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Post by ghislaine on Jul 15, 2016 21:23:30 GMT
We have caller ID so we ignored them but I got tired of the phone ringing when my youngest was napping. Now I answer those calls and tell them that my child is napping and could I please be put on their Do Not Call list. I have always gotten a stammered apology and a statement that they'll put me on that list. I might start doing it even when my child isn't napping!
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Post by ghislaine on Jul 15, 2016 21:25:52 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!!!) Non-Profits don't have to abide by that list or any company that can claim to have a business relationship with you. So we get calls from politicians fund raising or my kids' magazine company trying to sell us on a book series, etc. |
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Deleted
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May 3, 2024 3:53:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2016 21:29:17 GMT
Some of these answers are hilarious!!!  The only people who call me on my landline that I know are my parents, otherwise it's all scammers and telemarketers. I'm really beginning to hate the sound of the phone ringing. Using some of these ideas could make me not hate it so much.  |
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Post by gramasue on Jul 15, 2016 23:28:03 GMT
Looking for donations - I tell them that I'm trying to figure out where to find the money to pay my hydro bill and don't have any extra. Trying to sell me something, I say I just bought that! or, we just had new windows installed last month! But my favourite one was when we lived in our house before we moved here and the heating system was hot water with radiators. The duct-cleaning people were easy to get rid of when I simply said "We don't have ducts." I always laughed at that.
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Post by Scrapper100 on Jul 15, 2016 23:34:03 GMT
We were getting tons of calls so I never answered the phone. Put nomorerobo on it and mostly only get real calls. The real test will be during the upcoming election.
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Post by myshelly on Jul 15, 2016 23:35:02 GMT
I just don't answer them on the first place.
We don't have a landline, so no unwanted phone ringing anyway.
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Post by leftturnonly on Jul 16, 2016 0:12:32 GMT
I tried to find the clip on YouTube but couldn't....
There was a TV show in the early 90's - it may have been The Mommies, but it could have been a different one - and a telemarketer calls while Mom is getting dinner ready.
She answered the phone and then handed it to the baby while she went about her business.
"Let me tell you why you should change your telephone company......" The baby was just as pleased as punch to sit there and listen.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Jul 16, 2016 0:42:40 GMT
My favorite was a high school professor who always told the callers he didn't have what they were selling. The best was when they called to try to get him to change his phone service and he told them, "I don't have a phone."
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Post by peano on Jul 16, 2016 0:48:22 GMT
Our phone announces who's calling so I don't pick up trash calls. I have no interest in devoting any time to talking to solicitors, nor in coming up with clever ideas to make them leave me alone. The calls I get on my cell phone are more annoying because those I have to take the time to block.
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Post by hockeyfan06 on Jul 16, 2016 0:48:39 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.  The one problem with that is when they call I still have to get up to see who is calling!!!!! If they are calling all day long, I'd be pi$$ed after a while. |
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Post by wezee on Jul 16, 2016 1:18:33 GMT
I give the phone to my 2 year old grandson LOL
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Deleted
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May 3, 2024 3:53:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2016 1:19:57 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? Confession: I worked for two weeks as a "lead setter" for an insurance company which was a telemarketer in the final analysis. No matter what you say or do it won't stop the calls. Period. Every day we got a call sheet with names/numbers. We called down the list and did our pitch. The sheets rotated so today I was the one to call you, next week it would be someone else. Whatever you said to me did not get passed on. I did mark the ones who said "I'm on the do not call list" but I don't think my boss cared. Even if you are on the call list there are categories of callers who are exempt. I was not directly selling a product (my job was to get you to agree to talk to an insurance agent who did the selling) so I was exempt. Calls for charity and political surveys are exempt. If a business can claim a prior business relationship (you gave your number to a cashier) they can call you; this included subsidiaries of a parent company so you might not get the connection. Don't answer the call, or simply hang up. But please don't do something like blow a whistle. By doing that you are physically harming another human being who may just be trying to stay off welfare. Save |
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anniebygaslight
Drama Llama
I'd love a cup of tea. #1966
Posts: 7,394
Location: Third Rock from the sun.
