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Post by BeckyTech on Jul 15, 2016 17:35:54 GMT
A group of us were talking about the most effective way to get rid of unsolicited callers AND potentially be removed from their call lists. Yes, even if you are on the No Call List you still get unwanted phone calls.
One person said she even tried breaking into (fake) sobs and exclaiming that she had died to try to dissuade the person. That didn't seem to work because then, of course, they tried to sell her.
So when I absentmindedly pick up the phone and hear someone asking for me just before they start their solicitation, when you hear that tentative "Is this [your name]?" I'm favoring a response of "She's in jail." and then hanging up. If they try to say "well, how about you?" I can just respond with a "I just got out of jail."
I've been doing a polite but firm "I'm on the no call list." and then hanging up before they can get started. That, of course, won't get them to remove your name.
What is your most creative way of handling such calls?
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Post by mollycoddle on Jul 15, 2016 17:39:06 GMT
I look at caller ID, and dob't answer unless I recognize the number. They can call as often as they like; it doesn't bother me a bit.
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momto4kiddos
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,151
Jun 26, 2014 11:45:15 GMT
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Post by momto4kiddos on Jul 15, 2016 17:42:37 GMT
It's so bad here that I unplugged my phone. The calls go to voicemail without the phone ringing. I plugged it in the other day to make a call and couldn't take all the calls so it's unplugged again. I need to have something done to my house alarm to take it off the phone line...if I ever get to getting that done i'll have no need for the line any longer.
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Post by cbet on Jul 15, 2016 17:45:20 GMT
I look at caller ID, and dob't answer unless I recognize the number. They can call as often as they like; it doesn't bother me a bit. Ditto. If it's someone that I should talk to, they will leave a message and I can return the call.
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MizIndependent
Drama Llama
Quit your bullpoop.
Posts: 5,836
Jun 25, 2014 19:43:16 GMT
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Post by MizIndependent on Jul 15, 2016 17:47:05 GMT
Nomorobo totally works. It's still free for landlines, blocks almost 100% of telemarketers for me. I love them. If one does slip through...I usually just hang up on them. ETA: Prior to Nomorobo though, I'd get those Microsoft "your pc is infected" calls, lol. I usually just lead them on a bit, asking "oh, which pc?" just to tie up their line and then after a bit of their schpeal I'd say, "you are lying." A direct accusation always fouls them up, lol. After they recover and start up again I continue by saying, "I know you're lying because I don't have a home computer." That usually resulted in a hasty *click*. My other favorite was the time the India-scammer called me up and in the middle of his script, I interrupted him and asked, "why are you doing this?" He says, "pardon me?" I said, "don't you know you could make so much more money doing more honest work? Do you feel good about yourself trying to cheat unsuspecting people the way you are? Why are you doing this?" Poor guy just kinda stammered and apology and hung up. Never heard from that number again, lol.
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Post by anxiousmom on Jul 15, 2016 17:48:11 GMT
Not only is my phone mostly unplugged, I also turned off the voice mail. I keep a home phone because the cable package actually went down with the phone added so I keep it-plus I live in a weird dead zone for my cell (no matter the carrier-my son and I both have problems in spite of one of us having ATT and the other Verizon.)
Most people know to call me on my cell and if I need to I will call them back on the house phone.
So far, in the last six months, no one has that I actually know has called me on my home phone so I think I am okay simply not answering it anymore.
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Post by deshacrafts on Jul 15, 2016 17:49:29 GMT
We got rid of our land line because that was the only kind of calls we were getting. I tried to be polite, but they don't give up. I still have to deal with them at work (small business), but at least I don't at home.
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Post by jenjie on Jul 15, 2016 17:54:53 GMT
Not only is my phone mostly unplugged, I also turned off the voice mail. I keep a home phone because the cable package actually went down with the phone added so I keep it-plus I live in a weird dead zone for my cell (no matter the carrier-my son and I both have problems in spite of one of us having ATT and the other Verizon.) Most people know to call me on my cell and if I need to I will call them back on the house phone. So far, in the last six months, no one has that I actually know has called me on my home phone so I think I am okay simply not answering it anymore. You can turn off voice mail? Something tells me I should have known that. That will solve a lot. Need to let in laws know to record the outgoing message before I disconnect. I think they have been calling to hear his voice and then hang up.
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Post by woodysbetty on Jul 15, 2016 17:59:35 GMT
I have caller id and don't answer unless I know the caller....interestingly I almost never get any messages on the answering machine.....I keep the landline because its the number I use when shopping on line so my cell doesn't get inundated with unwanted calls....
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Post by melanell on Jul 15, 2016 17:59:54 GMT
The only annoying calls we really ever get are political and I always tell them I am not interested in discussing my political opinions over the phone so they would be smart to just remove my name from their call list.
