What's new

Telemarketers must Die! :) (1 Viewer)

DeathStar1

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2001
Messages
3,267
Real Name
Neil
Unbelievable...Title is fitting though, considering where they where calling from...
This has to be the fourth time in the past month or two that this one telemarketer has called us. We have three lines in our house, first is the normal line, and the last two are for computers. All in one day the first time, they called us on all three lines, in a matter of 10 minutes. Now, a month or two later, they seem to be trying again. Maby we can take some quick legal action on this so called company, via the no call back rule, and get some damages. Hey, if they think telemarketing as a living can earn them easy money, right back at them :). I beleive they said they where calling from the Lynwood Cemetary, assuming no one else here has gotten a call from them, heh. If they call back on the other two lines, I wish I could trace their number somehow and call THEM back. *69 dosn't work because their out of our calling area...
Is there anyway to stop these morons from calling? I saw an add on the tube selling a tele- zapper that supposedly eliminates your number from their computers. Anyone have any reviews on this thing? I'm wondering if it really works...
Thanks!
 

Leila Dougan

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 27, 2002
Messages
1,352
First off, tell them that you'd like to be placed on the "Do Not Call" list. They will comply and the call will end right there. Many people are under the impression that its illegal for companies to call you once you're on the list, but its not. Being on the list is still fairly effective because companies do not want to waste their resources calling someone who has already expressed disinterest in receiving calls. The Do Not Call list is a universal list that just about all big telemarketers subscribe to so there is only one list you need to be on. However, it does take time to get through the system so give it at least 6 weeks or so to take effect.

As far as the tele-zapper is concerned, I do not have one personally but I know several people that do. The device basically detects when you're number is dialed by a computer and then plays a message (I believe) telling the caller you do not accept telemarketing calls. It works pretty well. However, if an organization calls you by dialing your number manually, the device will not work. This is true of most local telemarketers and charity organizations, etc. The big guys (long distance companies, etc) all use computerized dialing systems so you'll be safe from them.

I could go on a long rant about how these telemarketers get your number, how databases are made, etc but I feel thats better left for another time.

Just remember, the people calling you are just doing a job and being mean or rude to them will not get you anywhere. If you're upset by the calling, then by all means contact the company, especially someone who is in a position to take your complaints seriously. Yelling at the poor soul on the other end will do nothing but frustrate you and stress them out.
 

Kevin P

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 18, 1999
Messages
1,439
Actually, the Telezapper works by emitting a brief tone when the phone is picked up. When an autodialer calls you, and you (or your answering machine) picks up the phone the tone fools the autodialer into thinking your number is disconnected, and as a result it deletes your number from its database.

It works great on most autodialers. Obviously it won't work if someone manually dials your number.

KJP
 

Leila Dougan

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 27, 2002
Messages
1,352
Thanks Kevin for clearing it up! Its been a while since I've talked with someone who has it how it worked. Now that you posted, it all came back to me. Sorry for the confusion.
 

BrianW

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 30, 1999
Messages
2,563
Real Name
Brian
Leila, I understand your confusion, because there is a device that works pretty much as you described. Last I saw, it was available from Zenith.

The new Telezapper, however, has eclipsed the device you described in hype and, it appears, in effectiveness.

As for telemarketers at my house, if it's not someone in my computer's database of allowed callers (based on Caller ID), then the computer answers and takes a message, and I never even hear the phone ring. If the call is Private, Out of Area, or from another database of nuisance callers, then it plays the Telezapper tone (just a WAV file) and takes a message.

Life is good again, even with a phone.
 
E

Eric Kahn

My parents have the telezapper that does the beep and they have not gotten any calls from the big telemarketers since they got it, still get the local ones where someone actually dialed the phone

I do not even use caller ID, mainly because my phone company charges about twice as much as the surrounding areas do, I do not feel the need to pay 8 dollars a month for number only service on caller ID
 

Carl Johnson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 6, 1999
Messages
2,260
Real Name
Carl III
The best part about not having a land line phone installed in my new home is no more unwanted calls.
 

Shawn C

Screenwriter
Joined
May 15, 2001
Messages
1,429
I like the newest trick some of them have started to pull. They call you and just play some stupid recording so that you can't ask to be placed on the 'Do Not Call' list. The play some lame message and give you a number to call if you are interested in whatever lame piece of sh*t they are trying to sell.
 

