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Telemarketers and Cell Phones?
jjshoe asks: "I have received one bumbling voice mail from a woman who seemed very confused as to why I wasn't there, like her auto dialer transfered her call to my cellphone in time for my voice mail, one missed call, and one in which I actually talked to the woman. My concern is that this all costs me minutes, which of course equals money. What laws are out there for me? What bills are out there waiting to head their way towards becoming laws? What can I do to be compensated for time? After I screamed at the tele-marketer lady she said she would mark me as a wrong number, but I still don't believe this is enough." Considering most tele-marketers use auto-dialers, would it be so hard to grab the definitive list of area-code/extensions that are exclusively used for cellular phones and just apply that to their dial-out lists?
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's website was the only site I could find that had any information on cellphones and solicitation.
Note the first question from 'JOHN PUHATCH':
Q: Regarding the sole use of wireless phones as an alternative to a land line connection, as I have done for nearly two years: You stated that tele-marketers do not call wireless phones. If only that were the case. Tele-marketing agencies have regularly contacted me on my cell phone concerning everything from vacation homes to long-distance service. My assumption is that these agencies secure my cell phone number by buying information from the plethora of forms and applications that require home telephone numbers but leave no place for a cell phone.And the answer basically amounts to, although we do have some protections, we can still be screwed:
'A: [...]In short, John, you lost your chance at a telemarketing-free life when you filled out those forms with your phone number. May others learn from your mistake.'Does anyone have any advice on things I can do to get these tele-marketers to stop calling on my cellphone?"
Most land-based phone companies allow anonymous-call blocks these days. Are there cellular phone companies doing anything similar?
- Many telemarketing firms are moving overseas. FTC rulings
cannot control what happens in third-world countries like India and
Portugal. The declining cost of international long distance telephone
calls is making this a viable option, and soon the best option for most of
us will be to block all incoming international calls.
- Most domestic telemarketers violate the law. Indeed, calling
people on their cellular phones to advertise services or leave prerecorded
messages is in direct violation of many state and federal laws.
Unfortunately, most telemarketers are boiler-room operations, and
enforcement is a serious problem. Often (as was the case at the firm I
worked at) the owner sets up a shell corporation that shields him from
legal liability for the company's misdeeds. His plan was to dissolve the
company and start a new one if he ever got caught.
- Telemarketers are people too. Although many telemarketers
are colored, most of them are just like you and me. Please do not verbally
abuse them - you won't hurt the industry, just somebody (not unlike myself)
who is trying to make ends meet.
- U.S. corporations are not accountable to anybody. When federal
law is changed to make CEOs and executives of rogue corporations liable for
prison time, things might change. Until then, everything from
illegal telemarketing to accounting scams will be fair game.
- Telemarketers are allowed to circumvent caller ID. A very
simple solution to the problem of domestic telemarketing calls would be to
force telemarketers to stop blocking outgoing CND services. Unfortunately,
our Congress has been paid handsomely so that they could keep this
privilege.
Things will inevitably get worse before they get better. My recommendation is to buy a good answering machine and don't pick up "unavailable" calls. This blocks 99% of telemarketers in my experience.But you have to request this of each and every fucking telemarketing company that decides to call.
Telemarketing companies should be put to death. Not the employees, most of which are merely ignorant and desperate. Just the owners.
only in the USA is the cellphone system so fucked up that you get charged for incoming calls. it's hardly the telemarketeers fault if they decide to exploit this ludicrous situation and annoy you for FREE. you fucking idiots DESERVE it. sort out your cellphone networks!
That was classic intercourse!
You are an ass, and naive to boot.
Telemarketers don't go into telemarketing for the glamour, the money, or the chicks. Would you take a job where your task was to annoy people all day and be screamed at by people, if you COULD find anything else that would pay the bills? No, I don't think you would. Telemarketing may pay only marginally better than McDonald's, but that money can mean quite a bit when you can't make the rent or are THIS close to getting your car repossessed.
May you never be painted into such a tight economic corner that you have to take a job as shitty as telemarketing. No, I take that back. I hope you DO get painted into that corner, because it might give you a little fucking perspective. I know you don't have it, because your statement of "just get a better job" shows a distinct lack of experience in that regard.