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Calls from 888-855-8546...

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by geekchic

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Does anyone else get them? I am on the do not call list and have reported this number numerous times. I have at least 3 calls a day, sometimes one every 45 minutes or so. (I can tell by the caller ID.) When I am home and answer, there is no one there!

One time I just held on for about 3 minutes (took a chance there) and finally someone came on the line and asked to speak to my husband. When I told them he was not available, they started into a sales pitch about donating to some charity for children with cancer. First of all, I have nothing against donating to causes that support children...HOWEVER...when I asked the name of the charity all I got was...."you don't want children with cancer to live????????" in a loud screechie voice. At the point, I told her I was not interested and for her to remove the number from their list and never call us back. She responded, you can't ask me that, I ask to speak to your husband and only he can request that.

My husband walked in and I told him it was someone at "the" number and he took the phone and said take us off the your list and don't call back again....and of course, they said something about uncaring people and hung up.

Now, if they are a VALID organization...don't you THINK they would have given me the name of the charity????

I get home today and they have called another 6 times today....anybody else having this problem???

69 replies

by absolutely

Yay cancer! I give to the Big Tobacco Foundation!

Here are some other ways to have fun with these, ahem, businesses:

1. "I don't believe you are who you say you are."

2. The Seinfeld: I'm busy right at the moment, but if you give me your home phone number, I'll be sure to call you back when it's convenient for me.

3. The foreigner: whatever foreign language you know, this is the time to use it. Make sure the only phrases that are decipherable in clumsy English are "auto-redirect" and a description of an appropriate foreign country.

4. Variation on 3: refer to well-known foreign organized crime...on second thought, that's probably who's calling!

5. I'll just need your account and routing numbers so I can make that deposit immediately. When this is met with resistance, you of course reply:

"you don't want children with cancer to live????????" in a loud screechie voice.

After screwing with telemarketers this way, I usually get rid of them by saying things like BBB, National Do Not Call Registry, this is an $11000 phone call. But definitely, screw with them first, you won't regret it!

by bfilmfan

I like to answer the telemarketers this way, after ID me as "man of the house":

"Why hello. Yes, I have been expecting your phone call. Are you wearing that black silk thong and those 6" stilleto heels like I asked?

Oh yes, I am sure you hot in those. I can just imagine how hot your rear end looks right now...

Uhhh hello? Hello? Ehrmmmm musta hung up...."

Never ever fails.

Works even better on men.

The ONE time that it was a gay man calling me, he was laughing too hard to sell me anything.

by jdclyde

I like that A LOT!

All I have done is sound real interested and then ask them to hold for a minute.

I then set the phone down and go about my business. I don't come back until about 15 minutes later.

oops! did I forget you? Please hold....

by jdclyde

No matter what the charity is. About 80% of the money raised goes to the telemarketers leaving only 20% (if your lucky) going to the charity.

This was NOT a valid telemarketer either. Some scam artist looking to get your account info.

Call your phone company as to what can be done.

by mjd420nova

I get lots of calls where there is no one there, and after 30 seconds or so, some one comes on
and asks for me. Looking for donations. I made
the mistake of donating to a firefighters fund
raiser with a check, one time. Now I get calls
from every city fire department in the SF Bay
area. I refuse them all, and go to my local
fire house to donate. Also some credit card
and collection agencies use computers to call
your number and then alert an operator when you answer. Try this one. Your phone rings, you
drop what you're doing and rush to answer. The
voice on the line says you have an important call. So important that a live person can't
make it??

by dr dij

if there is a recording or no answer, quickly hang up!

the longer you talk the more you encourage them.

if they offer to come by in person to pick up check DO NOT DONATE, these are local scams, they have a charity that sounds like is real but donates none or a tiny amount

by dmambo

Well, to plagiarize jdclyde...

"NEVER give money to Telemarketers!

No matter what the charity is. About 80% of the money raised goes to the telemarketers leaving only 20% (if your lucky) going to the charity.

