several months, anyway. If you take into account the sheer volume of calls they probably make, the time savings is probably substantial and worth the small effort.

Maybe a better idea is to have a pretend modem or fax machine answer the phone. Then again, that might just put your number on a different list.

In any case, either answering the phone or having an answering machine get it probably guarantees you a spot on the telemarketer's "call this number back" list.

[scrivener]

The Do Not Call Registry doesn't apply to businesses you've patronized within the past eighteen months, Sansei, so as long as you've done business with the S-B, it's a fair and legal call. Just ask them nicely not to call anymore. Did you read the Wikipedia article I linked in my first post?

[kani-lehua]

got a call from "jazzercise" today? huh? i could barely understand the dude. he had to repeat hisself 3x before i finally told him that i wasn't interested.

sansei: funny thing with the star bulletin: i cancelled my subscription on 7/25 and am still receiving it. when i wanted it, i had a hard time receiving it. now that i don't want it, i get delivered. supposed to be receiving a refund? we'll see.

[sansei]

:( hi this is sansei and a few minute's ago,i had a call from arbitron radio rating's and they requested me if i'd respond to some question's on which this lady told me that my conversation is being recorded and i did and then i e-mailed them for the president to take my name off of their mailing list and for them not to contact me and im hoping the president will do so,so i wont have to be bothered and in response to the call i had recently,i learned that Sb know's on a clause we dont wish to be contacted so the lady customer service agent said it was a scam since no one on our request would call from their office and i had explained it to them and they understood and the customer service agent said she'd write to her boss and let him know of this scam call and i said thank's and she said no problem so i thought to share this with everyone.

well thank's for your time:O(

[kani-lehua]

now that we're talking about these phone calls, seems as though i'm getting them more frequently. had another one today supposedly from the department of health. she sounded legit so i answered a few questions. now that i think about it, maybe i shouldn't because one of the questions was about the number of females and males living in the household. she then wanted to talk to the oldest female which is mom. told her that mom has alzheimer's and wouldn't be able to answer. she then said the survey was over. heh, maybe i shouldn have let her talk to mom. would have provided some great entertainment.

[68-eldo]

If you have the gift of gab you can have some fun with these people.

Caller: How many males and how many females live in the hose with you?

You: Well we know we have 2 males and 3 females but there are 2 that we don’t know for sure what gender they are. :D:D

[kani-lehua]

i might have the gift of gab, but not as quick witted as you, 68-eldo!:p

has anyone had someone call about jury duty? supposedly this is an identity theft scam. the caller tells you that you haven't responded to the summons and asks for your social security number.

[Walkoff Balk]

You could just say "hold on." Then, play a recording of your own business or promote your website or blog.

[kani-lehua]

that would all be good, but i neither have a website nor a blog and sold my business in 2000. how a bout, "dial 1-800-heaven?" maybe that would work. if GOD answers and says you have the wrong number, then there's the possibility that one could call, "1-800-hell." :P

[Walkoff Balk]

I'm afraid to play games with telemarketers now when they hire convicts. They have your phone number, and how many of them have anger issues and want revenge. Don't Answer the Phone!

[Vanguard]

I'm afraid to play games with telemarketers now when they hire convicts. They have your phone number, and how many of them have anger issues and want revenge. Don't Answer the Phone!

Caller ID is one of my favorite modern inventions.

[tutusue]

Caller ID is one of my favorite modern inventions.
Call Blocking is another great one!

[Vanguard]

Call Blocking is another great one!

I wish they would add this to Verizon cell phones. :mad:

[leashlaws]

......"are you going to SCARBOUROUGH FAIR......" they always call here
day and night.

[Walkoff Balk]

Another option is to use the Spanish or French language pre-recording announcement on your answering machine.

[leashlaws]

Another option is to use the Spanish or French language pre-recording announcement on your answering machine.

Brilliant!:) I was thinking Urdu might be good too.;)

[HawaiiMama]

Yep, the answering machine really screens 'em out--they just hang up--but sometimes I go all the way there to see who it is, only to hear dial tone. The other thing is to answer, let them start their spiel, then go, "hold on, please"...and set the receiver down and walk away!! They aren't gonna hang on forever...if you check it after a minute or so, either they're gone, and if they aren't, just hang up. They'll get the idea, and you haven't done anything rude or mean. :D Sometimes if you say you aren't interested, as you are hanging up, you can still hear them rambling on! :p

[Butch003]

I let the answering machine pickup the line.
And my answering announcment is, "This line is registered against telemarketers." The phone has been very quiet for a coupla years now.