Do-Not-Call List, Two Years Later 426
Carl Bialik writes "The Wall Street Journal is reporting that two years after the National Do Not Call Registry took effect, regulators say the system is working, but only six federal fines have been issued. More than half of registered consumers say they're still getting unwanted calls, according to a recent phone survey. Now, a fresh fight is brewing over which calls are restricted and which ones aren't. Twenty-five states maintain their own do-not-call lists, and many of them impose tougher restrictions on the kinds of calls that telemarketers can make."
Ironic... (Score:5, Funny)
I mean isn't that bound to skew the results?
Consumer: Hello?
Survey Operator: We're conducting a survey on unwanted phone calls
Consumer: OK...
Survey Operator: Have you received any unwanted calls lately?
Consumer: Yes... Quite recently actually!
Re:Ironic... (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/dncalr
Re:Ironic... (Score:5, Insightful)
Dumb survey. (Score:3, Funny)
So the survey was worthless because it didn't even ask the right question! They should have asked if the individual had recived any calls that should have not happned becuase they were on the Do Not Call list.
"Did you get any unwanted calls lately?"
"Well yeah, the Gas company called to tell me I'm over 60 days past due. My boss called me to come in on my day off. My mother in law called and berated me while I was trying to watch the game last
Re:Ironic... (Score:3, Funny)
Other options exist... (Score:3, Funny)
19% said they no longer get junk phone calls.
32% said they still get junk phone calls.
43% said they still get junk phone calls from Cowboy Neal.
6% said they don't have phone lines, you insensitive clod!
That might add up to 100%. If not, see my sig.
Re:Ironic... (Score:2)
There is very little other than spam that is as annoying as telemarketing.
Re:Ironic... (Score:2)
And here are a few [pcweenies.org] other toons [pcweenies.org] on telemarketers, as well.
Re:Ironic... (Score:3, Funny)
Ameritech: Hi, we're calling to tell you about our new anti-telemarketer service that will prevent unsolicited calls.
Me: You mean like this one.
Ameritch: Ummmmmmm....
I was surprised the guy didn't have an answer for that in his script.
Do-Not-Survey list? (Score:5, Funny)
From TFA:Regulators say the system is working, but a recent random survey (by telephone) by the Customer Care Alliance, a Virginia-based consortium of three customer-relations consultants, found that 51% of registered consumers say they're still getting calls they think the list is supposed to block.
So they conducted the survey by CALLING the people on the do-not-call list...I think it's perfectly acceptable. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I think it's perfectly acceptable. (Score:2)
Isn't that sort of like a doctor ripping your brand-new stitches out to see how the wound is healing?
Unwanted call survey (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Unwanted call survey (Score:3, Interesting)
A while back, for about a week in a row I was getting a phone call about the same time of day from a number I didn't recognize. I never answered the call and the caller never left a message. I finally get fed up and traced the number back to some organization I had never heard of: Customer Care Alliance. The company sounded like some marketing firm to me, so I turned them in to the do not call list.
Yep, I'm feeling like an idiot right about now.
SiO2
Worked for me (Score:5, Insightful)
But then, my calls had dropped pretty low even before the do-not-call list went into effect. I had learned the magic phrase, "Could you take me off the call list?", which I diligently said to every telemarketer. By law, they have to take you off, so that had already almost completely solved the problem. The national do-not-call list eliminated the last bits.
Re:Worked for me (Score:5, Informative)
I worked as a telemarketer for a year. I heard people yell at me every day and it didn't change anything. Those people would get calls over and over and over. It was the ones who were calm and said the magic phrase didn't call again.
A little polite respect gets you much farther than spewing vitriol across the telephone line.
Re:Worked for me (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Worked for me (Score:2)
Re:Worked for me (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Worked for me (Score:5, Insightful)
You were modded down as flame-bait and troll for saying this, but I'm behind you on this one.
Yes, saying "put me on your do not call list" is a simple thing to do, but doing so three times in one evening when you are trying to enjoy a DVD or play a computer game is very tiresome. Before Minnesota's do-not-call registry was set up, that's what it was like.
I'm generally a nice guy, but I delight in being rude to telemarketers. I deliberately waste their time. I belittle them. I pummel them with questions about why they want to be parasites and how can they sleep at night knowing that they make their livings spreading human misery.
Why? Because I want every telemarketer to utterly hate his or her job. I want them to go home crying and wonder if the paycheck is worth the stress and heartache, so some of them will quit and companies who rely on telemarketing have to spend more money to hire new people. This makes telemarketing cost more for the same return, which makes it a less attractive means of generating business.
If everybody who disliked being called by soliciters was as mean, rude, and disruptive as me, the entire industry would dry up within a couple years.