This was NOT a valid telemarketer either. Some scam artist looking to get your account info."

These boiler room a$$h0l3s will even purport to represent a local charity. They are scams. I've had calls from people claiming to be raising money for our local volunteer fire dept, which I give to annually. When I called the VFD to check it out, they told me the only information they had was from the other 50 phone calls they had received asking about these leeches.

by jdclyde

Esp because more and more are these "leeches" who refuse to get an honest job.

Right on mambo!

by jmgarvin

When good orgs like the FOP and REAL cancer groups get left in the cold because of scammers like this.

What really gets my goat is that there is nothing to prevent the "bad guys" from doing this...

by jck

if a police officer with a badge comes by or calls...I get the name and badge number, then call and confirm it's a real officer. If not, I know what the guy looks like and they can get him for impersonating an officer of the law...which is a felony in Florida.

Oh yeah...I'll put telemarketers in prison...then they'll get some REAL donations from the big brothas in there ]:)

by oz_media

When you get a call about your visa card, is that not a telemarketer too?

When the car dealership reminds you of a recall or preferred client service, is that not also a telemarketer?

How do MOST sales based business promote a product or service? Telemarketing is at teh top of the list.

It is obvious from reading these replies here, that nobody has the foggiest clue about running a sales/service based business, not the slightest clue of cost control and market penetration or the sales process as a whole.

In fact this entire discussion appears to be a rant from the severely uneducated.

To the original post, the number you get on your call display is a phantom, it doesn't actually exist as a phone number, it is computer generated from a dialer. The company calling you is abusing their lists and not managing the dialer, thus you get dead air before an agent answers, this is often a fly by night just looking for money, but it happens to larger and respectable companies too.

I've had NO telemarketers call me at all, NONE, in mroe than 8 years. I am on Canada's NDNC list and it works for me, if it didn't, by being polite and requesting the Quality Assurance manager, I will be removed immediately.

If a company in Canada refuses to remove your number when requested, I have seen them shut down completely, fined $2000 and the agents are always fired, usually along with the QA manager.

I used to work for the CRTC, monitoring telemarketing companies in BC and Ontario. We followed up on complaints and even recorded and listened to telemarketing companies calls by visiting branches and taping the calls, listening live etc. THere are VERY few actual BS or fake companies in the raquet, we just hear about them more and not the thpousands that are legit.

I would also suggest never giving money over the phone, unless you are given a number to check with the BB and call back at YOUR convenience. But this is a mere spit in the ocean of telemarketing as an industry and a very viable and lucrative industry that speeds up processes, saves immense amounts of money for the company and ultimately allows you and I to purchase our products at much mroe competitive prices.

by jck

I can only name 3 charities I give money to that call me. However, *all* of them are organizations I made primary contact with to give money. They just make the annual call to ask if I want to give again.

If anyone you haven't contacted yourself calls you out of the blue, don't even give them your name, location, if you're married or not, etc. Some telemarketers get a area code and prefix listing and have an automated dialer ring a random number in the area for each person working that night.

Anyways...you were smart. Don't trust anyone that calls you out of the blue. Even if they say they are police, request a phone number to return a call at then call the phone company or look it up on the internet.

Criminals are smart nowadays...at least some are...the rest are smart enough just to copy what the smart ones do.

by tomsal

I am by no means a socialite first off, but nothing makes that point more apparent then telemarketers, they just click a nerve in me that makes me very loathing of their existance -- I hate their profession to its core.

First I get so many vendors (unsolicited (sp?) most of the time) calling me on a near daily basis at work every day...then I get home and have the telemarketers call me at all hours no matter what day it is. And that REALLY punchs my buttons -- telemarketers calling post 9PM on a weekday or ANYTIME on a weekend.

Mind you unless something has me steaming before hand, I always give "new" telemarketers the courtesy of hearing my voice go "Sorry I am not interested please never call this number again", however if they don't get it from then on...they never even hear me talk -- I simply look at caller ID, pick up the phone and immediately hang up on them.

