Zap That Tele-marketing Call, PLEASE!!!

[moviebuff2]

OK, here's my first ever rant.

It concerns a true home invasion called "tele-marketing".

Have you ever got a call in the middle of a very inconvenient time like dinner time? bowel moving time? and, yes, even climaxing time?

You name all those times that you can imagine. I have been through all of them.

So, you know what kind of frustration I experienced and how I wish to confront those g/d home invaders!

And, I have tried every possible means to keep them off my phone. Direct & stern affirmations like "Please do not call me again. I'm not interested!" fail to penetrate those shit-heads (pardon my French). Registrations can only keep a handful of them away, others keep coming, invading your home like cockroaches. Turning-off the answering device does not work, because many of those callers just let the phone ring - audibly or non-audibly - until it turned back on its answering device.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, would some technology gurus develop something that I can use to zap those tele-marketing calls so that they will never be able to call me from the same phone number again.

In the meantime, to those tele-marketers who have been violating my privacy, MAY YOU LOSE YOUR JOB AND EAT DIRT ON THE STREET!!!

[thecoalman]

If you're in the US : https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

The fines are quite stiff if they call you after signing up and if I remeber correctly the consumer that files the complaint actually gets a portion of the fine.

[SquirrelDip]

First: TeleZapper
Never used, don't know how well (or if) they work...

We have a rule in our house - no answering the phone during meals (especially dinner - very few exceptions).

I think most telemarketters now auto dial and transfer only when you answer - If I see an unknown number on call display I answer with a "Hello," wait no more than 2 seconds then hang up.

There's a lot of emails floating around with ideas on what to do about telemarketters. On of my favorites was to ask the marketter to hold and put the phone down (don't hang up) - every couple of minutes pick up and say you're still there and ask to hold again. Make a game of it - see who can keep one on hold the longest.

Here's a funny one:
http://joshualowry.vox.com/library/audio/6a00c225203796f21900c2252ab8c18e1d.html

[moviebuff2]

OK. I'm calm now. LOL

I have been wishing for a phone that you can program to receive calls from specific numbers (friends & family, for example).

Email can do that now. I hope some day, there will be such a phone into which I can enter the phone numbers that I will accept. Other numbers will be directed to something like a trash bin.

Just a thought.

Cheers!

[thecoalman]

Email can do that now. I hope some day, there will be such a phone into which I can enter the phone numbers that I will accept. Other numbers will be directed to something like a trash bin.

The trouble there is what if it's an emergency? If your in the US i strongly suggest the donotcall list, it does work, at the most we might get one every few months.

[lordsmurf]

Friends, co-workers and family only call my cell phone.

I generally keep my home ringer turned off. The only exception is when I enter the DEAL OR NO DEAL contest online, as I turned on my ringer in case they call. I wish. Anyway, sometimes I forget to turn it back off, and I get random phone calls. I simply answer with "What the **** do you want?" and they tend to just hang up. Problem solved.

[moviebuff2]

The trouble there is what if it's an emergency? If your in the US i strongly suggest the donotcall list, it does work, at the most we might get one every few months.

Emergency calls will only come from my friends and family members whose numbers would have already been programmed into my "acceptance" list. This kind of phone that I have been wishing for would work similarly to "caller ID screening". The only difference is instead of blocking numbers (which can be thousands), it will be accepting calls from numbers that it recognizes.

Hi lordsmurf,

I tried everything already. From being polite and firm to being rude and obscene. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. Once, a female tele-marketer called and got me at a very bad moment, I told her to f.... off and hang up. She must have recognize that I was from the same country as hers since she called back right away and started an argument in our own language. UNBELIEVABLE, HEH? Anyway, I told her in English that if she ever called me again, I would sue her and her company for home invasion and phone harrassing.

You know, tele-marketers are out there to make their living too. I understand that; but they cannot violate other people's private homes in the name of "making a living".