Re:Worked for me (Score:5, Interesting)
In addition it's fun to play the Hold game. When they ask for somebody or something, I'll ask them to wait for me to find them and then put them on hold (my phone even played music) and go back to whatever it was I'm doing. The record holder (pun intended) is 1 hour and 25 minutes. I guess he liked the classic 80's songs playing...
I try to waste as much of the company's money as possible by wasting their time and resources. At the same time I feel bad taking out my annoyance on the employees because it's very possible that they are at the only job available to them at the moment. Being a telemarketer doesn't require much in the way of skills, but it is better than other skill-less opportunities like fast food.
Re:Worked for me (Score:3, Informative)
Oh, that's nothing. A friend of mine once managed to string one of them along for 6 or 7 hours. He was painting an apartment while the owners were away, so he had no use for the phone anyhow. If you have multiple phone lines - all the better.
Most telemarketers are required by company policy to stay on the line until they make a sale or the victim hangs up - they're completely powerless to stop this. Especially if you say something like "Yeah, let me
Re:Worked for me (Score:3, Interesting)
Me: Good morning may I speak to Bob Someone
Sad sounding woman: I'm sorry you can't
Me: Is there another time I can call?
SSW: No this is his wake.
Me: Okay then sorry about that
*hangup*
Were it not for the sobbing in the background I'd have thought it was a joke.. it was not.
That was so awkward.
Re:Worked for me (Score:5, Insightful)
That's what you are. Trash.
Utterly wasteful human garbage. You obviously leech off of other peoples' misery
and try to prevent them from making a living in any way, shape, or form instead of
just being polite and resolving your issue with them.
My "issue with them" is that they choose to call me. They are welcome to make a living any way they like, but they are not welcome to call me, and will suffer my wrath when they do. Don't like it? Then don't call.
It might be aggravating, but there are much better ways to go about it then trying to make
someone feel awful about themselves.
I can think of at least three, but none of them are as much fun. They feel awful about themselves after talking to me? Good! They are being awful people, and therefore I'm merely aligning their self-image with reality! Perhaps I will provoke some of them to change their lives in a positive direction.
Seriously. Prostitutes deserve more dignity than telemarketers. At least a whore is providing a service which is actually desired by her customers.
Re:Worked for me (Score:3)
So when a call comes about a family member with a medical emergency who wants me at the hospital for the final minutes of their life, I guess it will just have to wait until the movies over to find out about it, because I'm hiding from the whole goddamn world is what it takes to avoid interruptions from annoying fucktards like you, and I should just accept that without ever being rude or indign
well, not that simple (Score:5, Informative)
That solution "tell them to put me on the do-not-call list" simply keeps the burden on the consumer, not the telemarketer. Also, how do you do it to recorded calls?
BTW, before the national registry, there was a law requiring all telemarketing firms to send out written copies of their do-not-call policies to consumers upon request. Any individual violations of the request to send written copies of the DNC policy was something you could sue for in small claims court. Most telemarketers had never heard of this rule, and most were never trained about it.
Re:Worked for me (Score:4, Funny)
Of course, I like to find the good in every situation, which in this case was answering the phone with greetings like "Thanks for calling the Psychic Hotline, but I know this is a wrong number." or "Genital Piercings R Us, would you like to hear about our special on clitoral spikes?" or "$City chapter of the Cult of Satan...". You get the picture.
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Worked for me (Score:2, Insightful)
1) Until now I didn't actually think telemarketers were that colossally stupid. If *I* were a telemarketer I would use my amazingly advanced intellectual powers to deduce that people who screamed, thr
Re:Worked for me (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Worked for me (Score:4, Interesting)
Apparently you've never dealt with Qwest...
Re:Worked for me (Score:3, Interesting)
Speaking of obvious solutions, how about a telemarketing policy where the company single-handedly takes people off the list who obviously don't want to be called, regardless of whether they ask politely or not? Ultimately "Telemarketers suck" has the same meaning as "please don't call me."
If the telemarketers had any self-respect they'd take anybody of
Re:Worked for me (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Worked for me (Score:3, Interesting)
In fact, it screws up the reputation for people who are professional sales people.
A telemarketer could try to sell new windows to anyone, at random. They basically use a dictionary-style attack and if they're lucky they will get a sale.