If I'm bored or just really want to transfer my bad day to someone else -- I'll pick up and toy with them and then get all kinds of rude with them.. as in "Why the hell do you guys insist on calling people who tell you 100 times not to call back?" or "Why the hell do you bother me with your trash peddling on a weekend? Do you not have a life?", etc. etc.

by geekchic

to someone who called me. I have charities that I give to but out of the blue demanding phone callers aren't on my list. Well, they are on my list but not the good one.

by awalt

I am also on the do not call list and receive many unavailable calls, I don't bother picking them up, but I thought there was some law passed that required the caller to have a call back number displayed ?

by dr dij

if they call you from an 800# they can avoid having calling# show on caller ID. they pay extra for this.

by highlander718

so, you put yourself on the "do not call list", the 800's pay to not list/display their number, you pay to indeed list their number. Next they will pay to "list their number that you pay to list even if they payed to not list" .. :-)

jeeez ...

by jck

if someone is a cop, don't believe em.

There was an "association" that was supposedly taking donations to help out the families of injured and killed officers.

I was gonna make a donation, until I saw a story about them and their more than dozen sister fronts that were only giving between 2 and 8 percent of their collections to FOPs and police families.

that stopped the check going out right there.

One organization I usually give to I am about to look into, because I think they went to using a professional telemarketer.

Sorry...but if you want my money, have a *real* cop volunteer time and call me for 2 minutes and you'll get a fat check outta me. Otherwise, I don't wanna give to support a business. I wanna help people whose family member protected and served at personal cost.

by jdclyde

The first thing I suspected was when I found they had also hit the wife up the day before and she was getting ready to send out a check.

I checked into it and found out the cut the hellemarketers were getting and we cancelled BOTH checks.

There is a ring in hell for telemarketers and SPAMMERS.

by dr dij

canadian scam telemarketers, who don't need to obey the law because they are in canada with weak telemarking laws.

60 minutes expose last week showed they scam $5billion out of elderly, often with the canadian lottery scam.

by dr dij

Immediately ask "who's calling?"
if they continue with their spiel and don't answer, hang up.
if they answer and is not someone you know,
say quickly:
'no thank you' and hang up.
do not wait on line to get affirmation from them.

also if you get a call and you say hello and no answer within 2 seconds or so, hang up.
a friend will be listening for you and answer immediately.
a telemarketer is on a 'predictive dialer', i.e. they call more phone #s than they can talk to, knowing not all will answer then the machine switches (with a delay) to a live operator if you answer.

so if you hang up quickly if no answer it is telemarketer

by john.a.wills

Answer the phone with your name. That way if they then ask for you by name you know they weren't listening when you answered and you can hang up without saying anything, without getting annoyed, without wasting time.

by dr dij

they don't usually know who they're calling so I'd rather not give out my name if I don't know who it is. Hello is sufficient to see if a human is on the line right then or your friend.

I've actually had some telemarketer I made quick shrift of call back a couple times a day for a few weeks, and not say anything for 15 secs then hang up. Kind of creepy, ? Well their life is worse than mine so I don't worry about it :)

I think they forget you quicker if they don't know your name, easier to hold a grudge if they know your phone and that your name is 'Bob' e.g.

by dmambo

some little old lady or handicapped guy or single mom on the other end that is struggling and having a hard time finding a job. I don't waste much time with them, but I try to be polite and ask them to remove me from the list. If, after being polite, they keep jabbering, it's just "OK, thanks, goodbye".

by bfilmfan

Since I am on the DO NO CALL List, I have absolutely no tolerance for them whatsoever! They would have better luck calling and saying, "I don't know you, but I hate this telemarketing job. Do you know any recruiters?"

I would be more than willing to assist them.

by jdclyde

Telemarketers are con-men and snake-oil sales men.

