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?

Comments

I did this for a living

[SLASHDOT EDlTOR]

The margin is great, basically, the costs are carried by the consumer. Additionlly, with the proliferation of plans out there, agreeing to telemarketing calls will part of activation. Win Win for us. You may not like it, but that is the way it is.

Holy Whiny Consumers, Batman!

[Robinn]

What's this? More whining on Ask Slashdot! Can it be true that telemarketers get your phone number when you enter it on forms? I know I never use the batphone number when signing up for pr0n sites, and so far, the only voice mails we get are from Commissioner Gordon. And that's as it should be.

Also, it strikes me that voicemail is an optional service, so no one is really forced into spending any minutes listening to it. Can you confirm, Batman?

If the cellular phone companies are indeed up to no good, then we should set them straight. But I don't want this to be a case of wrongful accusations.

Re:Holy Whiny Consumers, Batman!

[Batmann]

Quick thinking, Robin. I've seen this kind of whining on Ask Slashdot before as well, and it has always spelt trouble. I also am very careful about who I give my business cards to. Actually, I only printed one, and Commissioner Gordon has it. As you've noted, the batphone number has stayed secret.

What's more, the suggestion from Cliff about blocking telemarketing calls to cellular phone area codes is a poor one. Sometimes area codes are shared by cellular and land lines, as in the case of the 917 area code here in Gotham.

I think this is indeed a false accusation, Robin. I'm not completely convinced that the wireless service and telemarketing industries aren't fronts for one of our old foes, but if we try to go after them on these trumped-up charges, we're the fools.

Re:Holy Whiny Consumers, Batman!

[Wakko Warner]

This is one of the gayest things I've ever seen on slashdot.