Slashdot Mirror
Telemarketers Sue to Block Do-Not-Call List
chumpieboy writes "A story on Yahoo tells about about the DMA's attempts to stop a national DoNotCall list, essentially claiming that Opt Out is not a viable model for telemarketers. Yet they claim that Opt Out is a viable model for email marketing?"
[Medium Closeup: telemarketer dials]
[SFX: ringing phone]
[SFX: an audible click, followed by a recording]
[Slow zoom, from closeup to extreme closeup, onto a telephone or computer with exaggerated blinking lights to show activity]
Recorded voice: "Hi! You're reached my telephone number. If you'd like to agree to be charged up to $10/minute at my sole discretion, please hit the "1" key now! I don't charge my friends, but if you're wasting my time with an unsolicited sales call generated by a database, please be advised that your calls are valuable to me."
[Medium closeup: telemarketer, with can of soda in one hand, hangs up, frustrated]
[Extreme closeup: hand crushing soda can]
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
Maybe they can successfully make the argument that opt-out lists like the proposed "Do Not Call" won't allow them to operate effectively. Bear with me here...
So, instead of a "Do Not Call" list being maintained that they have to honor, people will have to register for a "Do Call" list. This list will contain the phone numbers of people who have registered themselves as wanting telemarketing calls. This list is also the only list which telemarketers can use when calling people.
Okay, a pipe dream, but it surely would be a more manageable list, no?
Interesting. Just the other day I read a newspaper story about DNC lists saying that the DMA liked them because they wouldn't waste their time calling people who didn't want their calls...
I signed up for our state do not call list, and probably would for the national one too. But sometimes it is fun to hassle them.
My wife has been home with medical problems the past couple moths and gets tons of telemarketer calls. Last night she told me the next time one calls she is going to ask them if they want to talk to our hamster and just go off on a huge tangent about him. See how long she can keep talking about Bubba before they finally give up and hang up on her. That might be fun to listen too, I wish I could stay home for it.
My motto is: Never give up - unless it's harder than you want it to be.
I mean, they seem to think they can opt out of the DNC list...
...but it's being eaten...by some...Linux or something...
I just don't get what the big deal is . Of course this would come into effect. 'Harming free speech' of telemarketers is rubbish.
Free speech has to be coupled in with the invasion of privacy.
Your rights are those as long as they don't inteference with the rights of others.
The case is clear here, or so I think.
insignia.
The proposal cleared a crucial hurdle earlier Wednesday when a House of Representatives committee voted to give the FTC the power to collect fees from telemarketers to pay for the list.
So they're making them pay for it too?
Hot damn. If I ever meet an FTC member they're getting a hug.
You've reached 555-1234. If you would like to leave a message, you know what to do. If you are selling windows, doors, siding, long distance, or any other crap, hang up and never call back...
One day she got a message from a telemarketer cussing her out for the message, saying that they were only trying to make a living. Guess she struck a nerve with that telemarketer....
I don't see the point of the DNC list.
Here's what will happen:
List will be made available
Telemarketers will get hold of list.
SOME US based telemarketers will do what they're supposed to and leave the people on the list alone.
Others (I know one personally) will laugh and hand the list over to their call center as a list of verified numbers. If someone goes after them, they will weasel out of the lawsuit via claims of clerical errors. (Got him off the junk fax rap they faced in '97. This is a very sick SOB who honestly believes people WANT to receive SPAM)
finally, there will be a group that takes the list to another country and sets up a call center there.
Sure, you won't get as many calls from US telemarketers, but you'll get a boatload from Indian Telemarketers who laugh at phrase "Put me on your do not call list" reply.
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
How bad is this going to get?
I want to start a business where I send people bills in the mail that they must pay. Sure this is a stupid business model, but I want a law that makes it work, dammit!
Oh, and I'd better patent this business plan fast!
They don't think "Opt Out" is a viable model? Fine, we'll do what they want, go the other way. Make it Opt In.
I guess this means I'll have to buy that Zapper on TV.
It's hard enough to feed all the little telemarkette children without having to listen to demands from the targets. When will these people learn that it's good for them to be interrupted four times while eating dinner. What a weight loss program.
would opt out of an FP?
Phones are slightly different, because a) they can't phone you from the island of Vanatau that easily (perhaps - voIP could change this) and b) there are laws (in the U.S. anyway) forcing them to respect the do-not-call (aka opt-out) list. So really, they only like 'Opt Out' when they can ignore it. This isn't really surprising though, considering the lack of morals we've repeatedly seen from direct marketers.
Karma: pi (Mostly due to circular reasoning in posts).
I don't like Opt Out either. How about a law limiting them to Opt In?
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
I just got rid of my landline. Now, if they start calling my cell phone, that's a problem.
"But telemarketers say 27 existing state do-not-call lists and a voluntary national list run by the Direct Marketing Association trade group should provide consumers enough protection."
I live in a State (CT) that has such a list but we still receive numerous unsoliticed calls and subsequent hangups when we inform them they've violated state law. Problem is that the state apparently doesn't have juristiction and/or not enough bandwidth to go after some of the out of state companies. I'm all for a Federal list.
Nobody said life was fair.
If your are starting to loose money because frankly, people are tired of the way you are doing business, then it's time to change.
WTF is up with all the companies thinking they have more rights than the citizens of this country?
Oh, never mind, they do. I'm sure it will overturned...in their favor.
Sent from your iPad.
buy a Telezapper or make your own with these tones. Simply put these on your answering machine before any speaking. The tones will play and will fool most of the remote machines into thinking you have a disconnected number.
Trolling is a art,
I wonder how many telemarketers are going to put their own numbers on the list. I think there should be a cluase in the law that prohibits telemarketers and their employees from being on the list.
The current opt out list is optional. They follow it anyway.
Making it legally binding doesn't harm the reputable companies, only those that ignore it now.
What do they want? an Opt In list?
I don't want charity or political organizations calling me either, why can't we get rid of them?
Tough shit.
This is only step 1. If and when they win this case they will then try to claim that based on this ruling, optting out of spam should also be declared unlawful.
There's a growing sense that even if The Future comes,
most of us won't be able to afford it.
-- Lemmy
When I get a telemarketing call I quietly ask who they are and why they are calling to make sure it is not a legitimate call. THEN I ask them if they know who they called and what number so as to make sure they know who to remove. THEN I SCREAM as loud an profanely as I can "DON'T EVER FUCKING CALL HERE AGAIN YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!!!!!!!" Then I slam the phone down. My goal is to make the person feel as bad as I possibly can and rethink thier career decision.
"Charities" are my favorite since the solicitor organisations that call you actually take 85% of the money or more. The stupid charity that loans thier name gets almost nothing.
RESULT: 1 telemarketing call on average a MONTH!