That is not a profession honest hard working people apply for and stay with.

I know the type all too well.

And yes, I am on the DNC list too so they are not only anoying but they are breaking the law.

Someone calls me in my home under this situation, they deserve what they get.

Anyone ever hear "revenge on the telemarketers"? GREAT comedy!

by oz_media

Telemarketing is a marketing medium, as a whole it is avery good one too.

Unfortunately, many companies have little quality control, represent products or services where the manufactiurer doesn't care/now how they are represented and they hire anyone that can warm a seat.

IN Canada, telemarjeting restrictions and control are far more stringent and monitored than in the USA. For the most part they are legitimate, reasonably polite, and WILL remove you from THEIR list if requested, in fact it is a law that they HAVE to remove you from the list.

BUT, this list is just bought and sold like a whore anyway. YOu need to register with the CRTC's national DNC list, IF you get further calls, they are subject to steep fines as each and every list MUST be run against the NDNC list befor ebeing run.

I have known a LOT of very professional and VERY honorable telemarketers, they sell to c-level employees in some of Canada's largest coorporations and represent some of the largest corporations too.

As I have personally designed, managed and controlled MANY telemarketing offices, I can see where the bad guys slip through the crack,but they are FAR from representing the industry as a whole.

Most, here, are real people with real jobs, the key in telemarketing is to reduce turnover, thus hiring idiots or people who have no courtesy is not desired and they are quickly released.

The other thing that pisses me off is when people bitch about telemarketers calling them at home. Now if they are calling regarding YOUR phone bill, YOUR insuranc epolicy, YOUR donations etc. Would it be more appropriate for them to call you at work then?

Some people have the mentality that if they want something they will look for it, they don't need someoe calling them for it. Yet from my experience, there are many people who have no idea what's available as an alternative to their current choices and many are exstatic to find there are other choices.

For every 10 people such as yourself who feel it is a BS industry, there are 5 that love what they are offered. To hire enough salesmen to knock 15 doors every six hours and present a package or hire one DECENT telemarketer to do the same in ten minutes is a no brainer for most companies, even the upstanding ones.

The reason we get lower prices is because there are cheaper ways of operating a sales team. If you had ever managed or worked on a sales team, inside OR outside, you would know first hand that this is by dar the best way to promote your business.

If they were paying salaries and car allowances to have a dozen guys drive around all day cold calling, you'd be paying a HELL of a lot more for your products.

These blanket ideas that all telemarketing calls are a waste of time and especially the derogatory comments for one of the toughest jobs around are completely unqualified and stupid.

When people take YOUR attitude towards telemarketers, they are the ones responsible for telemarketers who have had enough and begin to get rude. They don't start out that way though, ignorant customers do that for them.

by geekchic

I checked it out and actually the same number that is calling us in down near the bottom of the page...but that website creeps me out! LOL!

by dr dij

any changes you make to your phone account, you pay an account change fee, at least we do on verizon. so to cancel a feature to save me $5/mo I pay $10..

Kind of like that funny commercial for free checking accounts where the teller is telling them there is a fee to speak to him, they get angry and he adds an 'emotional outburst' fee...

by jck

and pretend I start manipulating myself in the middle of the call...breathing heavy...making smacking sounds...maybe get outlandish and his something cushiony and smack it against a doorframe.

I bet the telemarketer would hang up quick...especially if I included some recorded horse and/or sheep sounds ]:)

by bfilmfan

Baa Baa Black Sheep Have You Any Pull....

I ain't gonna go no further with this before some lady here smacks me with something heavy.

by jck

I have CDs of soundbites, neil...including belching and farting as well. ]:)

You see...sometimes, it's fun to put messages on an answering machine...that are more than "Hi. It's me. I called. Call me back. Bye."

I do try to have a sense of humour, you know ;)

by jck

standing outside your bedroom with a shotgun mic? ;)

really...you would be amazed...just go google "soundtracks CD sound effects" and look at what you can get on CD.

