Handling Telemarketing Calls

I am on the do not all registry and it is great. It covers so many buisness. If they do call I get all of their info then say did you know I was on the do not call registry. They hang up so fast. Then I go on the site and report them.

https://www.donotcall.gov/

Hello A.,

There is hope... it will take some time.

(Almost) Every year I mail several letters. I'm including their addresses here so you can do it too. Besides cutting down in junkmail, it also cuts down on telemarketing calls!
I even sent out these letters w/ my parent's names and address. I save the files and whenever I see the junkmail starting to pick up again, I change the date, print and mail them. I think you can do it online too. Snail mail worked great for me.

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Telephone Preference Service, c/o DMA
PO Box 9014
Farmingdale, NY 11735

Please add our names to your list of customers that prefer no calls:
YOUR and YOUR HUSBAND'S name
YOUR land line number

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Mail Preference Service, c/o DMA
PO Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008

Subject: Adding name to DMA's list of customers that prefer no mailings

PLEASE REGISTER OUR NAMES WITH THE MAIL PREFERENCE SERVICE.

YOU NAME
ADDRESS

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Haines & Co., Criss-Cross Directory,
Attn: Director of Data Processing
8050 Freedom Ave., NW
North Canton, OH 44720

Please remove our names from your listings

NAME:
STREET:
CITY/ST/Zip:

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R. L. Polk & Co.
Attn: List Suppression Files
26955 Northwestern Highway
South Field, MI 48034

Please remove our names from your listings

NAME:
STREET:
CITY/ST/Zip:

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National Demographics
and Lifestyles List Order Department
1621 18th Street, Suite 300,
Denver, CO 80202.

Please remove our names from your listings

NAME:
STREET:
CITY/ST/Zip:

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Experian Consumer Opt Out
701 Experian Parkway
Allen, TX 75013

Please Add our names to your Opt Out list

NAME:
STREET:
CITY/ST/Zip:

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Equifax, Inc
Options
PO Box 740123
Atlanta, GA 30374-0123

Please Add our names to your Opt Out list

NAME:
STREET:
CITY/ST/Zip:

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TransUnion
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 505
Woodlyn, PA 19094

Please Add our names to your Opt Out list

NAME:
STREET:
CITY/ST/Zip:

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--don't forget to sign the letters--

Here is a link I found today that lists a few things you can do:

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Junk-Mail

if you have any subscriptions, call them and ask them to put you on their opt-out /donot call list.

Good luck! ~C.~

It does work some. If you delt with a specific company, you could report that they are not honoring your request to not be called anymore...the down side of the do not call registry is it doesnt' apply to political calls, or things like fire/police (I told the police soliciter once that I was on the do not call registry and he said it didn't apply to them). Can you turn down the volume of the phones so it doesn't ring so loud as to wake the kids? Can you take the phone off the hook during naps and tell friends/hubby to call your cell if they need you?

Turn the phone off during nap time.

I turn off the volume on my phone & unplug the phone that doesn't have volume control. Anyone who needs to reach me has my cell anyway.

If they waste my time, then I waste theirs. I tell them to hold on, and then I put them on speaker with the mute button on. It's pretty hilarious listening to them try to figure out if I'm coming back. I had one on hold for 6 minutes!

We finally got rid of our home phone - all that called anymore were telemarketers. Now we just use our cell phones - one less bill and no telemarketing calls!

Yes, I got on both the state and national listing (you probably have to re-up every 5 years or something...I've forgotten), but it cut WAY down on junk/spam calls. Of course, any business that's ever had successful dealings with you still gets to call, but the unsolicited offerings drop off dramatically.

The do not call list, in my opinion, is a waste of time. It almost seems like we have more calls since being placed on there. We don't use our home phone, but we have it because it's cheaper (which is the weirdest thing). If we fill out anything or have to give our number to anyone that we don't personally know, then we give our home phone, which constantly stays off. Telemarketers call so many times a day, but we never know it. We started this when our son was born a little over 3 years ago and just never turned it back on. No more interrupting calls or waking us or our son up.

