"Don't Call Me!" - starting to fail

[Chip Fossa]

A few years back I put my name and phone number in the DON'T CALL ME list.

You know, the Federal and State lists to keep jerks/telemarketers/solicitors and all other creeps from calling you up and bugging the s*&^ out of you.

I'm pretty sure I signed-on to both the federal and state (MA) programs.

In the past 2-3 months I've been noticing a very large increase in these annoying A-hole calls.

I just let it go for a while. But today, I finally had it. So here I am.

What do you guys think about what's going on? Seems like another government program that has lost it's footing. Like no one is caring that much anymore. Probably another 'cut' program. Reduced or non-existant vigilance.

Should I re-sign up? Who, or what entity, can you actually complain to?

[Wiz Feinberg]

Chip;
Go to www.donotcall.gov and re-list your phone number(s). You have changed phone service providers and that may explain why your request is not being honored.

If your number is disconnected and then reconnected, you may need to re-register. In addition, there are actions that you or your telephone company might take that could cause your registered phone number to become unregistered — even if your service has not been interrupted (such as changing calling plans or other services, or changing the billing name on the account.)

Within 31 days the telemarketing calls from legitimate telemarketers will stop, as they consult the registry for additions and subtractions. What will not stop are political or charitable calls, true surveys, calls from companies that have any form of business relationship with you (bank, cable, restaurant), and telemarketing calls using prerecorded messages, and/or originating from "overseas." If you should listen to such a call and are able to write down the contact number in the recording, call the FTC and file a report, or use the report form on donotcall.gov.

If your number has been on the National Do Not Call Registry for at least 31 days and you receive a call from a telemarketer that you believe is covered by the National Do Not Call Registry, you can file a complaint at the registry’s website at www.donotcall.gov or by calling the registry’s toll-free number at 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236). To file a complaint, you must know either the name or telephone number of the company that called you, and the date the company called you.

Are telemarketing calls from overseas covered?

Yes. Any telemarketers calling U.S. consumers are covered, regardless of where they are calling from. If a company within the U.S. solicits sales through an overseas professional telemarketer, that U.S. company may be liable for any violations by the telemarketer. The FTC can initiate enforcement actions against such companies.

[Chip Fossa]

Once again...

Thank you, Wizardo.

I will now be taking the necessary steps.

What a place, this Pedal Steel Forum.

Huh?

Thanks much again, also, to the founding father - b0b.

I don't know how you keep this place all together, b0b, but myself, and I know many, many others, are just grateful for what you do.

OK - I'm moving on now to get rid of the phone pests.

Support the Forum. Buy some stuff.

Chipper

[Clyde Mattocks]

I am on the "do not call" list and I have noticed a steep increase. I have not changed service providers. There are some outfits that just pay this listing no mind. I have had a war with Dish Network, reporting them numerous times for calling
sometimes three times a day. The state Attorney
Generals office tells me they are persueing them,
but nothing ever comes of it. Dish has been sued in numerous states over this, but they are powerful and
well connected politically.

Our state law says they cannot use automated dialers, but they do it anyway.

The latest is some insurance outfit with a Florida
listing. If you protest, they will simply hang up
on you.

[Chip Fossa]

Thank you, Clyde.

Just as I suspected. The "GOVT" initially went ahead gangbusters; threw a few "laws" together; and like they always do, figured that would solve the problem. Then, turned their spineless backs and moved on.

Never mind the bigger problems of energy, health care, social security, and on and on, it's all these little innocuous problems that also annoy the average "JOE" ("JANE").

It's like ATT; my cellphone provider.
Last month I was a few days late in paying them hogs on THE DUE DATE.
They clipped me $5.00 for that boo-boo, on my next bill.

But a nearby transmission tower that directly affects my outgoing calls has been down, now, since 9/8/08.

So, I haven't been able to use my cellphone from my house.

So this doubly costs me. I now have to use my regular phone to make calls. This costs me more money - gotta pay Verizon; plus the fact that my ATT cell isn't working - I'm still paying for it's usage, but getting nothing out of it; Even though, in the "deal", I have buckets of calling time - that's not the point.

ATT owes me, or should compensate me, for this "down-time".

I will go through the BS to bust their chops. I've got plenty of time.

[Wiz Feinberg]

When I got my new residential phone service (Comcast VOIP) in August I began getting telemarketing calls the next day. It turns out that I inherited a previously active phone number that was spammed already. I simply asked each marketer to place my number on their do not call list and the obeyed my request. The calls stopped within two weeks.

There is also a means of dealing with phone solicitors that have a real number but keep calling. See if your phone service includes "Call Screening" and if so, add those numbers to the always blocked list. Check with the phone company for instructions. It was a simple process for me, of pressing a couple of keys and listening to a voice prompt to add the last caller to my blocked list.