I refuse to hide behind my phone machine to "screen" calls. This means I have to give up services I PAID FOR. When I get a machine I usually don't leave a message so those that do that lose real calls. Besides the telemarketers just call back again.
"they are just doing thier jobs" some say, fine, so are burgulars....if you want to soft soap them, they will keep calling you...they don't call me!
to contact me for any reason without my prior written consent!
I'm so scarred by the daily battles with spam that the whole thought of opting-out of anything repulses me... I feel like if I get on some DNC list that a bunch of offshore telemarketers will get their hands on that list so they have "live" targets.
My wife recently told me that she was clicking on an opt-out link on some bit of spam and I nearly tackled her out of her chair to keep her from doing it.
You can't let them know you're there! Pull the shades! Rip the phone out of the wall! Gag the dog!
So long, michael. Don't let the door hit you...
I wholeheartedly concur with them, and fervently believe it should be an opt-in list. For telemarketers to call you, they should have to be able to prove to authorities that you are on the opt-in call list, which should be impossible for most people make themselves listed. If they are insane or something, and keep trying, it should require a 6 month waiting list, complete with psych evaluation and $1500 fees, and an in-person registration in DC, complete with 9 picture IDs, just to put your name on the list.
Any telemarketer violating this opt-in list, whether for commercial, charity, or survey purposes would be subject to life in a Mexican prison without parole. Then again, sending all our telemarketers to Mexico would probably be an act of war... my apologies to any mexicans reading this, I retract that last part.
in other news.... Linux advocates unveiled a new passthrough connection for Linux users that extends the common firewall set IPChains on to any in home phone line... Now you can specify Inbound and Outbound rules for phone calls, it now allows for certain phones in the house to allow incoming calls, and others only can place outgoing calls.....
guess I'm going to have to write out a module for IPChains for the phone....
I'm sure that the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List is not a viable model for some to do "business" in America, so that will probably be attacked next!
Was watching one of the Talking Head programs last night. The head of one of the telemarketing associations was claiming that some absurdly high percentage of those that want a no-call-list would actually buy from a telemarketer.
Let me see. Sure, I'll part with my money to someone who calls me out of the blue, offers to sell me a product I may or may not be interested in, on a whim. I have NO idea who this person is, the stability of their company.
Yeah, that would be a bright financial decision.
----- LoboSoft specializes in Digital Language Lab
You'd think the DMA would be all for a national opt-out list. Especially when they already run one themselves for paper mailings.
After all, what's the point of sending adverts to people who have taken the time and effort to opt out? Surely such people are not your target audience.
Problem is, telemarketing is big big business that relies on pressure selling. They're probably worried that children will put their aged parents on a no-call list, which will undermine the lucrative direct-to-seniors funeral insurance market.
Plus, if MA is anything to go by, it could be more than half of all residential numbers may opt out of calls. That's a much higher percentage of opt-outs that for the DMA member's paper mailings. They're probably reasoning that such a high opt-out rate *must* have some negative effect on sales.
http://saveie6.com/
...how long it will take till the telemarketers sue the manufacturer of the Telezapper, and claim it violates the DMCA...
I'd them to cite evidence "that it doesn't work".
We have it here in the UK for both phone and postal varients, and from my experience it works well, YMMV of course.
We used to get lots of phone and postal spam. We signed up and after 3 months it started receeding and now we get no phone spam and very very little postal spam.
I screen roughly 90% of my calls by answering machine. Most of my friends know I do this and they have to start talking on the machine before I'll pick up (which can sometimes be hilarious as my friends can sometimes act goofy.) I learned from my parents who use the caller ID that more and more telemarketers can show up as out of area and so you're back to sqaure one, unsure of who is really calling you.
The odd thing that I've noticed is that whereas a few years ago I would get telemarketers who just hang up on the machine, nowadays I get more and more that leave their own recorded messages. They also all like to call me at 10am and 2pm during the day - times which I'm not at home anyway.
I had a roommate once that told the guy on the phone he was a little busy at the moment because he was masturbating. I've told people I was blind before so they wouldn't try to sell me some visual-oriented device.
"Sorry, I'm getting a blowjob right now, and my girlfriend is getting a little mad that I'm not paying attention to her. "
You can have a lot of fun with this.
-- Having a Creationist Museum is like having an Atheist place of worship
A national DNC list would be a good way for the gov't to keep tabs on those who value their privacy the most. Kinda ironical, innit?
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
Its time for everybody to start posting telemarketers' phone numbers just like they did for the mail address of the spam guy.
I told him to place me on his "do not mug" list, but he didn't seem interested.
http://www.kingsofchaos.com/page.php?id=156303
I foun dthis very helpful.... do you?
My friend just keeps a prescription bottle next to the phone, and starts reading it to the telemarketers. Eventually the telemarketer hangs up and in the end. Because of him, there are a lot more telemarketers out there knowing the active ingredients of Allegra.
When are they going to realize that people are fed up with this crap? That is why these do-not-call lists are being deployed. Oh. That's right, they do realize this, that's why they want the DNC to be made illegal. If they aren't then these gits will have to go out and do something that is useful and actually earn a living, instead of praying off the ignorant.
- Telemarketers who have a prior or existing business relationship with you.
- Telemarketers who have received an express request from you to call.
- Telemarketers with whom you have an existing debt or contract.
- Telemarketers soliciting only donations for charities.
- Telemarketers who call your business.
Seems fair to me.I've found that when I tell people to put me on their do not call list, that they usually do comply. My biggest problem is that I recently moved (just across town, same phone number, mind you), and I started getting the calls again. It seems the phone company is quite the whore with your personal information. Same with the post office (I received tons of coupons from Lowe's, etc as soon as I changed my address).
I've had to resort to putting the 'three tone' back on my answering machine (search for SIT.WAV on google...I'm not about to have my own little server slashdotted :)
No problem, I treat telemarkeeters as spammers and sign them up for all sorts of catalogs and mailing lists. At least telemarketters will identify themselves in the first 2 seconds of conversation.
Enjoy
SPAM solution made easy: 1 spammer, 5 cords of rope, 5 hourses, and fireworks. Be creative.
First of all, I want to know more about how is the fine of $11,000 is incurred. Is it per incident in which a person was improperly called, when their number appeared on the DNC list? Is it a $11,000 per-incident fine, so that a firm like MonsterHut can improperly call thousands of people, but could only be fine $11,000 total for that aggregate violation?
I agree that the potential for abuse still exists, even with the DNC list. But the idea is to make companies financially liable, to some degree (see first paragraph for big question marks), for POTS-spamming people who have explicitly opted out of telemarketing calls. Setting a precedent, if you will..............
If call centers do improperly hand the list over to telemarketers for POTS-spamming, under this new DNC law they can be sued by the FTC. Eventually, the truth will come out -- workers will be subpoenaed, the fact that the mandate came down as part of company policy will be discovered, and the company will be found liable for their actions.
