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(Vanity) Need help with overwhelming JUNK phone calls on land line.
1/3/13 | Mamzelle

Posted on 01/03/2013 7:29:53 AM PST by Mamzelle

I need to keep my land line, but I'm about ready to turn the ringer off which means real calls won't get my attention. This all really started at the change of the year, and may have something to do with the small political donations. Maybe. I don't know. But it starts in the morning and ends in the early evening. One is particular is GE Capital and I do absolutely no business with them.

I went throught the "don't call" years ago.

Anyone else experiencing this?


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: donotcall; junkcalls; junkphonecalls; telemarketing; telephone; vanity
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To: RetSignman

Did I mention Dollar Tree now carries compressed air horns?


41 posted on 01/03/2013 9:03:25 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: 50mm

Note regarding ISP or Telephone Co calls:

If they continually call, don’t complain to the caller. That person is usually just a hired dialer who has a list of number to call. If you complain to them, they will just note it and continue on.

Instead, call the Customer Service number and complain directly to them. Insist that you be removed from THEIR sales calls lists.


42 posted on 01/03/2013 9:04:14 AM PST by TomGuy
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To: Mamzelle

I sometimes unplug the phone, then just use it for FAX and voice-mail. It really pi$$es me off.


43 posted on 01/03/2013 9:06:05 AM PST by Cyber Liberty (Obama considers the Third World morally superior to the United States.)
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To: Mamzelle

Process for eliminating a large number of junk calls:

#1 - call a number that is disconnected and no longer in service. Record the tone that you hear when you connect to the recording.

#2 - record your home message service with that tone as the very first sound. Wait two seconds (a must) and then record your message normally.

#3 - Tell your family and friends that you are going to be screening your calls for the next couple of weeks due to the volume of junk calls

#4 - Let every single call go to your answering machine


What will happen is their auto dialer will call your number and hear that tone. To the computer, that number is now disconnected. To avoid phone charges, the computer will record that phone line as being invalid. It might take a time or two but the computer will stop calling.


44 posted on 01/03/2013 9:08:36 AM PST by taxcontrol
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To: Mamzelle

Panasonic (and some other) phones have a Call Block feature. We’ve been overwhelmed with political calls and have found this feature to be very useful.


45 posted on 01/03/2013 9:11:12 AM PST by Jane Long (Philippians 2:11)
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To: Mamzelle

we get a lot too


46 posted on 01/03/2013 9:11:20 AM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: eyeamok
Yes Mr $#@^@^ is home, All I need from you is a Valid Credit Card to put you through to him, the cost is $85 for the first 5 minutes and $2 per minute or portion thereof after 5 minutes. That usually makes them Hang Up.

I'm doing that.

47 posted on 01/03/2013 9:14:36 AM PST by Cyber Liberty (Obama considers the Third World morally superior to the United States.)
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To: Mamzelle

With unknown numbers I answer the phone with the following: “Attoney General’s Office. Can I have your name and address?”

I’ve been successful reducing the number of calls.


48 posted on 01/03/2013 9:16:34 AM PST by A_Tradition_Continues (formerly known as Politicalwit ...05/28/98 Class of '98)
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To: Cyber Liberty

I did this on my office phone for the last couple years, I now only get 1 or 2 calls per 6 month period.


49 posted on 01/03/2013 9:20:17 AM PST by eyeamok
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To: TomGuy
That person is usually just a hired dialer who has a list of number to call.

That's a good point, but in my case my ISP is so small they use their own sales people.

My ISP has called me once in the last 4 years or so and that was to tell me that my cable modem was periodically malfunctioning (it was) and needed to be replaced. Even then, they made no attempt to sell me new services (cable TV, internet phone) or upgrades.

50 posted on 01/03/2013 9:29:34 AM PST by 50mm (Trust nobody and you'll never be disappointed.)
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To: Resolute Conservative

Oh, fighting back on those calls can be so fun. In the end you can get them to stop but it takes a bit of effort.

At first your efforts won’t get their ATTN but when you get to the point you are calling the telemarketer at their personal home telephone number you will get a bunch of help to get your number of the list.

You will have to engage them as if you are interested. Hanging up or acting frustrated is the wrong move. Don’t waste your time asking to be taken off the list. That does not work.

Your ultimate goal is to get the individual telemarketer to give you the name of the company that supplied his company the list. In case you are not getting the drift of this, the individual you get your hooks into is going to be shocked you tracked him to his personal life. And he will be motivated to help you.

He may bumb you to his supervisor which is fine. That super will likely try to threaten you telling what you are doing is illegal. It is not. Be calm, polite and insist ant.

Don’t settle for anything less than the number of the company that sold him your number. He will promise to take your number off their system. Don’t agree to that. You want the main list number.

When you get to that company you will find it easy to get to the person that has the hand on the switch that shuts off your number. They are not used to dealing with calls from the public. When I got this far I could sense he was surprised I got to him.

Be nice. Explain the disruption to your life. Ask him to remove your number from all lists. He has some access to be able to effect that change.