BTW they are required to take you off of the list if you ask them. Keep track of who you talked to and when (date and time). If they call back after 30 days, they can be fined something like $500 that goes to YOU. You may want to remind them of that if they scoff at you for asking.

We have been on the Do Not Call list for several years now, and we do not get calls anymore. It may take a few months. Also, I turn my ringer all the way down when my son is napping so the phone won't wake him. I also put a towel under his door to muffle any sound even further.

Good luck.

Maybe turn your ringer off during naptime and make sure your friends/family know to call you on the cell instead during that time.

Do Not Call has worked great for us - we don't get any unwanted calls anymore. Remember, you can still get "telemarketing" calls from 1) for-profit companies you have a previous relationship with and 2) nonprofit organizations or telemarketers calling on behalf of a nonprofit are exempt from the "do not call" registry.

If you do get a call from any organization (including nonprofits) and you ask to be removed from their call list, they are REQUIRED to remove your number. Here's what I say to mean business "According to FCC regulations, I request that you remove my number from your list and never call me again. I have made note of your organization's name and if I receive any further calls, I will report them to the FCC." That usually works. I've yet to have a company call me after that.

The Do Not Call Registry does work, but it only covers telemarketing calls from out of state from reputable businesses. You would probably still get the Carpet Cleaning one as that is probably local. You will also still get the calls from Charitable Organizations as they are also exempt. You'll also get the scams out there, which obviously don't care about following the law anyway. You should also call your banks and credit card companies and be sure you are on their do not call lists. Because you have an existing relationship with them, they also are allowed to call you unless you tell them specifically not to. The Registry did cut my calls significantly, but I still find myself on there reporting violators every couple of weeks. Good luck.

Turn ringer down or off just before nap time each day. It doesn't help with the calls coming in but keeps you sane.

That is sooo frustrating!! I definitely doesn't stop them, but it does cut them down to a fraction of the numbers. But I think it takes six weeks to get activated (I could be wrong about that). And unless you screen calls all day I don't think there is anything you can do. We refuse to pay for caller id, so that REALLY wouldn't work for us! We avoid filling out contest paperwork (many of those drawings sell your info to telemarketers) and we avoid giving out our number anywhere it's not required. Any time a cashier asks for our phone number I just tell the cashier "No, I'd rather not". Even if I am told they don't sell the numbers it just makes me feel better not to give it out( some places like Babies R Us use it to track your purchases and it comes in handy when you return something without a receipt - I just keep up with my receipts). I have tried to get in to the habit of putting "Do not ring doorbell" on the front door and turning off the ringers on days I want to avoid nap time interruptions. Good luck!

Most telemarketers cannot put you on any kind of do not call list. Most of those calling use the national do not call list. The problem with this is once you put your number on the list technically you could still get calls for a month since the list is only updated once a month. The other problem with this is some companies don't update their calling list along with the national do not call list every month therefore you are still on their calling list. That is illegal but is still done because rarely do they get reprimanded for it. You know it's blown off as an "oops I forgot, I'll do better next time." Although if you know you are on the national do not call list and are still receiving calls after a month you can call the Better Business Bureau on the company.

Hi A.,

The Do Not Call does work. It'll just take a while to get listed. If they refuse to remove you from their calling list (which they are supposed to do by law if you request), you could always report them to the Better Business Bureau. Until then, I would turn the ringer on low.

Hope this helps!

M.

We are on the registry too, but some places say they are not considered telemarketers so they dont follow the list...Really annoying!

Get a phone with caller ID...We got a great one at Target fairly cheap and its great. You can see the number thats calling before you answer it. Most telemarketers have either an unknown number listed or their company name. I just dont answer it, when I see an unfamiliar number. My phone (think its a Uniden) also has a button to shut off the ringer for a little while. I have twin boys and when they were younger I used to get so mad at the phone waking them up! Luckily I ended up getting the new phone and just turned off the ringer while they nap.