Anyways...there are belches of all sorts of body sounds and everything...they even name them "The Squeaker" and "Vesuvius" and stuff...it's hilarious.

by jck

just the farting noises ;)

did I mention...I love beans and jalape?os? ]:)

by deepsand

I do so wish that those pitching for $$$ to "support members of law enforcement" would give it a break; locally they've gone so far as to arrange for monthly automatic contributions using your credit card!

by geekchic

I ask them for the charity name and they wouldn't answer my question...just threw insults at me. I did ask these people to stop calling me the one time someone actually answered when I picked up the phone AND they are still calling me at least 6 times a day every day this week so far. Today, I was home sick and could I get any rest....NO! Everytime I picked up the blasted phone when it rang NO ONE WOULD BE THERE...JUST SERIES OF CLICKS! I checked with our phone company (SBC)and they want $5 a month to block any numbers we want, but I only want ONE blocked. I am not getting any other calls that need to be blocked so I guess I am just stuck with not being able to have a peaceful day.

Reporting them to the DNC list hasn't done anything and I reported the number at least 45 times before they finally answered the phone and "said" that they were a charity...which I still don't believe.

Just getting ticked off now....

by deepsand

And, to exacerbate the problem, sometimes legitimate not-for-profits unwittingly contract their business out to less than reputable call centers.

The calls that you are receiving are obviously being made by what is known as a predictive dialer. When a call is answered, a call progress module attempts to determine whether it was answered by a human or by a device.

If it determines that the call was most likely answered by a human, it will place your call in a hold queue, and attempt to connect you with a live attendant.

If the call goes unanswered, is answered by a device, is answered by a human who says nothing, or is placed in the queue but never connected to an attendant, your phone number remains on the list of those remaining to be called.

If you are connected with an attendant, [i]and[/i] the caller's system is "well behaved," you should receive no further calls from them under the current project [i]only[/i].

Given that the caller here in question seems to be engaging in "abusive" and/or "aggressive" tactics, I would suggest that you 1st re-address the issue with your telco, and follow that with a complaint to your state's Public Utility Commission. Additionally, you might report such to your representative(s) in your state government.

by dr dij

you get a call, quickly say 'hello'
if no one answers immed. JUST HANG UP!!

if it was a friend they'll call back or leave message.

I do notice they sometimes call right back if you answer and hang up.

interrupt spiel and ask who's calling.
if they continue hang up immed. (either a recording or inconsiderate caller)

You don't have an obligation to listen to them or wait till they stop to talk.

If you're getting a bunch of them, don't bother to answer phone for a day or two, probably taper off. friends can leave messages.
if 5 min after a call no message was telemarketer

by dr dij

try picking it up and leaving it off the hook when they call. they may mark the phone# as not to call again.

we do mailings BTW where I work and I just found out there is software by
http://www.claritasmarketing.com/segmentation.html

that has info on all users in an area (demographics). one of the fields is whether or not the person donates by phone. Some charities must report this data and it is collected.

Donates by Phone LDPHON

other fields include whether you have a credit card, read books, have children, donate by TV (callin from charity ad or infomercial)

scary, huh?

by dr dij

but it was the only site in the (google) world that had that phone#.

maybe the callers are a dark gov't conspiracy to bug you :) :(

by deepsand

leaving a receiver off-hook will merely cause the call session to time out and the number marked to be re-dialed. If another attempt is made during the off-hook period, the same result will ensue.

The only way that a predictive dialing system will stop is:
1) A call was successfully completed, with success being defined within the scope of the specific project that the call center is working on;
2) The system is programmed to stop after a specified number of attempts; or,
3) The required or desired number of samples or other responses for a given sub-target is obtained; or,
4) The project goal is attained.

With regards to Claritas, based on personal experience working with them, the data gathered by them is [b]not[/i] individualized, but maintained at an aggregate level only.