With respect to foreign call center calls -- this is the same kinda argument that's working against KaZaA right now. Even though they're located outside of the country, they do have business entities located here in the USA -- which means that they are liable for the actions of their foreign offices, too.
But these are just my guesses......... and once again, without a significant financial deterrent to back up the law, it probably won't do much else besides set a legal precedent.
In Indiana, I've been quite happy with the DNC list the state has instituted. Telemarketing calls have dropped to practically nil.
One thing to watch out for is that in many cases, when a "telemarketer" calls when your name is on a DNC list, it's not a telemarketer at all: it's a scam operation. If they refuse to hang up and refuse to provide details, they almost certainly ARE a scam group! Just something to be wary of.
----------
Something cleverI am on that list, and I still get four or five calls a day. Are you saying I would be getting more if I weren't on the opt out list?
For a while, setting my phone to reject calls from "Private" numbers blocked them. That worked for about 6 months--now they have all found some technical fix that lets them through. I predict the same will happen for the "Zapper".
I ask every telemarketer to put me on the don't call list, which they are required to do. Their latest trick is to reply, "Please hold so that you can discuss this with my supervisor." Translation: getting on the don't-call list will cost you an extra 10 minutes of frustration.
Making trouble today for a better tomorrow...
Come on guys! Let's look at this from their perspective. They run a business which is threatened by this list, and they stand to lose a lot of money if everybody joins this list. I mean, they're just trying to make lots and lots of money by calling people and annoying the hell out of them during their dinner, without ever being invited to do so. Hmmm. Yeah, OK -- on second thought, screw 'em.
(Score:-1, Wrong)
Think of the elderly. If I could get my Grandmother on a do-not-call list, I would in a second. She is very trusting has been talked into buying stuff she doesn't need in the past (like a $2500 vacuum cleaner). So yes- she is someone who would sign up on a do-not-call list who would buy something from a telemarketer.
(the vacuum dude was a door-to-door salesman but my Grandmother got out of that one with the help of the attorney that lives across the street from her- not all attorney's are worthless scum)
-ec
Would you like to stop recieving these phone calls? Send $29.95 plus $10 shipping and handling to...
--
the strongest word is still the word "free"
I thought Jehovah's Witnesses were bad.
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
I got tired of telemarketers, so I devised this easy little plan.
1. When you get a live person on the phone talk very softly for a few seconds. (so they turn up the volume)
2. SCREEEAAAAAM!!! At the top of your lungs, yeah my throat hurt for a little bit
But after about 3-4 screaming sessions. The calls stopped. I don't know if this was a coincidence. But ti sure seemed to work, best of all it was FUN and FREE!!
The national plan is flawed anyway. Basically if anyone thinks you are or ever have been a customer of theirs they don't have to abide by the DNC list, sounds like a big loophole to me. Indiana has a version of this that is *much* more strict that the national plan. The number of calls I get now is practically zero. It'd be nice if the national plan was like this but I think it has already been dumbed down by companies who don't like the idea of any national DNC list.
Ignorance is the Agent of Fear; Fear Is the Agent of Violence - >1
Today the International Brotherhood of Hired Elimination Agents of Terror, HEAT began lobbying for changes in the definition of murder.
A member who would only speak to us with his face turned all grey and fuzzy for some reason, and a voice that sounds like some cheap sci-fi movie robot talking through a tin can had this to say:
"Look, the current laws just don't make a viable business model for our endeavors. We're just legitimate businessmen. We're just trying to earn a living. We have families to feed, just like everyone else and we have a right to do so. Not only that but the law *requires* that we do everything we can to produce value for our "stockholders." It just isn't right for the law to arbitrarily prevent us from going about our normal, everyday business.
We have to eat too you know. We have a *right* to make a living."
Then he shot our sound technician while mumbling something about unpaid sports gambling debts.
If you would like to support this cause you can make donations by calling your local paving company and whispering " Seabiscuit in the fifth."
They'll know what to do.
KFG
Tough shit, obviously the consumers want it. Now why can't we get this type of support/response on spam!!!
As previous stated, I wouldn't sign up for a do-not-call list because that prevents me from costing telespammers money. Just hanging up does nothing but allow them to move on to the next potential victim. I waste as much of their time as I can. I realize I probably don't make a significant financial impact, but if more people did this, there would be no need for a do-not-call list. Telespammers would waste all their time with non-payers like me, thwarting their commissions, forcing them to seek new (more moral) jobs, leaving the companies with no one to peddle their wares. Keep this up and eventually, they all go out of business.
My business model is to mug people and take their wallets. Look around the country and you will see that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people are trying to make a living using this very model.
Thank goodness we now have a pro-business court system that will step in on behalf of muggers everywhere.
Making trouble today for a better tomorrow...
I don't think opt out is viable for anybody. It certainly isn't for me. I like the opt in approach much better. You only get to call me if I say you can (unsolicited).
It seems like if you go through the trouble to get on the list, that means you probably wouldn't be interested in anything they were offering. If so, it seems like the spammers would have less phone #'s to call with unsuccessful attempts of selling a product. Wouldn't they like this? Unlike e-mail, phone sales actually require a person to be there (normally).
Looks like I'm going to have to go back to keeping my maratime rescue whistle next to the phone.
For those of who who don't live near the ocean, rescue whistles are these nice, bright orange jobbies. They are made to be able to be heard by search parties over ocean surf, even if you're somewhat weak when you blow them. A good, healthy, dry person can make them blast at 110-120 dB! (And you'd be suprised at how much of that can carry over the phone lines!)
cya,
john
Imagine all the people...
So why aren't door locks considered an infringement on free speech? I lock the door when the Jehovah Witnesses are in the neighborhood.
A lot of people here are afraid that over seas marketers will get hold of this list and use it to call people. Why get a list of sure-fire no sells and try to market to them? It might happen, but I don't see it becoming widespread. It makes no sense.
...claiming that Opt Out is not a viable model for telemarketers.
Since when do the rights of US citizens depend on whether or not an industry whose entire business model is based a dubious technology get to have unpopular laws passed to protect their pitiful existence? Oh... wait...
You don't think these poor minimum wage earning schmoe's would rather have a different job?
You're just an asshole.
If you have a problem, speak to their management, the front line people have no control over it; and there's always someone ready to take their place if they quit.
Telemarketers will absolutely not hang up the phone just by you saying 'no' politely. A national DNC would mean that those people could make a single phone call, and never have to feel bad about wanting to hang up on a telemarketer.
Even so, the nationwide DNC is a good idea, and I'm even more so for it by seeing that they're against it. IMHO, If your entire business model is based on calling people who don't want you to call, then fuck your business.