Jun 28, 2014 14:08:19 GMT
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Post by anniebygaslight on Jul 16, 2016 7:17:42 GMT
I use a call blocker. Very few get through now and I can zap them while they are speaking. Very satisfying.
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Post by anniefb on Jul 16, 2016 7:24:13 GMT
I don't get that many marketing calls now I'm on the do not call list. If one gets through I just say 'not interested and I'm on the Do not call list so don't call this number!' I've had a few scam calls - like one from the IRD (Inland Revenue) department the other evening. I just burst out laughing when he said 'there's a problem with your account' Right - government departments always call at 8pm |
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Post by gryroagain on Jul 16, 2016 7:54:42 GMT
Well doggone, now I'm home sick. For telemarketers of all things!
If we get them here, most are recordings. The others must just hang up when I answer the phone in English.
I kind of want to mess with a telemarketer...
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 16, 2016 10:16:10 GMT
We were getting tons of calls so I never answered the phone. Put nomorerobo on it and mostly only get real calls. The real test will be during the upcoming election. Ugh. I remember eight years ago when President Obama was running for his first term. It was horrible! And around here that was right when the callers had started using cell phones so I'd see what seemed to be a local number in my caller ID, so I'd answer.  Mostly I had the Democrats after me. They appeared more than once at my front door and once I asked the gal why they weren't coordinating their lists more to know they'd already been here. Then one day I answered the phone right when I was trying to cook dinner and it was the Democrats AGAIN! I told her that they needed to look at their voting records to see that I'd always always voted Democrat, and that they'd already called me this time AND showed up at my door twice, and if they didn't stop harassing me I might vote Republican! I wouldn't have, but it did get them to stop calling. I got an Obama sign for the front lawn so that stopped them too. I hate election season. If we even have a "season" any more, I mean it seems like this one has gone on forever. |
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Post by miss_lizzie on Jul 16, 2016 11:33:10 GMT
If we answer one of those calls, we just set down the phone and go about our business. We figure as long as they stay on the line, they're not calling someone else.
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jp1989
Junior Member
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Post by jp1989 on Jul 16, 2016 12:49:40 GMT
I just put the phone down and let them ramble on.
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Post by Really Red on Jul 16, 2016 15:29:31 GMT
If by accident I pick up a call, I choose one of two things: I speak in French to them or I sound completely puzzled and say that they have the wrong number. That last one has seemed the most helpful. For example, I can see how many times some crazy number calls me and it will stop after I tell them that person doesn't live here anymore.
Or maybe they find another way!
I do not want to blow a whistle, but when the same number calls me between 10-20 times a day, I can assure you I feel damn close!
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dald222
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,602
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Post by dald222 on Jul 17, 2016 10:29:46 GMT
my fav is when they call asking if we need a security system....we say we have 2 rotties & a 38.. which was true but we lost both of therm this yrs ( a brother & sister) due to illness.
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Post by BeckyTech on Jul 17, 2016 16:23:15 GMT
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. That is precisely what happened to me. I told a caller I was on the Do Not Call list and they told me I wasn't. I thanked them and promptly got online and discovered it was true. I also promptly put my name back on the list. |
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Post by BeckyTech on Jul 17, 2016 16:24:13 GMT
my fav is when they call asking if we need a security system I always respond I have two dogs and they don't seem to have a come back for that one. |
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Post by BeckyTech on Jul 17, 2016 16:26:45 GMT
My favorite was a high school professor who always told the callers he didn't have what they were selling. The best was when they called to try to get him to change his phone service and he told them, "I don't have a phone." Around here we get a LOT of calls wanting to talk to us about hail damage to the roof. (Colorado is like second in the nation for hail damage.) They have claimed that they were in the neighborhood and by talking to the representative who rang the doorbell (no, I'm not interested), we have given them consent to call. Ptooey. Maybe I'll start responding that I don't HAVE a roof! I like that! |
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Deleted
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May 3, 2024 3:53:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2016 16:29:28 GMT
DH and I were getting calls for almost a year for a pay day loan scam. Saying DH took out a loan ten years ago (which never happened). They harassed us night and day. After about 3 months of trying to reason with them, we started having fun. DH would call them 25 times a day (he travels a lot so has ability to be on the phone often) and tell them bedtime stories, talk in funny accents, make up different languages, call and just scream in their ears, etc. it was hilarious. When I got the calls looking for him, I'd make up stories like he ran away with his boyfriend, or he went to live in the circus and you can find him under the big top. It got quite entertaining. It finally stopped.