Their "targeted" lists are constructed, from public records, using demographics to select individual targets most likely to match the desired target profile.

by geekchic

This week alone there has been over 30 calls recorded on my caller ID, some I have answered and gotten nothing but silence. I answered the phone this morning at 8:15 and GOT A HUMAN! Right off the bat this time...no pause...no weird clicking...just a human.

This time, it was for a different charity something for Veterans that I have never heard of. Unfortuately, this lady was very nice but I told that I knew that she was just doing her job, but that I was tired of getting calls from this number and that I wanted our number removed from their dialer immediately! She said ok and God bless...now I feel like a jerk.

But apparently this 888 number must be a "clearinghouse" for little known charities real or not...I don't have a clue but I am not dumb enough to think that this is the end of the calls so I guess I will get to be a jerk a few more times before I lose my freakin' mind!

by jck

I got one from someone who said they were with my phone carrier.

They said "Yes, we wanted to ask you about your DSL service if you have time."

I replied, "oooooooooookay...you mean the one I don't have anymore?"

The guy goes,"Oh, you don't? Would you be interested in having it again?"

I said, "No thanks. Bye." and hung up.

Gotta love telemarketers...

by dmambo

As long as you were half-way polite with her, you were just doing YOUR job trying to get off these folks' calling list.

It's been said many times, but if you want to give you should initiate the process. Even if the 888 number is collecting for a real charity, they'll get a lot more of your contribution if you don't use these middlemen.

Hope you're off their list!

by deepsand

Many non-profits lack sufficient visibility so as to generate a sufficient flow of non-solicited funds.

Many recent events have diverted a substantial portion of the flow of voluntary funds away from traditional non-profits & toward international relief efforts.

Few have a deep-pocketed & faithful benefactor.

Most lack the resources required to mount an efficient & effective fund drive on their own.

The result is that many non-profits must turn to professional fund raisers if they are to remain viable.

by jessicaleolaknox

No you are not the only one. I cant them to talk to me, they just hang up. They call 2 times a day everyday for the last month. Iam on the federal and missouri no call lists and I still get telemarketer calls.

by dr dij

talk to them?

Try the quick decision:
phone rings
you pick and say 'Hello?'
if you don't get an answer within a couple seconds hang up. If you're friends are out in space when they call you and don't say anything immediately, they'll learn and call back.

if it is a recording hang up.
if it is a spiel, say 'who's calling?'
if they don't interrup their speil hang up.
---or----
once you determined is not a friend or person you want to talk to,
say 'no thank you' and quickly hang up, don't listen for an answer.

doesn't matter how much they babble
they do this to keep you from hanging up. you're not rude to interrupt them.

by dr dij

we had the addresses with that field in it PER ADDRESS (per person they were marketing to)!

we didn't use it but people who sent us the data to print obviously selected per person based on this.

some places might not have access to the individual data.

And if you don't answer and/or talk to these people they will eventually give up.

predictive dialers are fed phone#s by a program.
the program doesn't necessarily go back to phone#s that don't answer. What is more likely, if you DO answer and come onto phone they'll flag you to call back later. I've hungup and had them immediately call back. Don't answer unless you think it could be a friend. And try to hang up immediately if it is NOT live person or friend (which may not be mutually exclusive:).

by deepsand

1) The source of a target's name is [b]not[/b] from statistical data gathered by Claritas. Said name comes from public records whose demographics sufficeintly well match those of the target group, as indicated by statistical analysis of surveys gathered by Claritas. Claritas's databases do [b]not[/b] include the names of respondents.

2) Call progress monitoring, as implemented in the use of predictive dialers, is performed by machine, not by human beings. The instances you cite suggest that the subsequent calls were initiated by a human operator, [b]not[/b] by a predictive dialer.

by oz_media

Predictive dialling. The system DOES call back unanswered numbers, in fact once a list is run through a few times, they only call back unanswered calls.