[stiltman]

I'll go along with the donotcall list. I does work pretty good. I signed up when it first came out, I only get a couple a month now. That is until political times, as you can not block the politicians

[thecoalman]

I'll go along with the donotcall list. I does work pretty good. I signed up when it first came out, I only get a couple a month now.

I'm surprised you get that many, maybe because our state had this on the books before it was a federal law? I mentioned that the person filing the complaint above gets a percentage of the fine but now that I think about it that may have been the state law so I don't know if it would still be in force. The other major infraction was if they called a elderly person and the fines doubled.

I remember after signing up for the state list telling a telemarketer with glee that they were breaking the law and could be fined. The person on the other sounded surprised, that or they were playing dumb but they sincerely sounded like they had no idea.

[Noahtuck]

OK, here's my first ever rant.
Have you ever got a call in the middle of a very inconvenient time like dinner time?

CLICK!!

bowel moving time?

CLICK!!

and, yes, even climaxing time?

Who the F#$% in their right mind would even bother paying attention to the phone let alone actually getting up to answer it

Ahhh... caller ID... if i don't know the number, i usually don't answer... if i do.. i can look later and see who it was to call back later

I have been wishing for a phone that you can program to receive calls from specific numbers (friends & family, for example).

I have a caller ID unit that will let you add any number that calls it to a "blocked calls list" & if that number ever call's back it automatically answer's on the first tick of a ring and tell's them their call is not allowed and try back later then hang's up on them
Also if they block theeir number it say's we do not allow blocked calls
If it's out of area i just don't answer if i hear the phone.....

Hi lordsmurf,

I tried everything already. From being polite and firm to being rude and obscene. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. Once, a female tele-marketer called and got me at a very bad moment, I told her to f.... off and hang up. She must have recognize that I was from the same country as hers since she called back right away and started an argument in our own language. UNBELIEVABLE, HEH? Anyway, I told her in English that if she ever called me again, I would sue her and her company for home invasion and phone harrassing.

What polite..... CLICK!!!!!!!
& why would you answer again
Maybe a quick... CLICK CLICK!!!!!!!

I have not had a problem with getting caught by one of these gimps in years 8)

I generally keep my home ringer turned off. I simply answer with "What the **** do you want?" and they tend to just hang up. Problem solved.

Yep... i get yelled at a lot of leaving my ringer off because everyone know's i do it :P
I can alway's look and see who it was later & call back 8)

I've actually answered before saying who the F is this and what F do you want

I've also had friends call back pissed when i have asked "who is this" because i did not recognise their voice & they answer back, "who is this ?" and i hang up
Sorry... this is my house & my phone... you don't call me then ask me who it is

[FulciLives]

Telemarketers have to make a living just like you and everyone else.

Have a heart.

Doesn't mean you have to say YES but also doesn't mean you have to say **** OFF or be a rude ******* about it either.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Conquest10]

I have no respect for telemarketers. All they are are last century's spammers. And don't give me that make a living crap. They could have chosen a real job. Most of them don't care anyway what we say to them. They get paid anyway.

[enstg8er]

i have voip. telemarketers get their number placed on the "block" list. there are about 25 numbers on the list now and i rarely ever get a marketing call anymore. if i do get another, it's going on the list.

That is until political times, as you can not block the politicians

i can

[Forum Troll]

i solved the problem by replacing my land line with a cell phone. I have cable modem, so no need for a land line. Same features for the same price, plus unlimited long distance. Only people who know my number call me.

[ZAPPER]

I pretty much think telemarketing should be flat out against the law. I pay for the phone service at my place and unless I invite you "in" you are tresspassing. I also think that telemarketers are rude no matter how well behaived they are when they actually call. The concept of interupting a persons private life to make a sale is in poor taste. Anyone that is a telemarketer and does not see this is in my opinion an idoit, the result of bad up bringing. Not to mention the possibility for fraud or near fraud. Fraud being the intententional rip off and scams and near fraud being when they actually speak the truth but the value of the service or product is lower than the cost.