Many people would, at this point, compare this to spam, Which would almost work, but telemarketing is 1000x worse than spam to me, for a few reasons:
My personal email address gets 2 spam messages every one to three days. Just, if you have to have your email address posted somewhere, spamproof it a little. I doubt that any of you that refuse to do this go around writing your phone number on public walls...
I work late. I don't get to sleep till around 5am, usually. I don't get woken up to deal with spam 3 hours after i've fallen asleep. I don't deal with spam during dinner. I don't deal with spam while I'm concentrated on a good video game. I don't deal with spam in the middle of sex. It just goes into a small folder in sylpheed and I delete it when i feel like it.
There actually are a lot of spammers who put an "ADV: " at the beginning of their subject line. Another example is repeat spammers- those who email you every week or so letting you know that your website can be listed on the top 300 search engines for some relatively[1] nominal fee.
When you're bored, and you notice an email that says:
Subject: I JUST GOT LOTR:TTT IN HIGH QUALITY!
i just went to http://www.theres-no-lotr-here-only-naked-people.
AND THEY HAD THE NEW LOTR MOVIE! YOU SHOULD GO THERE TOO!
Well, at least I got a chuckle out of it.
Spam really doesn't bother me nearly as much as telemarketing. This nationwide DNC list is a very very good thing.
[1] According to Miss Vanessa Lintner, who sends me this important email every few days, although the prices may be high, it will make me a lot more money by having my site listed on over 6,000 search engines, including specialty ones like where-can-i-find-a-cheap-gay-whore.com or scatsearch.net..
get 0wned. irc.w30wnzj00.com
Hopefully a dozen other forms of advertising.
Whale
When you register they send you a complaint form to use when you receive unwanted calls. Since I registered several years ago I very rarely get them.
There is an alternative to being on a do-not-call list: Take up as much of their time as possible. The Anti-Telemarketing Counterscript is downright funny, and is probably the telemarketer's worst nightmare.
What the states should do is encrypt the "do not call list" with something like ROT13 and then they could go after anyone that had any of these numbers on their "call list" as DMCA violations because of their flagrant encryption circumvention! Then again...maybe not. :)
Live in your world; stay out of mine.
Ron Paul
The author makes a good point there that...... oh ... wait....
Sorry there I must have been on crack. Fuck Telemarketers and Spammers, pissing off customers doesn't work.
"My wife has been home with medical problems the past couple moths ..."
I think we know the problem, tell here to stop eating moths, or at least try the ones that are not a couple.
Untill next time when a company trying to switch your phone service calles.
This thread reminded me of a Seinfeld episode where Jerry gets a call at home from a telemarketer, it goes something like this (taken from this page):
"SEINFELD: (ANSWERING PHONE) Hello.
"(TELEMARKETER): Hi. Would you be interested in switching over to TMI long-distance service?
"SEINFELD: Oh, gee, I can't talk right now. Why don't you give me your home number and I'll call you later?
"(A LONG PAUSE) (TELEMARKETER): Well, I'm sorry. We're not allowed to do that.
"SEINFELD: I guess you don't want people calling you at home.
"(TELEMARKETER): No.
"SEINFELD: Well, now you know how I feel."
The one good side to 56k... I don't have to worry about telemarketers "Let them meet static"
Commercial speech is not free speech.
Like most con men, the DMA uses misdirection and creative redefinitions of words.
To everyone but the DMA, "telemarketer" means "that annoying fucknozzle who calls you during dinner". That is, "outbound call centers".
When someone in the DMA says "telemarketer", he means "the fucknozzles who call you and the people who answer the phone when you call to order something over the phone." That is, "inbound and outbound call centers".
So the DMA can say with a straight face that "telemarketers" (including inbound call centers) make $BIGNUM dollars from people who want do-not-call lists. Classic misdirection tactic. The sad thing is that politicians and journalists are sufficiently gullible to fall for it.
I couldn't agree more. They do not have divine rights nor is there any law of which I'm aware that gives the telemarketing industry the constitutional right to an easy profit. They are parasites, plain and simple.
Like the guy who billed spammers, can I invoice these bastards for wasting my time?
.
I'm an independent consultant, and I bill by the hour, with a one-hour minimum. Why don't I just bill them for wasting my time? They're obviously businesses, too, so I'll be sure to bill them my sizable business rate.
Perhaps I dream of the large Accounts Payable department, where they just don't have the time to sit and analyze every invoice they get, and where some underpaid employee will just blindly cut a check and send it out . .
Now, proceed to tell me what's wrong with this idea . . .
--- Why yes, I am the webmaster of Microsuck.com
I'm not sure if it's the right number, but it could be a starting point ! Have fun
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
It's funny, you moron.
"Please put this number on your do not call list," and in a week or two you won't get any telemarketing calls.
The UK has a national phone telemarketing opt-out service, for free, which I am on. Since subscribing to it I have recieved very few telemarketing phone calls. The very occasional one I do recieve is either on my ex-internet line (i'm not sure if thats listed) or a disreputable company I just hang up on. It works.
Discouraging telemarketers will be only one application of this technology. For example, people can make a buck answering short computer questions without setting up 900 number or credit card processing. Or, companies with valid, personalized offers for you can show they are serious by paying for your ears.
As for abuses, they will quickly take care of themselves. If a bozo charges everyone for calls, he will be quickly left alone. If you charge a company you have an account with, they will just bill you back for the pleasure and then you will be able to dispute your bill with the government if they did spam you. If you dialed a wrong number - well it's just five bucks. Watch your fingers. Telemarketers on the other hand, if they still exist, will compile their own don't call lists based on their financial losses.
Actually, I think this is more reasonable
Recorded voice: "Hi! You're reached my telephone number. By calling my number you have agreed to be charged up to $10/minute at my sole discretion. I don't charge my friends, but if you're wasting my time with an unsolicited sales call generated by a database, please be advised that your calls are valuable to me so tell your other telemarketer friends about my number."
Someone should draft up a fairly detailed "law" stating it is illegal to do direct marketing. Then whenever they call you'll be armed with article numbers, court cases, and other details that will totally confuse the person on the other line. They'll hang up before they bother their manager about legalities or question the person they're calling.
All you have to do is be deadly serious about it, ask to talk to their manager, etc. Waste a lot of their time and resources trying to figure out if you're right or convince you otherwise.
Suing in Oklahoma? That'll be a true test. Most folks in Oklahoma are usually too busy sitting on their front porch whittling, chewing tobacco and/or picking the banjo to answer the phone. The rest can't even hear the phone ringing when they're out back at the still.
I despise telemarketers. I also despise evangelicals. It's fun to use one against the other. Here's how my typical solicitation call goes:
...
[Telemarketer]: Good evening, sir! I'm calling from -insert company here- and we'd like to tell you about an amazing new offer on our new -insert product here-!