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Post by mollycoddle on Jul 15, 2016 18:01:13 GMT
Not only is my phone mostly unplugged, I also turned off the voice mail. I keep a home phone because the cable package actually went down with the phone added so I keep it-plus I live in a weird dead zone for my cell (no matter the carrier-my son and I both have problems in spite of one of us having ATT and the other Verizon.) Most people know to call me on my cell and if I need to I will call them back on the house phone. So far, in the last six months, no one has that I actually know has called me on my home phone so I think I am okay simply not answering it anymore. Ugh, I get one call after another from people who want to sell me stuff, or who want me to give them money. It is constant. I don't know why, since I'm not a big shopper.
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,643
Location: Kansas City -ish
Jun 27, 2014 2:38:58 GMT
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Post by Anita on Jul 15, 2016 18:03:45 GMT
OK, why did I come in here thinking this was going to be a Hillary Clinton thread?
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Post by fkawitchypea on Jul 15, 2016 18:08:10 GMT
I look at caller ID, and dob't answer unless I recognize the number. They can call as often as they like; it doesn't bother me a bit. This. I know I'm not answering anything marked unknown or from some state I know I don't know anyone in. If I answer a call and it's a telemarketer, survey, etc. I just hang up.
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Post by leftturnonly on Jul 15, 2016 18:08:32 GMT
A group of us were talking about the most effective way to get rid of unsolicited callers AND potentially be removed from their call lists. Yes, even if you are on the No Call List you still get unwanted phone calls.
One person said she even tried breaking into (fake) sobs and exclaiming that she had died to try to dissuade the person. That didn't seem to work because then, of course, they tried to sell her.
So when I absentmindedly pick up the phone and hear someone asking for me just before they start their solicitation, when you hear that tentative "Is this [your name]?" I'm favoring a response of "She's in jail." and then hanging up. If they try to say "well, how about you?" I can just respond with a "I just got out of jail."
I've been doing a polite but firm "I'm on the no call list." and then hanging up before they can get started. That, of course, won't get them to remove your name.
What is your most creative way of handling such calls? When I was at my mother's, I'd answer with Parlez-vous français? or Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Wait a beat and then hang up.
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Post by leftturnonly on Jul 15, 2016 18:13:49 GMT
One election - way back when I still had a landline - I was inundated with political calls. We have early voting, I had already voted and was still getting called. The last call I got, I told them I had already voted and it wasn't for their candidate! Shockingly, we were immediately taken off that call list.
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Post by Lexica on Jul 15, 2016 19:01:16 GMT
I had the service for my land line cancelled. The only calls I ever got on that phone were from solicitors or con people. All I have now is my cell phone. I still get a good number of calls from solar companies on my cell. I don't answer when it is a number or location that I don't recognize. Then I wait to see if they left me a message. No message and I block that number.
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Post by stampinfraulein on Jul 15, 2016 19:05:36 GMT
I think the telemarketers have gotten wiser and now instead of all 800 numbers, I get a ton of junk calls from local numbers. I turned the ringer off on all of our phones and only answer if I recognize the number, which is about 15% of the time. I'd love to get rid of the landline completely but I have young kids and I feel like if they ever needed to call 911 I need a phone easily accessible, not having to search for a cell phone.
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Jul 15, 2016 19:13:17 GMT
I once made the mistake--- pre obamacare to sign up for some information about Health insurance online. (Asking ONLY to be contacted via email)
I am not at all exaggerating when I say I started getting 100's of calls. (One day i got 67!!) I started just asking them to take me off the no call list. 5 years later, I still get a call about once or twice a month!
I started saying to them, in English, I'm sorry I don't understand a word you are saying could you please speak Spanish. They would respond, and I wouldj say Really, dude I don't know a word of English I only speak Spanish, can you please translate what you just said.
Sometimes I would get a laugh, sometimes they would tell me to F off, or something along those lines. Occasionally I would get someone who would try and convince me that I was speaking perfect English so therefore I should understand it. They were fun!
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Post by littlemama on Jul 15, 2016 19:23:19 GMT
We rarely answer the home phone and I don't answer out of state calls on my cell unless I know who it is. If I mess that up and they start talking, I cut them off and tell them to remove me from their list as I am on the do not call list and it is illegal for them to be calling me. I don't bother with creative stories, the person on the other end is just a person working a shitty job for low wages and it isn't their fault. Now, call me again after I tell you to stop and remove me, and I WILL ask for your name so I can file a complaint. They usually hang up on you at that point.
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Post by ladytrisha on Jul 15, 2016 19:31:14 GMT
we cut off our landline after watching an interview with the AT&T CEO when he stated they have the technology for us to block these calls, but they don't set it up (after all, how would they set up the scam business phone lines right?).