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Post by BeckyTech on Jul 17, 2016 17:46:46 GMT
Nomorobo totally works. It's still free for landlines, blocks almost 100% of telemarketers for me. Thank you, I just set it up. It wasn't a no-brainer, but it wasn't difficult. Things like it asked me for a password before I had set one up, it told me I was set up before I had logged into my carrier's account, and so on, but it's set up now. |
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Post by maryland on Jul 17, 2016 19:20:22 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. We have caller ID, but it still bothers me because I always run to the phone to see who it is.  I get excited thinking it's a friend calling. Then with my phone, it says "missed call" so I still have to mess with the phone and play their message. Maybe I just need to get a new phone! Mine is probably outdated. I love the "she's in jail" response! We will be using that now! |
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Post by maryland on Jul 17, 2016 19:25:59 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? Confession: I worked for two weeks as a "lead setter" for an insurance company which was a telemarketer in the final analysis. No matter what you say or do it won't stop the calls. Period. Every day we got a call sheet with names/numbers. We called down the list and did our pitch. The sheets rotated so today I was the one to call you, next week it would be someone else. Whatever you said to me did not get passed on. I did mark the ones who said "I'm on the do not call list" but I don't think my boss cared. Even if you are on the call list there are categories of callers who are exempt. I was not directly selling a product (my job was to get you to agree to talk to an insurance agent who did the selling) so I was exempt. Calls for charity and political surveys are exempt. If a business can claim a prior business relationship (you gave your number to a cashier) they can call you; this included subsidiaries of a parent company so you might not get the connection. Don't answer the call, or simply hang up. But please don't do something like blow a whistle. By doing that you are physically harming another human being who may just be trying to stay off welfare. SaveI agree! I remember when I was a kid, people used to talk about doing this. But we would never do that because the person is just doing their job. |
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dald222
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,602
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Post by dald222 on Jul 23, 2016 15:21:40 GMT
this made me think of another sales call that was funny..we moveds into my childhood home.
someone called (we had the same number)and asked thought he was talking to my dad name & all. my hubby said that must be a very very very old list you bought cause Ray has been dead for 10 yrs.
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Post by BeckyTech on Jul 23, 2016 15:32:56 GMT
Don't answer the call, or simply hang up. But please don't do something like blow a whistle. By doing that you are physically harming another human being who may just be trying to stay off welfare. SaveI agree! I remember when I was a kid, people used to talk about doing this. But we would never do that because the person is just doing their job. I have never been rude (except to the Microsoft scam callers and only them because they are a scam). I understand that people are merely trying to make a living and I absolutely don't hold that against them. I would never do anything like blowing a whistle, I think that would just be deplorable. I think it's okay to have a bit of innocent fun with something that is normally an annoyance, though. However, after following MizIndependent 's advice, I have heard my phone ring once and then stop on several occasions. Nomorobo seems to be working! |
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Mostly I had the Democrats after me. They appeared more than once at my front door and once I asked the gal why they weren't coordinating their lists more to know they'd already been here. Then one day I answered the phone right when I was trying to cook dinner and it was the Democrats AGAIN! I told her that they needed to look at their voting records to see that I'd always always voted Democrat, and that they'd already called me this time AND showed up at my door twice, and if they didn't stop harassing me I might vote Republican! 
I get excited thinking it's a friend calling. Then with my phone, it says "missed call" so I still have to mess with the phone and play their message. Maybe I just need to get a new phone! Mine is probably outdated. 