The answer and wait. This is due to a poorly managed dialler, a decent operator will have it dial a spcific ratio of lines per user, the idea is that agents aren't waiting for calls to be answered and only connected calls are passed to agents, efficiency and all that.

If the dial ratio is not CLOSELY monitored and regulated by the company, you get lots of dead air as people are answering and agents are not avaiable, IF that call is being passed to an agent or IS passed to an agent who hears the customer hangup, they will immdiately enter a redial code and the number is repooled.

Customer says "not interested"? It is back in the pool, probably dial back in a day or two when the list is run through again.

Custoemr hangs up? It is back in the pool, probably dial back in a day or two when the list is run through again.

Customer is too busy? It is back in the pool, probably dial back in a day or two when the list is run through again.

As it sits, the BEST ay to get a company to stop callin gou is to answer the phone, wait for an agent and request their quality assurance manager or supervisor who WILL tale you off THIER list, yet you still remain in teh NCB and everyone else will call until you call the NDNC and have your number removed from all future lists. You will still get calls from those with older lists though.

Trying to get out by being tricky of clever actually works against you. Gettin gout by answering and dealing with them is the only way to really stop the calls.

I've actually considered writing a book on telemarketing based on my time with the CRTC, the life of a telemarketer, the benefits to the company and how to overcome the hassles at home. But it takes time and effort so chapter two never materializes.

What you have to realize though, just as any sales rep will approach you in a store, just as any company will send sales reps to your business to seel you their products, telemarketing is another VERY valuable and cost effective way of marketing a product.

It's not all snake oil salesmen and liars, just as not ALL Americans are undereducated, arrogant morons, right? But those who stand out create the face you see, not those who simply do thier job.

by oz_media

Some companies use Telco's to source out prospects but the lists are quite expensive and not much more accurate than third party lists.

Professional list providers also abide by/cross reference the national DNC list but again, not all list providers do though.

So asking to be removed from ONE company's list may get you removed THERE but your name and phone number has already been bought and sol dhundreds if not thousands of times already and others will call you too.

The NDNC list WILL provide you with a reduction in calls for as new lists are bought from the Telco's you wil not be included.

NOTE: This also includes numbers that people pay to be not listed, that end up being sold freely by the telco. They aren't listed in a phone book, but they are still sold feely.

The telemarketer you are referring to, has not represented the company well at all and in fact if the company they are callin gfor had knowledge of this, that person and possibly the company's marketing contract will be finished very quickly in most cases.

Companies hire agencies to perform this work most of the time, on thier behalf, they don't actually hire and train the people themselves. IN Canada these call centres are VERY closely regulated and have to submit recodings of all calls for teh CRTC's review.

This began in the late 80's shortly after long distance dereg in Canada. The claim was that people were being switched carriers without their consent, in Canada, it's impossible. Simply CANNOT and never has happened.I was given numerous centers to review, and in specific instances where customers said they were switched when they didn't want to be, there wasn't a single case where it was true. They are usually caught on tape saying how they are looking forward to a new carrier, good riddance to the telco etc. ALL calls where people DO want to change providers are then passed to a third party verification company who reiterates the calling plan, confirms the person is the registered owner of the Billing Teleophone Number and that they understand they are switching from A to B.

If the customer so much as asks them a question at all, the verification process is stopped and the call is sent back to the originating agency for further explanation.

But there are still people who to this day will swear that they were switched without knowing, even though they clearly say they want the change in the recording. THat's another issue I never understood, everyone getting mad at long distance carriers for calling.

1) You WERE paying the highest price available.

2) You now have a choice and can pay less, for the exact same line, than you were before.

Why would these companies be deemed annoying? DO you get mad at competitors when one product is on sale at Safeway and our own is more expensive? No.

Why do they call you at home about it? THEY ARE TELEPHONE COMPANIES, how else do you expect them to operate?

