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Comments On: Much Ado About Calling
Precisely why I didn't sign up for it. Also, with all the loopholes in the thing, my hunch is that the Do Not Call list would just become a "Do Call" list for all the folks with loophole exceptions. If people care to look around, there are ways to get rid of telemarketers without government's help. Qwest offers a service called No Solicitation that works pretty well. It's 6-7 bucks a month, but well worth it, IMO. Posted by mtpolitics at September 27, 2003 07:15 AMYeah, but why should I have to pay to have somebody "not" call me? I'm already paying to have an unlisted number. If I want your stinkin product I'll call or go see your sorry ass. Posted by BIGDIRTY at September 27, 2003 09:18 AMRe: making a "federal case" out of it... I love that saying, and I use it around the office sometimes for fun, most recently when a case I filed in state court was removed to federal court by the defendants. The defendants, quite literally, made a "federal case" out of it. :^) Posted by Sophorist at September 28, 2003 08:41 PM
Confession time. I am a former telemarketer. I live in the telemarketing capital of the country. Fortunately, I was only on the outbound phones for a year and a half in the late 80s. As a teenager, that $7.50+/hr sure beat working at Mickey D's for $4.50/hr. But, man, was I glad to get off the phones. I'm all for inbound calls when people want products. But we all pay for our phone lines. I don't even understand why the phone company charges us *not* to list our phone number.
The easiest way to get off lists is when you get a call, say: "Take me off your calling list." They are required by federal law to do so. They have been for at least 15 years. While some jerky kid might not do it if you are rude, most will oblige. Hanging up will not get you off a list, nor will saying no. When you get a credit card, magazine, anything, call them or write them and tell them you do not want to be solicited (for mail or phone to cut down on junk mail, too). Credit Card companies do massive amounts of telemarketing. Your cable company will do the same thing as will the newspaper if you subscribe. I do all this and we about 1-2 telemarketing calls every 6 months - usually just surveys. We hardly get any junk mail, either. Posted by Renee at September 29, 2003 07:13 AMDave, didn't you have a post here a few months back wanting the guvmint to do something about email spam? What's the difference between email spam and telemarketers? Why can't you guys just hit the delete key instead of making a federal case about it? Posted by Robert Ferrau at September 29, 2003 10:55 AMI generally tell them that the person they're l ooking for died in a horrible accident usually getting hysteric by screaming at the phone "WHY WON'T YOU MONSTERS LEAVE US ALONE!" heh - then I hang up. Sometimes, if I'm feeling froggy,I'll ask if I can use their product in prison. Since I have a cell phone, I can screen my calls, and calls that show up "unavailable" are automatically blocked. I'm not wasting my minuts on a telemarketer. Posted by Penda at September 29, 2003 02:11 PMNope -- I've never complained about spam -- and would NEVER want the Feds to be the ones to do "something" about it. Spam is ever easier to get rid of than telemarketers -- that handy little "delete" key! You must have me confused with some left-wing blogger! Posted by David at September 29, 2003 06:32 PMPost a comment
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