[Me]: Well, I'd certainly be interested in your -insert product here- but first, I'd like to talk to you about the Lord Jesus Christ(TM) and your future in the Kingdom of Heaven(TM).
[Telemarketer]: huh?
[Me]: Now, sir, are you absolutely sure that your soul will go to Heaven(TM) when you die?
[Telemarketer]: Um, well,
[Me]: Because, you know, Jesus(SM) died for your sins, and those who know Him(TM), I mean the True Him(TM) are guaranteed a place in God's(TM) Kingdom(TM) when the Rapture(TM) arrives.
[Telemarketer]: Well, I never, um...
[Me]: And it's a documented fact that the Bible(TM) guarantees that the children of Jehovah(TM) have a place in that Holy Domain(TM). Now sir, do you go to church regularly?
By this time, the telemarketer is so damn disturbed that s/he usually hangs up and I never get a call from them again.
I suppose you could use a telemarketer spiel on the Mormons(TM) and Jehovahs(TM) that come to your door, but they've stopped bugging me since I got my "No Bible Thimpers" sticker from darwinfish.com.
"You done taken a wrong turn."
-Bill McKinney, in Deliverance
I checked out the page... and there's a fee for processing to get your name off of the list. So they want My personal info, my phone number, and a major credit card so that I can ask not to get called. What happened to making the companys pay for the list?
how much should it cost to have one uninterrupted dinner? If i wanted commericals i'd be watching TV.
I dropped my landline and started using my cell phone as my primary phone about a year ago. How many telemarketers have I had call me in the past year?
Zero.
Not only that, but I'm not paying the local phone monopoly $40 a month for the "priveledge" of having a home phone.
Now I realize that it's not possible for everyone, some people are on dial-up or like being listed in the phone book. But I'd highly recommend it.
What rather bites is that your state (or proposed national) DNC lists don't cover charities or political organizations.
Someone here is likely to tell me that I'm mean-spirited; no, I'm just not a Xtian and am not donating to their organizations. Non-sectarian charities (say, Habitat for Humanity) are fine, but I get real sick of telling 3 months running that I'm not even a Xtian, please put my number on your do not call list... I'd vastly prefer to be able to opt-in to the three or four charities I don't find scummy and awful, rather than frequent 3 minute messages left on my answering machine.
And while I never get polled anymore (dammit! I *liked* being polled), I'd love it if there were a list so I could opt out of receiving those damn recorded "Massachusetts Democrat notable urging you to go vote" calls.
> My comment can be quoted whenever, wherever, so long as you bloody well provide attribution! >
212-879-5606
Perhaps Robert would like to hear from everyone
here "exercising their free speech"
Or drop him a snail mail...
265 E. 66th St.
NY, NY 10021
"Hello Sir, I'm calling from the Journal, for.....(extended Feature/Benefit speech); would you like to receieve our fine paper?"
Me: (in my best affronted voice) "No thanks, I'm only just now learning how to read".
She was so flustered I'm sure she became a ditch digger soon after
I've found out through experience that most telemarketers call around dinner, when they know people will be home. I've also found a very simple solution; don't answer the phone. If someone calls between 6:00 and 8:00, I just let the answering machine get it. They'll leave a message if it's important, and there's rarely a call urgent enough to interrupt dinner. :)
Jw
This is evidently not the case. Missouri AG Jay Nixon has collected a substantial amount of money from out-of-state telemarketers who violate the No Call Law.
http://www.ago.state.mo.us/nocalllaw.htm
"The guide is definitive, reality is frequently inaccurate."
They want to charge you $5 bucks to put you on a list so people will stop harassing you?
Er, isnt that extortion, or even blackmail??
To receive fewer unsolicited telemarketing calls, you can register for The DMA's Telephone Preference Service (TPS), which allows you to "opt out" of national telemarketing lists. ...
There is a $5 processing fee for registering with the TPS service online. You will need a valid credit card to register online. We use secure payment transaction processing to protect your card information. This is the fastest way to begin to see the impact of fewer unsolicited telemarketing calls as a result of the TPS program.
Pay $5 to be left alone... aren't there laws against that
sort of thing? Extortion?
To receive fewer unsolicited telemarketing calls, you can register for The DMA's Telephone Preference Service (TPS), which allows you to "opt out" of national telemarketing lists. ...
There is a $5 processing fee for registering with the TPS service online. You will need a valid credit card to register online. We use secure payment transaction processing to protect your card information. This is the fastest way to begin to see the impact of fewer unsolicited telemarketing calls as a result of the TPS program.
Pay $5 to be left alone... aren't there laws against that
sort of thing? Extortion?
Ahh, the universe....As I'm sitting here waiting for this page to come up, I get a call from a telemarketer. The best part is, he was the WORST telemarketer I've ever heard. He took about 10 seconds before he started talking. The funniest part was that he spoke each word very fast, but took a second between each, so not only couldn't I understand him, I had to wait for it! :) I actually laughed at him and told him he should find a new profession as this one wasn't working out for him.
Telezapper? Screw that! Try the Tele-Fryer!
Which is more painful? Going to work or gouging your eye out with a spoon? Find out!
http://www.workorspoon.com
There are two types of people. Those like me, who hate receiving unsolicited calls at inconvenient times. And those who would quite like to hear offers for cheaper long-distance calling plans or free subscriptions to the local newspaper, or whatever.
People in the first class will never ever buy anything as a result of a telemarketing call. People in the second class most likely will.
People in the first class will place themselves on the don not call list. People in the second won't bother.
Telemarketers will then have a list of numbers where for which they would be simply wating their time. Their "hit-rate" will be significantly improved. How is that possibly a bad thing for them?
Of course, I don't have a business studies degree, so I might just be naive.
People who get themselves put on opt-out lists don't like telemarketers. They don't buy from telemarketers. Some of them won't buy from a company that they know engages in telemarketing.
An opt-out list is a list of people who won't buy your product, so you don't have to waste your time selling to them. What's more, it keeps you from reminding people who are sufficiently averse that you telemarket.
And they think an opt-out list would hurt their business?! It can only improve their business!
How mind-boggling.
Is it legal to curse out telemarketers?
I've aoften wondered if I were to lay on a thick barrage of choice expletives would I be putting myself at risk for a lawsuit...
Anyone have any experirnce with this?
they're the assholes.
if the people start thier own do not call list it will be immediate. they wont call us cause we dont buy thier shit
LETS START OUR LIST NOW! no more waiting for federal DNC to start 8 years later. plus ours will block political and religous and non-profit crap.
we dont want calls, its that simple.
I tend to think freedom of speech is best understood as the right of the audience, rather than the speaker. The point is to allow folks the best access to the widest possible variety speech, literature, art, etc., that they want to hear or experience.