I have a pretty good system to keep telemarketers from making my phone ring, it is called "Dial Up Internet" and I leave it on an awful lot. I will continue to be rude to telemarketers that invade my privacy and tresspass into my home. You could say "Just don't answer my phone" Or "Get caller ID" but that is me having to respond to someone elses wrong doing and I shouldn't have to do that. I feel sorry for telemarketers that are forced into their line of work by circumstances, but that still does not make it any less annoying and they are still "disturbing the peace" and "Tresspassing"

[Noahtuck]

Telemarketers have to make a living just like you and everyone else.

Have a heart.

Doesn't mean you have to say YES but also doesn't mean you have to say **** OFF or be a rude ******* about it either.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

I watched my daughters BF the other day on the phone with some of these people... he kept saying no... not interested... no... not interested.... and after about 10 minutes i said it loud enough for the person on the other end to hear me.... JUST HANG UP!!!!!
& on & on & on & on he went

He get's off finally and said they kept switching me to other people trying to get me to try & buy diff. shit.... i was like... please.... after the first no it would have been over

I remeber this one seinfeld episode where he answer's the phone... it's a telemarketer....
JS: "can i get your home phone # & call you back later ?"
TM:" i can't really do that"
JS: "So you don't want people calling you at home and bothering you?"
TM: "well yes"
JS: "well then you know how i feel" & he hang's up on the guy

[moviebuff2]

Doesn't mean you have to say YES but also doesn't mean you have to say **** OFF or be a rude ******* about it either.

How about this real event?

- No, I am not interested! (spoken in English)

- Oh! why not? it only costs you $$$ a month. (spoken in a very flirtatious manner similar to "Honey! you wanna have a good time?" that I heard some time ago on 42nd St in NYC, in my own language since the caller recognizes my ethnics as hers).

Would that deserve a "f... off" answer?

Who the F#$% in their right mind would even bother paying attention to the phone let alone actually getting up to answer it

I did let it ring. After so many rings, the answering device turned back on itself! And here's the message: "This is not a tele-marketer call. This call is for XXX (it's not even my name). If you are not XXX, please dial 1-866-xxx-xxxx".



GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRR...................!!!!!!

[ViRaL1]

A few things...

TeleZapper does work for most autodialed calls.

Telemarketing isn't going to stop. The telemarketing industry is not out there fighting years of losses hoping for a profitable quarter; it's a multi-million if not multi-Billion dollar business. They're out there because they're making money, LOTS of it. Be glad it's just your home phone. They're starting to hit cell phones now.

Sometimes telemarketers can be entertaining. Have fun with them. It'd be interesting to hear suggestions on fun things (don't be a TOTAL DICK, but have fun).

'Is it OK if I put you on speaker? The wife and I were having sex when you called and I've been waiting all week for this.'

'He / She is in the shower right now, can you hold?'

'Yeah, I need 2 large pies, deep dish, extra cheese, extra pepperoni. You guys have Coke or Pepsi?' Demand to have your order taken before you even consider listening to their pitch, then ask for their manager.

Sing! / Practice your Karaoke!

Tell them where to pick up the bodies and instruct them that you are tracing the call.

Book a flight to Rome and ask for the 'DaVinci Code Tour.' Insist that they have it and that the rep that transferred you to them said that there were only 20 seats left and that you'll be DAMNED if they let some other SOB buy your package and ruin your honeymoon.

Click over (3-way) and call their number back and let them sit on hold with you.

Do your best impression of Leo Goetz from Lethal Weapon 2.

Ask what they're wearing and if they mind if you put on some soft music and some sexy lingerie (doesn't matter if you're male or female).

[moviebuff2]

I am glad my post generated some discussions.

Here's a phone message I think will make you laugh. Try it. No obscene message, I promise. It's only 53K


http://20-248-a.onlinestoragesolution.com/ciaobellavn/public/phonemessage.mp3

Have a good week, everybody.