So much BS about telemarketng from so many who don't really understand, is what really gives a clever and useful industry a bad name.

by jck

if the phone company sold my number to someone...and I got proof...I'd own a VERY large piece of that phone company after it was all said and done.

I pay to be unpublished, unlisted, and unreachable. I pay them to keep my information totally private. I even go so far as to ask anyone I do business with who gets it if they give it out. I make sure I keep the name of the phone rep and if they do give it out I call back and get a hold of a manager and let them know who lied to me.

My credit cards, my mortgage holder, my utilities and the US government have my home phone number...and a few relatives and friends.

When my home number gets out, I will change it and begin the process of informing my creditors of the change...then, find out who gave the number out and make them only email me.

I hate getting the barrage of messages on my machine. One day I came home...46...46 messages..in 10 hours....christ.

by oz_media

In Canadian directories, if you pay the Telco to not list your number, they will not include it in th eprinted telephone directories. But this rarely restricts them from selling or publishing your number on national lists. THis was because telemarketing USED to be conducted by manual dialling through a phone book. Now lists are generated exlectronically and fed into dialers that dial 10,000+ numbers per day. I've seen telemarketing organizations (large ones) that take on several clients (Visa, Sprint, The Hospital fund etc.) and they will run through literally sevral HUNDRED THOUSAND numbers in a day. There are talamarketing companies that are global corporations with MASSIVE office buildings and thousands of employees. They are hired by reputable companies to do the marketing for them, its VERY rare that Sprint or Visa will actually call or prospect a client themselves.

These lists are used by many people for many reasons, including concensus stats and demographic information etc. that the government requests. Just about anywhere yo uwrite your number down, will see your name on a calling list. The raffles and free draws you get at IT shows, those lists are sold very quickly after the drawing is done. There are SO many ways to obtain contact info and telephone numbers the list is nearly endless.

by geekchic

I have tried being nice....they have been nasty. I have tried being nasty...they have been nice. It just appears that we have to live with it since they claim to be calling for charities. I have actually gotten a "person" now four times (out of literally over 100 calls) and they are apparently from different "charites". When I asked the name of the charity, three of them got "elusive" one told me the name and was very nice. I asked them all to stop calling, but I continue to get calls that just "hang up" when I answer. Now I just pick up the phone, look at the caller ID and hang up. The worst part of it is that on my day off, Friday, the one day I get a chance to sleep in, they call every 20 minutes...and hang up...can't leave the phone off the hook in case my kids need me.

by jaqui

crtc listing, never heard about it.

I've had 4 telemarketing calls, three from same person, for same product.
the third time I told him I'm not interested in getting a mastercard they stopped calling.

the other time was sprint promotion, never called back.

my problem with telemarketers is that I have yet to get a call about anything I'm interested in or care about.

by jaqui

the best way to support one:

find one that is very small, and give some time, it's often far more appreciated than money.
( I've spent years doing this with small groups feeding homeless people. )
a few hours one day a week or more often if you want lets you do something to help others, and also lets you see what is really needed with the organisation before tossing money at them. what if it's not funding but organisation of records where they really need help?

( or with the one I help, my skills cooking are just what they need. )

by husp1

just about 2 months ago my local news ran a story about a guy that sits at home and makes a rather nice income from sueing these bums. being on a do not call list hasn't stopped them but maybe this will!!

by oz_media

If thye were paying sales reps to knock doors only to find out they get three sales a day it's not going to work. By calling you, they can have 200 agents easily achieve 2 or 3 sales per hour, at least. It' sthe quick way of filtering out not interested or unqualified prospects.

ALL companies use some form of telemarketing, often it is referred to as a 'customer service' position, but still entails in and out calls to prospects to promote new products, upsell etc.

Though this page includes ammenments to the act it was in place in the late 1980's, teh NDNC list will stop NEW companies from BUYING your number, yet you may still get a few calls from older lists, again though, in Canada they are striictly regulated and requestin gaction of the CRTC results in action being taken.

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/INFO_SHT/T22.htm

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