That last phrase carries the key. If you make the very reasonable presumption that audiences aren't interested in deceptions - fraud, defamation, libel, slander... and, of course, unsolicited solicitations, then I think this slant cleans up a lot of difficulties many have with untidy "exceptions" to Freedom of Speech(tm).
Call him and offer to change his long distance service.
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
Do you have to pay extra to have your phone number NOT listed?
I think they still do that here, which is bogus, also when some telemarketeer company or any company would call my land line, over three times with the same line of buy this or that crap,,,well i just show up at their corporate office, and jump the C.E.O.
I dont like to do that often.
Biggest gripe is when you keep getting calls and the phone company tells you they cannot trace where the call came from, like oh really your switch gear just takes info and forwards it without know its point of origen, sounds like a load of crap to me.
Whoever said "the pen is stronger than swordfish is fool"
There is not governmental obligation that laws be made to ensure that telemarketting/junk mailing/spaming remain a viable business.
While I probably agree that it would be wrong to make telemarketting/junk mailing/spaming illegal, I do support every effort to remove their ability to contact me.
The easier it is for me to opt out, the better. Heck, I would prefer to see an opt in system that I could happily ignore and never hear from these bottom feeders again.
-- "Most people prefer a popular myth to an unpopular truth"
Slashdot summary:
:)
essentially claiming that Opt Out is not a viable model for telemarketers.
uh... since when does the viability of a business model constitute grounds for a lawsuit?
*aide whispers in my ear*
Oh! Since the Content Cartels passed the DMCA! of course! Sorry, my mistake.
The Article, on the other hand, says the DMA is actually "essentially" claiming something else entirely:
the FTC's effort would violate free-speech laws
OK, that I can see as the basis for a lawsuit. Sure, it's BUNK, but could it have hurt to put facts in the summary?
Webster says... Try again. Primary spelling has the accent marks over both e's. However, it is acceptable to place one over just the second e.
/'re-z&-"mA, "re-z&-' also 'rA- or "rA-/
Main Entry: résumé
Variant(s): or resume or resumé
Function: noun
Etymology: French résumé, from past participle of résumer to resume, summarize, from Middle French resumer
Date: 1804
I don't actually know the situation, but as a business person I imagine it went something like this:
When the DMA list got started, they didn't charge to administer the list because it was good PR, and they were trying to avoid regulation. So they had a no charge system in place.
When the web became prevalent, they had to build the system, pay the programmers and DBA's etc. Charging $5 for the convenience of removal online
allows them to help cover the cost of servers, bandwidth and programmers, and may even help to cover the cost of the manual processing and data entry of mail in requests.
Yet they are still able to say that they offer registration for free, which keeps up there image and (they hope) obviates the need for regulation.
Seems perfectly reasonable, to me.
At first, I agreed - but then I realized that telemarketers can buy phone lists from the phone company pretty easily; no need to use the DNC list. They'll even let you target specific streets and neighborhoods.
... only in that case would it make sense to spam an opt-out list.
This is very different from email, where it is impossible to get a source of 'live' email addresses
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
It's really simple: as soon as they tell you that they are calling from a mortgage company, I tell them that my wife works for mortgage company(true), and that we already get an excellent rate (mostly true). So far, every telemarketer says "Oh, ok", and hangs up. It takes about 10 seconds, at most.
(Now, we dont have our mortgage thru my wifes employer, but they don't need to know that.)
Ed Wedig
Graphic design services
docbrown.net
ok So you'd have a list of about, oh, twelve people.
Would thier phones EVER stop ringing?
"The FTC is singling out this form of advertising now, what will be next?" said DMA President Robert Weintzen in a prepared statement.
er... junk mail? pretty please?
Signatures are supposed to be funny?
Perfectly Possible. You could use GNU Bayonne or asterisk. Not exactly out of the box yet, and I don't know if either support standard modems either.
Ahhh, Jay Nixon: the only Democrat I've ever voted for.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
"The FTC is singling out this form of advertising now, what will be next?" said DMA President Robert Weintzen in a prepared statement. email would be nice
Every telemarketer should be legally required to anally insert a stun baton before beginning to make their daily calls. Then, if you are annoyed by their call, you can press a button on your phone to deliver 75,000 volts of pain right up their ass.
;)
Aluminum siding? BZZZZZZZZ!!!
Credit card? AAAAIIIIEEEEE!!!
Rip-off charity? ZAAAPPPPP!!
Valuable stress relief, I think... gives new meaning to the word TeleZapper, anyway...
"The advanced societies of the future will be driven by competing systems of psychopathology." -JG Ballard
So how useful are these State DNC lists? Is someone for the little pissant company down the block actually going to check each photocopied phonebook page to make sure nobody on the DNC list isn't called? I could see the randomly generated lists being set up to exclude or cross out numbers cross-referenced with the DNC lists, but trust me, it rarely happens.
So essentially, the DNC lists are only useful when used by companies who call through automated dialing computers, right? Or am I missing something? I still think putting my 3 year old on is the best solution :) He gets a kick out of it, they don't, it's all good :)
Visit us at http://www.iblist.com!
The problem with having a "Do Call" list is that shady telemarketing firms would just add people from their database to the "Do Call" list. How is the organization in charge of managing the "Do Call" list supposed to verify identity so that this doesn't happen? Telemarketing lives to gather information about people, so they could easily come up with your SSN, address, birthdate, etc., to falsely sign you up.
I'd much rather have a "Do Not Call" list. The only people motivated to be added are the people themselves. There's no benefit for anyone to sign up people they don't know.
Of course, the counter argument is that "Do Not Call" lists are a big database of phone numbers and addresses that non-profits and politicals can access but don't have to obey. "Do Not Call" lists just make those agencies' lives easier and adds to people's frustrations.
my blog
Telemarketers, big deal. Hang up the phone. A lot worse things can happen than a telemarketer calling you. For example, no telemarketers could call which would indicate you are a pathetic loser with no money to spend.
Well that is typical of most Americans, sell your soul for a little extra convenience.
I also wonder how a federal DNC list would impact intrastate calls since the US Gubment has no authority or control over intrastate business. America is after all, "The United States of America" and not the "Federal Country." What about enforcement. Breaking a Federal law requires Federal police and federal courts to enforce the infraction.
... Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed...
Yes, seeing Mark Spencer talk about Asterisk last weekend is one reason I was thinking of this :)
:)
:)
And (afaics) it wouldn't need a modem, really -- just a telephone interface. Mark demonstrated little USB adapters which can be used to interface a normal phone line to a computer for the purposes of attaching a standard phone or headset when you're making your VoIP calls
However, I am not certain about whether it works PC <--> USB dongle <--> outside connection, or only PC <--> USB dongle <--> deskside phone.