So we've gone all cellular.
For those that wonder, Vonage has a block call feature if you want the landline. We're on the fence on that, but my Mom has it and loves it.
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Post by anonrefugee on Jul 15, 2016 19:38:22 GMT
I had to respond about a family member that had died, so I'm superstitious about telling that lie. I also have a silly fear that any other story, like jail, will be noted in the big permanent record of telephone sales and it lead to robocalls from bail bondsmen or something.
If I accidentally pick up one of these calls I act interested, but have them repeat questions like its a bad connection or I'm distracted.
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georgiapea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,846
Jun 27, 2014 18:02:10 GMT
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Post by georgiapea on Jul 15, 2016 19:53:41 GMT
I did that with people calling my number years after it was assigned to me. Mahahahaha, I eventually got a call from his wife, or X wife, asking why I was saying that. Turns out he was some politician I'd never heard of. But the good news is the calls dropped off, but for those I still got, story was the same "Last I heard he's in prison in Michigan".
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Post by kat on Jul 15, 2016 19:56:46 GMT
I work from home so can't unplug the phone but hang up on robo calls, unless they are calling all the time.
I say I work for the same company they work for and was waiting for them (acting like they are a customer) to call me back as promised to discuss the security system/electric supplier/free cruise tickets/ solar panels/etc, then try to sell whatever it is to them.
Have pretended I am in a call center for windows when I get calls from the windows computer scammers. I go on and on about getting their IP address to scan for a virus my system has detected in their computer. They get all freaked out.
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lesley
Drama Llama
My best friend Turriff, desperately missed.
Posts: 7,172
Location: Scotland, Scotland, Scotland
Jul 6, 2014 21:50:44 GMT
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Post by lesley on Jul 15, 2016 20:09:39 GMT
I hate the automated calls, because you can't have fun with them. When we get a real live telemarketer calling, we lead them on in all sorts of ways. Sometimes I'm Consuela, the maid from Family Guy. Other times I'm a very old deaf lady who just keeps saying "I'm 87, you know!" Once or twice DS has pretended to be the dog, and just woofs. This approach turns a bloody nuisance into an opportunity to brighten up my day.
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conchita
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,141
Jul 1, 2014 11:25:58 GMT
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Post by conchita on Jul 15, 2016 20:12:48 GMT
I have Time Warner and they have this feature where you can create your own call list. So only numbers on that list will come through. It's made my home very peaceful!
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Post by PepsiGal on Jul 15, 2016 20:46:33 GMT
I got the call that our computer was infected the other day and I YELLED into the phone "OMG what can you do to help us" - then I yelled at my DH "Woody, go to the computer - it has been infected" - then I YELLED back at the caller "Oh, my what can you do to help us?" He hung up on me. I laughed for 10 minutes afterwards. Haven't heard from them since.
Normally, I don't answer numbers we don't know but DH almost always does for some reason.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jul 15, 2016 20:53:22 GMT
I look at caller ID, and dob't answer unless I recognize the number. They can call as often as they like; it doesn't bother me a bit. If the caller ID says Unknown, Private or a number with a local area code but no name, then I ignore it. Typically what I do is pick up the receiver and hang up immediately because I don't want to hear the phone ring sometimes. I have no interest in getting rid of my land line so I am going to check out that link that MizIndependent gave. Save
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Post by shevy on Jul 15, 2016 21:03:21 GMT
GRRRR! There is one company who is instant on calling. They spoof local numbers. And I'm having medical tests done so I can't not answer. I reported them to the FTC about 60 days ago and the calls stopped. They've started in again. I report them every day they call. I'm so tired of it.
Otherwise, my cell is my only phone and I'm on the do not call list. If they call once and I tell them not interested and they call back again, I report them. I'm not wasting my time on the phone with someone anymore.
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Post by disneypal on Jul 15, 2016 21:10:33 GMT
If you inadvertently pick up the phone, just say "Please, remove my name from your call list - thank you" - then hang up. Do not give them a chance to talk back to you - you will be polite, but firm and get your message across. They may not do it, but at least you avoided that sales call.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Jul 15, 2016 21:21:40 GMT
I thought if you were on the do not call list and they did NOT remove you, you could report them and they'd be fined??? I need to find out if that list expires and you need to renew it, or something, because we've been getting a LOT of those lately. We just don't answer if it's a number we don't recognize; anyone who really wants to get ahold of us knows to call one of our cell phones. But since my stroke, we've kept the land line 'just in case' to call 911-- and to make local calls, because both of our cell phone numbers are different area codes than the town / county where our house is (GRRR!!!)
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