OT: How Well Is No Call List Working

[Silvan]

[Dennis Vogel]

That's not for you. That's to fool blocking software that looks for certain keywords. Add some funny characters or 1 for l or 0 for O and it'll get past.

Dennis Vogel

[Mark & Juanita]

That's what he was saying. Why try to get around somebody's blocking filters when you know they don't want to see what you're sending? You are only going to make those people even more angry and certainly aren't going to get any more business.

The one's that really get me are the ones that have nonsense in the subject line -- same reason, plus by randomizing the crap they get around some ISP's filters as well. Do they really think I'm going to open an e-mail with the subject, "garcia clarinet montevideo bud shameful"? BTW, that's a real spam subject line from one in my filter bin.

[Everett M. Greene]

The ones that baffle me are those from Asia that use an oriental language and character set. Not only are mosts of the recipients in the western world not interested in whatever the postings have to say, they can't read them anyway. Talk about a total waste of bandwidth!

[Dennis Vogel]

Aha, so he was. As Roseanne Rosanadana used to say, "Never mind!'

Dennis Vogel

[Doug Miller]

IIRC, that was Emily Latella.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[WD]

Our phone is not listed in the no call list. We pay the phone company to have our phone number remove from the phone books. Occasionally, we still have telemarketing calling in the evening. This evening I received call from a finance company pouring out his shit.

I screwed him, he laughs and pretty soon we were screwing one another. This goes on for more than 10 minutes. I realize that this smart alex will go on forever. So, I call my kid aloud (so the telemarketer could hear) and ask him to use the other phone and call the cop to trace the the caller since his phone ID is "Unknown."

The caller immediately hangs up. Some of you may say I deserve it. Yes, I am wrong to screwed him, but how do you stop them? Listing our phone to the no call list will only add our phone to the lists of other authorized caller lists. I believe telemarketing and legitimate company will think twice calling, if their ID is available on all calls.

[Larry C in Auburn, WA]

I seldom get calls now instead of the 1-3 an evening I was getting so it seems to be working for me. I don't think you should feel guilty about playing with the telemarketers, they called you to help you out didn't they? At least that's what they usually told me. I figured I didn't need new storm windows (or whatever), but I might be in the mood for a little entertainment. I'd ask them questions, debate with them, ask them how they tested their windows to make the claim of being the best, etc. Usually I just say not interested and hang up, but every now and then I'm in the mood to play with them. No, I do not have an ounce of guilt about it. Maybe you just need more time for the no call list to kick in?

[Stephen M]

I get very few nowadays.

Screwing with them may make you feel good, but as a prectical matter, I ALWAYS tell them immediately and in very clear language that I would like to placed on THEIR "do not call" list.

Not all telemarketers are from unscrupulous companies. I beleive that to some degree companies are required by law to maintain such lists.

Nothing will help with unscrupulous callers.... But I beleive that this approach helps. It certainly can not hurt.

Although it may not feel as good, I beleive it does more to cut down on subsequent calls than "Screwing with them"

Steve

[Wilson]

I heard that telemarketers need to ID their numbers now. It's a new law, but not sure when it needs to go into effect. I have caller ID and if the display says "UNKNOWN", I don't answer it.

[Herman Family]

One minor detail to remember about no call lists. If the sale does not occur over the phone then it is not prohibited by the law. If they are asking to come over and give you a quote, then they don't have to worry about the no call list. Also, if you already have a business relationship with the company, then the don't call list doesn't cover you.

Michael

[Charlie Self]

I love that tactic. We moved about 2 years ago. Temp housing for a month, with a phone we needed to card to get long distance on. Oldest kid has the same deal with "unknown". Her Mom couldn't talk to her until she e-mailed her that she was calling. Jesus wept. With the bouncing around in the past 2 years, that problem has cropped up at least 15 times, including one when I tried to call my wife from an Ottawa hotel room while she was at the oldest kid's. I think once more from Disney down in Orlando, too.

I don't think it's really a great solution, obviously. Basically, a PITA unless your family all use the same phone numbers all the time or are in the local calling area.

Charlie Self "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure." Mark Twain

[nospambob]

[Doug Miller]

Yes, this is true. It's called the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Act (do a Google search on that phrase for more info).

Get the name of the company and complain.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[WD]

I have two questions:

1. I believe if you request your phones be removes from the Telemarketer calling list and if they persist calling, you can sue them under a certain law? Can you or anyone tell me more about it?

1. If we listed our phones with the NCL and if a telemarketer calls without an ID, how am I going complain to FCC, what proof do I have? HOW DO YOU GET THE PROOF TO REGISTER A COMPLAIN?

Lastly, I would love to sue AT&T (They keep calling me regularly), I still cannot forget how they gouge me in the late 90's.

[George Eversole Jr.]

I also used the tactic of avoiding UNKNOWN i.d.'s for years 'till the do not call list came into play. Heck, that was my main motive for having Caller ID.

My parents use calling cards (AT&T I think, whatever SAM's & WallyWorld peddle)to call me long distance and I noticed one thing: The telemarketers ID shows "UNKNOWN --- --- ----" while the calling card call shows "UNKNOWN 123-456-7890" or some other random number. So instead of a telephone number or random number, a telemarketer would show just dashes (or no numbers at all on my other caller ID). Don't know if this still is the case, but it had been this way for years.

-ghe

[Brian Henderson]

Yes, you can sue them, but it's pretty difficult to prove that you told them to remove you from their list. Basically, it's your word against theirs.

That's the problem. Before the NCL went into effect, I'd have telemarketers who absolutely refused to give me their names. I'd tell them to take me off their lists and give me their names and they'd refuse.

[WD]

That is exactly what I mean! Every Telemarketer knows about it. I remember a called, when this guy actually turns on the speaker. You can hear the laugher and enjoyment in the background.

I would love to sue them and make them pay for the enjoyment!

[ranck]

This is because telemarketers do not use phone listings. Most of them use automated dialing systems that call all the numbers in a given area. The systems hang up when they here the beep-dee-boop tones of a "not in service" message. They also now skip numbers on the do not call list.

Uh, where did you get this idea? I put my number on the national do not call list as soon as it became available. I almost never get any of these calls. I don't think I've had more than 1 since Christmas.

Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.