The "ex-girlfriend feature" he explained (if she called on her cell, her call was re-directed to her landline and vice versa) had the audience chortling
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
...some telemarketing companies (such as Ron Weber and Associates) are moving their ENTIRE operations to Canada. Apparently, Canada doesn't care about DNC lists and the like. Ron Weber just closed a center in Iowa, locked the doors, split, left the servers on, and failed to pay their back rent on the building ($44,000). The money savings from the move and the ability to continue operating outweighs the liabilities they have.
This means that we, the people of the Pissed off America, have those scummy telemarketers on the run! Sweet.
Oh, and I would be remiss to remind everyone of their rights under the Telecommunications Privacy Act (TCPA)--If they call you, tell them that they must remove your entire contact information from their lists or find themselves in violation of the TCPA, complete with fines exceeding $1 million. (Some lady in Florida got the first award quite some time ago.)
I used to telemarket (for 2 years, I trained trainers. And the stink still is with me even after mor ethan 7 years!) ARGH! I'm filled with self-loathing...
Mark did the speaking, but the "ex-girlfriend system" belonged to someone else, and he was just relaying the information. Just wanted to be clear :)
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
Thanks.
Sucks that someone might think I mis-accented my words, I hope no one is stupid enough to make that a hiring point.
I was raised by an English teacher, and was one of the few engineers I knew at my school with a perfect SAT score on the verbal section.
...
I learned early on that TV and Phone services are offer little more than the free postal service, they only bring you junkmail and free offers for junk attached to advertisements. None of it is quality or worth the cost. So I don't have either. I use a cell phone for that personal phone number in case anyone needs to reach me. The only junkmail I get these days is in my mailbox, and believe me, that's more than enough.
All I recommend is you give it a try. See how much more time you have when you cancel your cable and phone services. With the extra money you could probably afford a broadband connection or the hardware to connect with one of your friends that already has one.
As a result it is very difficult for anyone to sell me anything I don't naturally want to buy.
Economic factors aside, "opt-in" is the way to go, especially for junk mail and spam. If only commercial (e.g. radio and tv) advertising worked the same way...
PS: Would I be correct in assuming that the closer the sphere of exposure of your average lobbyist/lawmaker to the average man, the more likely "opt-in" policies are to take hold?
Pennsylvania has a 'Do Not Call List.' Q: Who did PA contract with to administer the list? A: The Direct Marketing Association. (Thanks, Mike Fisher) The DMA charges $475 quarterly for the PA Do Not Call List.
I wonder if the FTC plan doesn't include the DMA as sole distributor.
The FTC and the DoJ would be their worst enemy. If a national DNC policy became official and it is violated, then it is within the fed's jurisdiction to prosecute. The FTC has teeth that the DMA fears.
The DMA wants to keep the status quo of separate state DNC lists because they know that states aren't as likely to come after their members as the feds would and they know that state resources are limited. But if a federal-funded office like the FTC were to get involved...
Ironic that a national organization sues to keep a national law-enforcing office from becoming involved, isn't it?
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
Call him and offer to change his long distance service.
In the Soviet Union, long distance services changes you! (actually, long distance "slamming" happens in the US too)
cpeterso
As a consumer I absolutely love Missouri's list.
I *never* want to receive unsolicited calls.
I have *never* purchased anything through an unsolicited call.
The Missouri No Call list SAVES telemarketing companies money because they don't have to waste their time or mine calling me. I pay for my phone service and I should be in control of who is allowed to use it and who isn't allowed.
The MO NO Call list still lets non-profit orgs and existing business relationships through. I don't really want calls from non-profit groups either, but they are fairly rare.
I did have a weird call today, some company called claiming to be a Domain Notification service and they had some information they wanted to fax me because their email system was down. I couldn't get them to tell me their name. She just kept saying, we're a "domain name notification service."
Consequently, Missouri HB228 is trying to create a No Email list. It has flaws in it's present state but we're working on making it beneficial to everyone except spammers.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
If someone can't have a domain name deemed counter-commercial to a corporate entity, why can corporate entities cold call me? The person contacting me usually doesn't confess the superiority of their competitors. They might even provide data shedding bad light on competitors. So? How about analysts and researchers, even reporters who "give" a competetive edge to Entity#1 or Entity #2 by publishing. Round and round.
Dont you think I know that! They were there.. now theyr'e gone...400 posts.. all screaming out at me!
An Austin, Texas, man has filed a lawsuit against his employer, essentially claiming that showing up for work is not a viable model for increasing wealth rapidly. Prosecution recommends an immediate donation of $10 from all businesses in the metropolitan area into his private account, because it's just better that way. :-/
Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
They wouldn't have to go through so much trouble if the morons who answered solicitation calls would just say "No!" and hang up.
People need to be educated on how to handle telemarketing calls, rather than write up some list of consumers that don't want to be contacted. Not every telemarketing firm keeps updated copies of such lists. Nor do they even adhere to the regulations.
The best thing $1.95 /month can buy you!
It works. Period. We never get TM calls. Ever.
there's no place like ~
I think we should seek reparations from Telemarkets for making us consumer slaves. We deserve to be compensated for all that lost time!
Please mod parent up.
I've had an incredible time since I have stopped paying SBC ~$90 a month for DSL and local telephone service. I switched to cable internet service and told SBC to take a walk. With my wireless phone, I pay around $40 for local and long distance, and yes, you guessed it. I have recieved no telemarketing calls. None. Zip. Its amazing. . .
-Peter
so maybe we should twist the DMA's tail and agree that they are right, opt-out won't work, because opt-IN is the only thing that will.
by opt-IN I mean a signed legal contract with three witness signatures, a notary acknowledgement, and value given for the purpose of letting them draw you away from the table (I think five skids of slightly used $20 bills might be a starting point for negotiations). the telemarketer can't show that on challenge, take 'em out and shoot 'em.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Instead of all this "annoy the caller" bologna a lot of people are bragging about on here, two years ago I began to just simply cut off the telemarketer and ask to be placed on their own "do not call" list. I receive very few junk calls nowadays. I make no effort to hide my phone number, and it has been active for ten years.
The only real trouble I had recently was when the TV ratings company decided that they wanted me to report my viewing habits. They will not stop calling you. They will call at all times of the day and evening. They will purposely call 5 times throughout a single day because the person who's been answering the phone might not be "the one that their computer wants to get". They proudly proclaim that they can and do do all this because, since they are not selling anything, they are exempt from the laws regarding telemarketing.
All kings is mostly rapscallions. -Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
its easily implementable. I wish some phone company would do it. You just empower the phone company to collect the fees for you and send you a cheque after you clear the calls you don't want charged from a database. once a month is all it takes. If telemarketers had to pay 10 bucks for each non sale they got, they'd quickly go under.
With the International call rates I'm able to find often being well above $0.20 per minute, I'm not sure who SmegCo could ever get phone service cheap enough to cover their costs in any country outside the U.S. without charging a price per call that's still far more outlandish than anything J. Random Fly-By-Night, LLC could ever afford.