A good sales person would first determine the market (ie: eliminate apartment/condo units but approach landlords). They might even drive around looking at houses and noting if the windows are old (=replacement) or new (=recently replaced). They might w
Re:Worked for me (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Worked for me (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Worked for me (Score:3)
In any case I am rather upset that I
Re:Worked for me (Score:3, Informative)
I did computer work on the side for a mortgage company back in the mid-90's, and they had the most interesting phonebooks. The phone company has a special white pages that are leased to certain companies that list phone numbers not by customer/company names, but by street address. All numbers are included in this book, even unlisted ones. While I was able to manage to leaf through one, the owner of the business treated them
Re:Worked for me (Score:3, Interesting)
dealing with caller-id blocking (Score:3, Informative)
2. If caller-id is blocked, you can use *57 to generate a log at the phone company containing the true origin of the call. It will not be available to you but it is held for some time (30 days? -- I'd have to check on that) and can be retrieved through a subpoena. So if someone breaks the law like this, or by making threatening calls, and you are mad enough, you ca
Re:Worked for me (Score:3, Informative)
Punching in the face (Score:3, Insightful)
Asking to be removed from a telemarketer's list is kind of like that, except they can punch you from anywhere in the world.
Now do you see why people get pissed off?
Re:Worked for me (Score:2, Insightful)
BTW, it's not respectful to call me to try to sell me something, so no respect is due. Just GO THE FUCK AWAY.
Re:Worked for me (Score:2, Funny)
"Special Ed"
"Evangelical Christian"
"Guy who gets turned on by Telemarketers"
"I have these voices in my head... "
"Get head and get Called"
"Terrets Syndrome Poet"
and my personal Favorite:
"How come you don't call more often... I think you don't like me anymore.... *plays gunshot mp3*, *throw something heavy on the floor and drop phone*, *moan*.... why don't you LOVE ME!!!!"
Illegal Telemarketers (Score:3, Insightful)
Most of the telemarketing phone calls I recieved had to do with me sending them $200 as an entrance fee for a contest for a trip to Jamaica, and things of that sort. Do you really think they'd take you off their "list"? Chances are they have no list at all.
Hi spammer! (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't want either you of contacting me, ever. Period. Never.
Why is this concept so difficult to understand?
Re:Worked for me (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Worked for me (Score:2)
Now, I get the once per year call from the firefighters trying to get me to donate (exempt because they are a charity), and lately I've been participating in a phone survey once a week or less (which I don't mind) but that's it.
Re:Worked for me (Score:2)
That's one of the reasons why I'm optimistic about a government-imposed spam solution working, eventually. (The other reason being that Microsoft, AOL and the rest need such a solution and they'll make sure it gets done.) Even if such proposals are always met with derision here from the dorks with their "You
Re:Worked for me (Score:2)
Re:Worked for me (Score:2)
Re:Worked for me (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
0.0014% (Score:2)
Wow, that's only 0.0014% of reports turning into lawsuits.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Questionable List (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Questionable List (Score:2)
Re:Questionable List (Score:2)
Satire [theonion.com], this is iggymanz.
Now if you excuse me, there's a -1 Flamebait that just walked and is asking for me.
I just don't understand ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Once and for all, somebody needs to drive this into their heads: it is MY phone, and you may not use it (i.e. call me) without my consent. P.S. refusing to pay $3.50 a month to NOT be listed in the phone book does not mean I consent to have you morons call me.
-paul
Re:I just don't understand ... (Score:4, Insightful)
I suppose they are worried (justly) about people convincing grandma to sign up so she doesn't get so many "buy this shit now" calls
This is exactly what they are worried about. They don't care about you, me, or Joe Geek who would never buy their crap anyway. They care about concerned friends and relatives signing up the vulnerable people who they bleed dry as their staple source of income. Telemarketing is just a polite term for scamming.
Re:I just don't understand ... (Score:3)
Do not underestaimate the power of the sales force.
Re:I just don't understand ... (Score:2)
Re:I just don't understand ... (Score:2)
you may have hit the nail on the head. my uncle-in-law has to monitor all the mail that his aunt gets because she will write a $20 check to every single charity that sends her a letter asking for money. word about her got out, she gets a large stack of charity solicitations almost every day.
It's worked amazingly well for me (Score:2)
Re:It's worked amazingly well for me (Score:3, Interesting)
yes, it wastes time, but it is incredibly fun.
dude.
I IS working, in unexpected ways (Score:5, Interesting)
This is because many companies that do telephone marketing are doing something else instead (spam maybe?). So while the system isn't perfect, and can be improved, it has to be considered a success for the most part.
Do-Not-Call works for me. (Score:3, Informative)
The Oregon state government was charging [state.or.us] for Do-Not-Call. Now the state system has been terminated.
People are idiots (Score:2)
Most of the annoying calls coming in now are pretending to be "surveys," rather than sales calls. They're lying, of course, but the volume has gone down considerably.
Re:People are idiots (Score:2)
At home, I get an automated recording on the machine (from a telemarketer, no doubt), saying that isn't a sales call. What good is is law if simply saying "this isn't a sales call" makes it so, even if they are trying to sell you something?
Re:People are idiots (Score:2, Interesting)
I've been getting the same thing recently. To my cell phone. i wonder who's doing it.
