Posted on 12/12/2004 9:10:18 PM PST by jb6
Be careful of a charity called the "DISABLED FIREFIGHTERS FUND" it's a scam.
I tell telemarketers that I am sooo happy they called as no one ever calls me....I start to talk about the weather, my dog, made up health problems....I tell them I am under house arrest or I am drunk...they can't hang up fast enough!
I don't bother saying no. As soon as I realize its a tele-marketer I just push the off button. Its really not worth your breath.
I have an answering machine and caller ID.
I screen my calls.
If I recognize the number, I pick up the phone. If I don't, or the number is blocked, friends know to start talking to the machine, then I pick up. Otherwise people can call a thousand times and all they get is the answering machine. They don't know whether I am home or not.
I think this is such a simple solution, now that we have the technology, I don't understand why people keep letting themselves be bothered by unwanted calls.
My philosophy is that the phone is there for MY convenience, not that of others, and use it that way.
And I'll bet her caller ID said "unknown caller"--the Bell outfits play a game of footsie. First they sell you the Caller ID, then they sell the telemarketer the means to override your Caller ID. I get calls at 2:30 and 5:00 AM from a telemarketer's fax line. My Bell company won't tell me who is calling me without my getting a subpoena...
Well:
1. The person should NOT have written that letter.
2. I am happy to hear from telemarketers as I prefer people working rathter than stealing or taking government payments. Of course I rarely buy their products, but I certainly do NOT begrudge someone attempting to earn a living. There are afterall both unlisted numbers and no call lists.
3. I suspect again while a threatening letter was NOT right, that the woman probably was rude to the person on the call.
I screen my calls, too, but the ones at 5 in the morning still wake me up...
Easily solved.
Get one of those canned compressed air horns, keep near the phone w/ear plugs. When they call ask them to hold for a moment, install plugs and blast 'em!
Hang up phone.
I do much the same thing. My home line is for my computer, and nothing more. I know if anyone calls me on my home phone I don't want to talk to them, because my friends and family have my cell phone number.
I was working in a doctor's office in the '80s, and a telemarketer called. When I told him he had reached a doctor's office, he called me a nasty name and HE slammed down the phone.
If you get unwanted faxes, THAT you can stop. I had the same problem. But now I don't get any anymore. I collected a whole stack and send them to the FCC. Sending unsolicited faxes is strictly illegal.
Unwanted Faxes: What You Can Do
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/unwantedfaxes.html
The pages says that it's illegal to send faxes without written permission starting July 1, 2005, but that just strengthens the already existing rules. I called them, they said it is already illegal to send unsolicited faxes, and they have a form you can fill out and send it to the FCC. They do go after them.
I was getting several faxes a day, but they really did stop them.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/unwantedfaxes.html
Careful, they can sue you for damage to their ear drum.
If that's the only thing you are using your home phone for, it may be cheaper to get a broadband connection, for about the same price.
Screw them!
Counter sue for harrasment
I don't pay for the phone line, my landlady does!
We have a new Panasonic phone that has a VERBAL caller ID. Pretty Cool.
I do not happen to have a fax machine on that line--it just rings and I hear those "fax" sounds. I called Bell South and demanded that they tell me who was waking me up, but they told me I had to spend money on a lawyer to find out who was using Bell's lines to call MY phone.
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