Methinks it'd end up being much chaper for Trailer Trash, LLC to find a domestic telemarketing firm that will stick to DNC lists and be willing to promote their scam.
The damn US post office enters into deals w/ snail mail marketers exclusively to send all that wonderful mail to "resident" or "pizza lover" or whatever...
I asked my mailman to stop delivering that stuff since no one named resident lives here. Guess what? He said they would fire him and the only way to stop it was to call the PM General for my state. WTF? jeez..
Great idea. I'd love to see a pure opt-in system for all kinds of solicitation.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
when dealing with spam phonecalls is to reply "Ah, could you just wait a second" as if I have something really urgent to do before racing back to hear their tripe. Then I put down the phone, walk away, and wonder how long they wait before giving up. It's slightly amusing and gets me over the frustration of people actively soliciting me in the privacy of my own home. Personally, I try to avoid advertising as much as I can.
Here are the 2 best ways I have gotten rid of telemarketers; 1st Caller) Gives Spiel how great their platinum card is. Me) "I'm sorry, I died 2 weeks ago" 1st Caller) "I'm so sorry, I'll remove your name off of our list" 2nd Caller) Gives Spiel on free vacation which is really a scam to buy into a Florida time share condo. Me) "That sounds great! I haven't had a vacation since I lost my job 6 months ago!" 2nd Caller) *click* Seriously though, if you ever want to see the rules the DMA *ahem* "governs" itself by, here's the URL... http://www.the-dma.org/guidelines/
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass
I work the graveyard shift and occassionally take my son to daycare so I can catch up on some sleep. After a couple of night's of insomnia I try to catch up on some sleep and sure enough my head barely hits the pillow when the phone rings. It's a telemarketer. I figure no big deal. Ignore it and go back to bed.
The jerk procedes to keep calling every five to ten minutes for the next 45. I have to keep the phone on hook in case daycare calls about my son. In the end, this harrassment costs me two hours of sleep and I have to take my son to daycare the next day so I can try once again to get some sleep and be somewhat productive at work.
Fuck the telemarketing companies. Stuff like that messes with my livelyhood and I don't need to go through 50 calls a month telling each and every company who manages to get their mitts on my contact info to stop calling me. They don't have a right to one red cent of profit but I do have a right not to be harrassed and I shouldn't have to disable a basic service in my home to get away from it.
Well, that's my rant for the day. Thanks for reading it. I feel better now.
I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
.... but what are the chances the US will strength its consumer protection laws to the levels of the EU, and make all marketing campaigns opt-in? Pretty low, methinks.
We keep getting calls from the Chicago Tribune trying to get us to subscribe.
So, one time, when my roommate was talking to the caller, I told him to tell her that we don't need the paper, because we have the Internet.
The caller responded by asking, "What if you don't have power?"
Quality.
Similar to several other posts, I too have not recieved any telemarketing calls on my cell phone. This may be in part to my dilligence with regard to never putting my cell phone number down on ANY form (personal info for utilites etc.). Part of this is my paranoia about having to pay for the incoming call from some random jackass (as has been shown to the case in a couple of other posts). Indeed I have noticed a difference since I have lived without a land line (wherein I would submit my phone number without regard and receive calls for credit cards...).
Also, the whole deal about charities and political groups being exempt is an entire crock of crap. It never ceases to amaze that legislation somehow allows for the funding of political or idealogical entities. Of course, if this came to pass, I would be quite interested to see if there will be any sort redefining of *charities* or political groups. It is quite conceivable that through a myriad of legalesque any member of the DMA (the telemarketers unfortunate to not have membership in the DME would find themselves oddly left outside of the loophole!) would miraculously have some sort of *not-for-profit* arm of their business model.
For example, Wisconsin's Do Not Call List affects out-of-state telemarketers, with exceptions for non-commercial, non-profit and a few other uses.
Whew, hope you feel better after that little spew. It must be the Midol talking. (That time of month?) Back slooowly away from the computer, count to ten, and take another one of those little nerve pills the nice doctor gave you...and say to yourself, "It's only Slashdot, it's just Slashdot," over and over...that's right...now don't you feel better?
There are really two kinds of bounces that email can get. The more effective one is for the SMTP server that's receiving your mail to send back some kind of 500-series failure message to say "that address doesn't exist" or "that domain's not recognized here" or "we don't relay for spammers like you." The other kind of failure message is a response that your SMTP server sends back to the sender (or the sender's MTA) saying "Sorry, we accepted email for foobie@example.com, but we can't deliver it because [insert excuse]". It's easy enough to generate messages like the latter, but they're less effective, because many spamware users don't have a real email address to send them back to, or don't bother checking the mail if they do. Some more established spammers might support this, mainly the spamhaus type who want to sell 90 zillion validated precisely targeted email addresses, and maybe they'd even use this to stop sending it. But most spammers won't bother.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
I tried that exact tactic with a bill collector I was arguing with. She INSISTED that my 2-days-overdue-mortgage-payment was some sort of national crisis and DEMANDED to know when the money would be in hand.
So, I politely backed off, knowing that I really WAS late paying, and said, "Man. I don't envy you. Your job really sucks. I wouldn't take it for any amount of money." She replied with, "Sir, I love my job and I make good money. How about you?"
So, while I make good money, I hate my insecure job and lack of personal faith in this tech industry. It made me think.
Fucking depressing.
Any sufficiently well-organized Government is indistinguishable from bullshit.
Take junk from Co A and place it in pre-paid eply envelope from Co B. Reverse and repeat.
Gives the mailroom PFYs something to do, and keeps the Post Office workers in a job. :>
...and he grinned, like a fox eating shit out of a wire brush.
This is supposedly an excerpt of a letter sent "from the general public" to the DMA. Yeah, right.
"In this time of economic uncertainty, can we afford to put at risk the jobs of 6 million Americans? Telemarketing provides 6 million jobs throughout the U.S., and contributes $700 billion to our economy. The Federal Trade Commission is planning to impose harsh new rules on the teleservices industry that will put a halt to this economically vital employer."
Booo Hooo! Sniffle Sniffle! I haven't laughed this much since the Microsoft "switch" campaign!
--Mod parent +5 Funny!
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== WolfriderV6 == I'm willing to admit that *I just might* be wrong... Are you??
I don't know why the calls you found are so expensive. I'm in the Netherlands and I can call the UK or the USA for 3 euro cents per minute. I'm sure a big telemarketing company can get a better deal than I can on that.
Steve.
A latent existence
Next time one calls, cause a clicking sound like a phone being hung up. Wait for them to blow off steam by cursing you out. Say 'Excuse me??!!'. One guy sounded like he actually swallowed his tongue before hanging up on me!