The question is (Score:3, Interesting)
My concern about exemptions (Score:2)
What constitutes a pre-exiting relationship? I get calls from a local suto dealerchip's service center "reminding" me to get my car serviced.
What if they get bought by a corporation that owns credit card companies? Does this mean the credit card company would be able to solicit me?
What they let in: (Score:5, Insightful)
Then there is the fact that to report someone, you have to jump through hoops, and have a lot of information from the telemarketer, most people probably don't report illegal calls if they get them.
Lastly, I think we need a "Do-Not-Fax" list, as it drives me crazy that people will send vacation offers (that are probably scams) to the office I work at sometimes (which is technically a residential number), and not only does it waste time, it wastes ink and paper. Essentially, we have to pay to get spammed.
Re:What they let in: (Score:2)
That's already illegal - after a similar flood of advertising faxes back when fax machines were becomming common in businesses but were not yet so cheap as to be common in residences.
Unlike the old "do not call" lists the "take me off your fax" number generally works. (I've only had to do it once at work and twice at home to get the bogosity to stop.) Meanwhile I hear you can get a couple hundred bux per fax if you want to take 'em to small claims court. Se
Re:What they let in: (Score:2)
Re:What they let in: (Score:2)
Re:What they let in: (Score:2, Interesting)
While looking for the appropriate legislation, I googled up this [faxrecoverysystems.com] What's up with that? Are they legit? Has anyone used them with success?
Re:What they let in: (Score:2, Informative)
If you are in the U.S. and the line is registered residential, then this has been illegal since 1991.
Some relevant links:
What's Slashdot's cut? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:What's Slashdot's cut? (Score:2)
No Calls in KY (Score:3, Informative)
No phone calls but... (Score:2)
My volume of new credit card offers via snail mail has tripled however. On any given day I get 3 or more offers to sign up for a new credit card. And now I'm started to get very aggressive home refinance offers too - I got a real, 100% legitamate cashable check for over $50,000 and on the top it says in big letters "cashing this check will bind you to the terms of the loan d
Re:No phone calls but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Once you file it, the Post Office is specifically required to compel the sender to stop sending you ads.
Or, you could just fill them all out and send them
Bad idea (Score:3, Informative)
This is very, VERY bad advice. At least here in Canada, and I'm pretty sure credit bureaus work the same in most countries.
Each time a credit report is done on you, it gets entered into your record, to stay there for 7 years, as an attempt at obtaining credit. Every one of these entries lowers
Robo-callers still a problem... (Score:2)
Re:Robo-callers still a problem... (Score:2)
I cant believe that number (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't get it - I was totally harrassed by at least 4-5 calls per night before this list came along.
Not only has it blocked almost 95% of the bullshit, it kicked in almost instantaneously. The execptions for charities are annoying/minor. Some utiliies and banks I do business occasionally bug me with the claim that I opted-in somehow - or that its just a "courtesy call
But IMHO - The list rocks!
The irritating loopholes (Score:3, Interesting)
And, so, when the law was passed, they had loopholes for
The only thing that seems to work is to hang up on the charities and to tell the businesses that you'll be closing your account with them if you get any more calls.
my solution (Score:2)
Finally, I asked myself, "why am I paying an extra $40/month for harrassment?" As many people are doing -- I canceled the phone service and bumped up the minutes on my cell plan. Overall, I save $20/month and have MUCH more peace i
Have some fun with 'em (Score:3, Funny)
Sometimes, I just lay the phone down and say nothing or cut a big fart or hold the phone down and get my cat to meow. I've used airhorns, the alarm clocks on Dark Side of the Moon, police whistles and tape recordings of me talking about something.
Have some fun with 'em.
Re:Have some fun with 'em (Score:3, Interesting)
Now the question is... (Score:3, Insightful)
Look up your state's Attorney General (Score:3, Interesting)
That do not call list has been pretty good over all. It's really cut down to number of calls we used to get. Of the few we get, nearly all of them say "we're not trying to sell you anything" during their taped messages.... SUUUUUUURE.
Re:Why do we tolerate these sociopaths? (Score:2)
Ditto with phone harrassment, or any other kind. Its not officially harrassment until the police get involved.
You've got a phone, people will call it. Grow up.
You don't want them to call it, get an unlisted # and don't hand it out.
Oh, and a telezapper will work pretty damn well too.
Re:telezapper is all fine and well (Score:2)
Bet if everytime they called your house the company they worked for had to wash the floor you'd get *alot* less calls.
Our society is to nice really.
Re:Why do we tolerate these sociopaths? (Score:2)
Solution? (Score:2)
Re:25 States have tougher restrictions... (Score:2)
Re:25 States have tougher restrictions... (Score:2)
Re:Works well for me (Score:2)