DaveF

Moderator
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2001
Messages
28,670
Location
Catfisch Cinema
Real Name
Dave
Before I joined the NY do-not-call list, I would hang up on any phone call if there was a brief pause after I answered. Except for a friend who sometimes got distracted when called :) I never hung-up on any "real" callers.
So if calling me, hesitate and all will be lost -- your call, anyway :D
 

Brian Kleinke

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 9, 1999
Messages
977
My Fiance is uber mean to any telemarketers that call... her favorite is when they ask for Mrs. Kleinke... her response: his mother lives in ____.
She's not changing her last name, so it will still work in 2 months time when she's my wife :)
Brian
 

Trace Downing

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 19, 1999
Messages
510
Location
Tampa Bay
Real Name
Trace Downing
Amazing how they gouge us for money!
First they invent telemarketing, and sell a bunch of us crap we don't need. WE get smart and stop buying. Then, they bother us so we get annoyed. Then they invent a "telezapper" to solve the problem of annoying calls that they invented in the first place. Convenient that it's "only $49.95".:rolleyes:Next they'll upgrade their equipment to render this device useless against them, and sell us something else (Zapper 2.0) for only $39.95.
The only sure fire way of getting rid of telemarketing for good, is if noone buys anything from telemarketers...EVER, says "NO!" to "having information sent out for your convenience", and hangs up on them. Eventually the companies that pay these TM jobs will get the hint that it's no longer lucrative, and abandon this intrusive practice.
I use to get sexually harassing with telemarketers..."What are you wearing?"..."I bet it's tight"..."I bet your not wearing a bra!" until they hang up. Men hang up faster than women when this technique is used.
Yes, I talk to the men this way too!:D
 

Joseph Young

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 30, 2001
Messages
1,352
I take these calls at work all the time. Usually there is a brief silence after I pick up the line, then the sound on their end kicks in: usually chattering voices and keyboard typing (a call center).

Every few months we get this recorded message from some jerk who owns a carpet cleaning service. He actually recorded his voice to sound as if he's actually on the line. The call goes something like this..

"Hello? Oh, excuse me a moment..." (muffled sound of grabbling with the phone). "Hi.. sorry about that.. Listen, I'm sorry to call again, and I don't mean to bother you.. You see, I started up a carpet cleaning service about, oh, six months ago, and..."

By this time I've hung up. But it's truly annoying. If you randomly enter a bunch of touch tones, it sometimes fools the phone server on their end into thinking it's an invalid number.

I understand that some of these people are just making a living, and they get paid on a kind of commission. I wish that it were possible to be polite with them and tell them you're not interested. Unfortunately, if you're not forceful, they will continue to hold you on the line as long as possible. Their calls are often recorded by their employers and if they aren't pushy they'll be out of a job.

Joseph
 

Dome Vongvises

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 13, 2001
Messages
8,172
To date, I've only cussed out one telemarketer. Worked like a charm. No more phone calls from Citibank Visa anymore.
 

Todd Hochard

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 24, 1999
Messages
2,312
Since when did hanging up the phone become so much work?:rolleyes
I just don't understand the inconvenience. Is this sequence:
"I'm not interested."
-click-
really that hard? I don't get a lot of telemarketing calls anymore (maybe 2/month, if that), and I've never been asked to be on any list (or anti-list).
Do people really find it that hard to say NO to someone on the phone that they don't even know?
 

Deane Johnson

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 27, 1999
Messages
524
I told a female telemarketer the other day she would be better of becoming a prostitute instead of a telemarketer.

1. She'd earn more money.

2. She'd enjoy it more.

3. She'd be in a much more repected profession.

She was not amused. I've come to hate telemarketers so much I consider anything someone does to them to be fair game. They're invading my privacy, and never has one of them offered me anything that benefitted me.

Deane
 

Jim_F

Screenwriter
Joined
May 15, 2000
Messages
1,077
It annoys me to no end that I'm paying monthly for two phone lines, and these obnoxious phoneys are "using" my service more than I do.

I was going to mention that prostitution was a more respectable profession, but Deane beat me to it.

I foolishly paid extra to get an unpublished number, mostly to avoid telemarketers. Imagine my chagrin when I learned that they still can get my number, because the phone company sells it to them! Arrrrgh!

I usually screen my calls, but on those occasions when I answer the phone, if I perceive the silence of the speakerphone, you're outta there.
 

Matt Stryker

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 12, 2000
Messages
1,308
Location
Land of the rolling tide
Real Name
Matt
Asking for the "Do Not Call" list (a tip I picked up from this board, actually) has been the greatest thing ever. I mentioned it twice over 2 months ago, and have not had a single telemarketing call since. I used to do the "sorry, not interested" bit, but they still call back. Getting your name on the DNC list is an awesome thing.

I do have a friend who works for a firm that does telemarketing; she tells me that the average employment of a marketer (not training, job time) is 7 days. They quit after a week because they can't handle the pressure and constant rejection; after she told me that I've been much more kind to the people on the other end of the line.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,712
Messages
5,121,142
Members
144,147
Latest member
cennetkaralowa
Recent bookmarks
0
Top