41 Million Sign Up for National Do-Not-Call List

ejbst25 writes "The first wave of the do not call registry sign up ends 8/31. There is plenty of news coverage but they say there is already over 41 million numbers registered."

Comments

Cell Phone Number

[gsparrow]

Can telemarketers call your cell phone number? Do you need to put your cell number on the do not call list or is it already protected since you pay on a time basis?

Re:Cell Phone Number

[inimicus]

From the page:

"You can register your home and mobile phone numbers for free."

Almost makes me wish I still had my old cell-phone account with Caller Pays...

Re:Cell Phone Number

[LinuxHam]

It is illegal right now, but my Mom gets telemarketing calls on hers almost daily. Yay AT&T.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[Radojevic]

The 'Do Not Call List' let you enter up to 3 phone numbers, including cell phone numbers. g

Re:Cell Phone Number

[514x0r]

i gave up my landLine a couple of years ago--screw sbc, but that's another story--and recently have started getting telemarketers calling me on my cell. still not too many and they usually hang up when i tell them it's a cell.

it's more fun, though, to wait for them to inform you that the call may be recorded for qa and freak out about it ;)

Re:Cell Phone Number

[afidel]

Right now any legal telemarketing company that is not incompetant will run as one of their first checks a national cellphone block check and remove all numbers that are from the cellphone number blocks. The exceptions would be new numbers that have not yet been registered. With telephone number portability this will become possibly less reliable because the FCC is thinking of making numbers portable between cellphone and landline services. If that comes to pass then telemarketers will be able to legitimatly state that they can not reliably block cellphones, at that time you may need to add your cell number to the national DNC list.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[gsparrow]

I like your Idea about freaking out for training purposes. lol

Re:Cell Phone Number

[Gleef]

gsparrow asks:

Can telemarketers call your cell phone number?
Of course they can. However, barring certain exceptions, it is illegal for them to do so if your name is on the national do-not-call list. Alternately, it is illegal for any telemarketer to call you if you have requested to be added to their own "do-not-call" list. Note: telling them "don't call me" or "take me off your list" might not be sufficient, you must ask to be added to their "do-not-call list".

Do you need to put your cell number on the do not call list
You don't need to put any number on the list, but it can be useful if you want the protection that the list offers. It could be especially useful for a cell phone, given the pricing structure of most cellular plans.

or is it already protected since you pay on a time basis?
My understanding is, the fact that you pay for time spent on incoming calls doesn't protect you in any way from any call. If anything, it makes you more vulnerable, and makes registering the number on the do-not-call more useful.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[Anonymous Coward]

She must be pretty busy, between that and yelling down to the basement for you to clean it up.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[aliens]

She probably put it as a phone number when filling in some form. That list was then sold to telemarketters. There's no way for them to know.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[gfxguy]

Sure there is - the area code and exchange will tell them wether or not it's a mobile phone. Some telemarketers are dilligent enough to actually check.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[princewally]

They can check, but the don't have to. They do, however, need to stop calling immediately if you tell them it's a cell phone. Unless you have an account with them and used that number to sign up for the account.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[princewally]

or is it already protected since you pay on a time basis?

My understanding is, the fact that you pay for time spent on incoming calls doesn't protect you in any way from any call. If anything, it makes you more vulnerable, and makes registering the number on the do-not-call more useful.

It does protect you from some calls. Third-party collection agencies aren't allowed to call cell phones or pay-per-page pagers without permission. They don't have to check to see if it's a cell phone, though.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[Surreal_Streaker]

Can telemarketers call your cell phone number? Do you need to put your cell number on the do not call list or is it already protected since you pay on a time basis?

Do you currently get telemarketing calls to your cell phone?
If not, what benifit do you expect from registering your phone number?
Have you considered that there might be a downside to registering?

Re:Cell Phone Number

[Dharzhak]

My understanding is, the fact that you pay for time spent on incoming calls doesn't protect you in any way from any call.

Incorrect. From the Telephone Consumer Protection Act:

a.No person may
1.Initiate any telephone call (other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent of the called party) using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice,
iii.To any telephone number assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call;

So, while cell phones are not protected from *all* calls, they are protected from those that use "an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice," which is a significant percentage since most telemarketing companies use an automatic dialer.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[HomerJay]

That's not completely true, up until last year I had a cell phone with an area code and exchange that was used for land lines as well as cell phones. I'd still have that number had I stayed with the same cell provider.

