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Do Not Call Only Expected To Cut Down Only 25% Of Annoying Calls
from the not-very-useful dept
While millions and millions of people rushed to sign up for the national "do not call" list, they may not be so happy once they realize they're still going to get plenty of calls. Some claimed that the telemarketing calls disappeared right away, even though the list hadn't gone into effect. According to the article, that's just because of seasonal issues - telemarketers don't make as many calls in August. Overall, because of various loopholes, the article suggests being on the list will only cut the telemarketing calls you receive by 25%. They also point out that companies will find other ways to bug you. In fact, the article mentions that if you just call up a store to find out when they're open, that's an "implied relationship", meaning that they can call you back for the next 3 months unless you explicitly tell them not to. One other bit of bad news: expect to receive more telemarketing calls at work. The laws don't apply to business numbers, so many telemarketers hawking goods to home users are looking into just buying lists of business contacts. Never underestimate the abilities for a sleazy marketer who wants to contact as many people as possible.
Reader Comments
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Anecdotal Evidence
I've noted that in the past few weeks a very large increase in the number of phone calls from "charitable organizations" trying to get me to donate. It seems that telemarketers are ramping up the shift to areas where it will still be legal to annoy people.
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Waste Their Time
A lot of telemarketers might still be allowed to call, but every single phone call will start out with the callee telling the telemarketer that they are on the Do Not Call list and therefore they shouldn't have been called.
The telemarketers will spend large amounts of time arguing with people about the technicalities and explaining why they are allowed to call, instead of selling their product. Hopefully it will frustrate the telemarketers and prevent them from doing business due to the high cost of the wasted time.
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Re: Waste Their Time
Go to the store and buy one of those 'Easy Hang Up' buttons you can install in-line with your phone.
The next time a telemarketer calls, press the button and hang up. They'll hear a tone followed by a recorded message telling them that this number does not accept such calls and to please remove the number from their list.
Works really well. I got 3 on eBay for around $10 including shipping.
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Re: Waste Their Time
Its much more fun to ask THEM intrusive questions like: " What are you wearing ? " or " Do you like to masturbate while talking on the phone, cause I do " ... believe me, it gets your number removed.
... and it makes me laugh instead of feeling irritated by another annoying call.
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