Your calls will then stop. Worked for me and it was actually fun tracking it back to the source.


51 posted on 01/03/2013 9:31:16 AM PST by gunsequalfreedom (Conservative is not a label of convenience. It is a guide to your actions.)
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To: deport
From Do Not Call Website: Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008.
52 posted on 01/03/2013 9:36:35 AM PST by 50mm (Trust nobody and you'll never be disappointed.)
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To: Mamzelle

Saw a story online about how one man deals with these calls. Told my husband about it. Within moments our phone rings. Husband answers and it’s a solicitor. Husband began the routine I had just told him about and it worked like a charm. Husband played the part of a police investigator. He told the caller he had just called a murder scene. Then asked how did you know the person you were calling. Why were you calling? What’s your name, address, phone number. We might need to contact you for further interview. Husband had all the solictor’s info within moments and no further calls from that solicitor. We still laugh about it!


53 posted on 01/03/2013 9:44:19 AM PST by RGVTx
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To: OrangeHoof
IIRC, the national Do Not Call registry is not forever and you have to renew it like every 3-5 years.

I think it's 2 yrs. But..
I didn't really many scam calls until I renewed my 'do not call' list about 6 mos. ago.

We get these calls wanting to reduce our C card interest. And no matter how many times I say "no", threaten to report them I still get them.
Reporting the phone number is worthless as they spoof the numbers, you get a different number each time. I kept track of 8 different numbers in 2 days time. They were from all different area codes. All w/ the same message. Apparently these scam artists buy blocks of vacant numbers in all different area codes and avoid any legal action that way.

I would love to be able to block a number by area code. I'd enter specific codes of friends and family and block the rest.

As with spam, don't go after the spammers. Go after whoever is paying them to do it.

54 posted on 01/03/2013 9:45:11 AM PST by Vinnie (A)
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To: Resolute Conservative

Oh, fighting back on those calls can be so fun. In the end you can get them to stop but it takes a bit of effort.

At first your efforts won’t get their ATTN but when you get to the point you are calling the telemarketer at their personal home telephone number you will get a bunch of help to get your number of the list.

You will have to engage them as if you are interested. Hanging up or acting frustrated is the wrong move. Don’t waste your time asking to be taken off the list. That does not work.

Your ultimate goal is to get the individual telemarketer to give you the name of the company that supplied his company the list. In case you are not getting the drift of this, the individual you get your hooks into is going to be shocked you tracked him to his personal life. And he will be motivated to help you.

He may bumb you to his supervisor which is fine. That super will likely try to threaten you telling what you are doing is illegal. It is not. Be calm, polite and insist ant.

Don’t settle for anything less than the number of the company that sold him your number. He will promise to take your number off their system. Don’t agree to that. You want the main list number.

When you get to that company you will find it easy to get to the person that has the hand on the switch that shuts off your number. They are not used to dealing with calls from the public. When I got this far I could sense he was surprised I got to him.

Be nice. Explain the disruption to your life. Ask him to remove your number from all lists. He has some access to be able to effect that change.

Your calls will then stop. Worked for me and it was actually fun tracking it back to the source.


55 posted on 01/03/2013 9:48:43 AM PST by gunsequalfreedom (Conservative is not a label of convenience. It is a guide to your actions.)
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To: Mamzelle

There are two kinds of junk calls.

The first type is from legitimate businesses. Recently, I was plagued with calls from a company that wanted to give me a “free” home security system (with a monthly service fee, of course). I asked them the name of their company and told person that I wanted to get the name right when I reported them to the Federal Trade Commission (which I did). The security system calls stopped immediately.

The other type of call is from scammers (mostly promising a reduction in credit card interest rates). These are unresponsive to any sort of threat. You can always tell a scammer as they will never give you any information about themselves or their company. So, for those a******s, all you can do is have fun wasting their time.


56 posted on 01/03/2013 9:50:38 AM PST by Fresh Wind (The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.)
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To: gunsequalfreedom

audio file of...’we’re sorry’.. with tones.

http://www.thisisarecording.com/changed.html


57 posted on 01/03/2013 10:01:16 AM PST by virgil283 ( *- Never give the devil a ride. He will always want to drive.-*)
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To: RitaOK
Your information is outdated. Do not call number registrations do not have to be renewed every five years.

The registration is permanent. See:

Do Not Call Registrations Permanent and Fees Telemarketers Pay to Access Registry Set

"Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. More than 157 million phone numbers are on the National Do Not Call Registry."

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm.
58 posted on 01/03/2013 10:05:29 AM PST by righttackle44 (Take scalps. Leave the bodies as a warning.)
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To: righttackle44

I bet politicians and political pacs have access to the do not call numbers and actually use them since political call are exempted for the do not call list.


59 posted on 01/03/2013 10:16:30 AM PST by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: Mamzelle

I haven’t had a landline for 10 years now. I never get junk calls, and I don’t pay $75-$100 per month to get junk calls.


60 posted on 01/03/2013 10:28:06 AM PST by EricT. (The GOP's sole purpose is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party.)
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