Re:Cell Phone Number

[DiveX]

[i]Of course they can. However, barring certain exceptions [donotcall.gov], it is illegal for them to do so if your name is on the national do-not-call list. [/i]

This is absolutely incorrect. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (yes, over a decade ago) has made calls to numbers where the person must pay for the call (i.e. cell phones) illegal. There are few exceptions (such as where you specifically gave the organization calling your number as the point of contact. However if your organization were to sell the number, anyone else calling would be in violation.)

[i]Alternately, it is illegal for any telemarketer to call you if you have requested to be added to their own "do-not-call" list. Note: telling them "don't call me" or "take me off your list" might not be sufficient, you must ask to be added to their "do-not-call list". [/i]

Finally, a few people understand this. This is extremely important. Also say specifically "Add me to your do-not-call list" and "Send me a copy of your policy regarding the maintence of your do-not-call list". You should do this without exception.

[i]My understanding is, the fact that you pay for time spent on incoming calls doesn't protect you in any way from any call. [/i]

Your understandiong is, unfortunately, incorrect. The whole idea behind the pay-per-call and junk fax provisions were to prevent people from having to pay for the advertising of another. Junk faxes have been illegal for over a decade. There is NO established business relationship that would allow a junk fax. If you do business with a company and they send you a weekly ad without your prior EXPRESS permission, then they are in as much violation of the law as the random loan or vacation fax that you get.

[i]If anything, it makes you more vulnerable, and makes registering the number on the do-not-call more useful. [/i]

It makes it more useful for the government, but not really for you. The new rules do not provide a private right of action if you get called when you are on the list. You only have a private right of action if they make two calls in violation of the law withing a 12 month period, though it hasn't been decided if a firs call is a violation that would count. Time and additional rulings will tell.

Hrmph. doesn't work for Canada it seems

[zptdooda]

I got an error on my area code when I tried to register.

This seems to be a Canadian do not call registry, but it's private sector. So it wouldn't be as effective and may be open to abuse.

Does anyone know if there's a Canadian federal goverment equivalent service?

Re:Hrmph. doesn't work for Canada it seems

[SandSpider]

I got an error on my area code when I tried to register.

I knew it! Even the Canadians don't know it's a different country!

=Brian

Do-Not-Spam

[BJZQ8]

Who's up for a nationwide do-not-spam list?

Re:Do-Not-Spam

[rylin]

Hi!
I run just such a service.

Please provide your email address so I can add it to the list.

Would you also like a copy of our daily news letter with funny jokes, links to herbal stores and mortgage help?

Re:Do-Not-Spam

[Moth7]

I've got a nice little regex that could be used to generate a "do-not-spam" list:
/^[\w\.\-]+\@[\w\.\-]+\.[a-z][a-z]+$/i
Of course when the corporate nitwits tried to edit their list in Outlook Mr ^[\w\.\-]+\ @ [\w\.\-]+\.[a-z][a-z]+$ would be the only person who benefited

Re:Do-Not-Spam

[The Old Burke]

Actually the government just did this.
From the donotcall.gov registartion page:

Your email address MUST be correct to process your registration.

This list is The list to get their hands on for spammers. 41m real email-addresse!!
Wonder how long it takes before some enterprising governmental employee "accidentaly" copied the A part of the list and oooppps burnt it on a CD-ROM and ooopps put it in a shippment to Baton Rouge....

Actually, IMHO the government should forsee this and grabbing the oppurtunity. This list could bring in a lot of money if used or sold in the right way. This money could in turn be given back as tax cuts that boosts the economy or the money could be used in the fight aginst spam/terror and/or drugs.

not gonna do it.

[514x0r]

it's just another way for them to track me.

has anyone seen a size 7 1/4 tin foil hat around here?

Do not patronize

[Offwhite98]

My guess is the people who are not on the lists will now get more calls because there is a smaller pool of numbers to use. In that case, I would like to see a "Do not patronize" list for companies that bother people at home with sales pitches. If a company wants to get their word out, they will have to learn to use advertising and not my home phone.

Re:Do not patronize

[aardvarkjoe]

I would like to see a "Do not patronize" list

It's called a "large, vicious dog."

Re:Do not patronize

[MImeKillEr]

Can we add companies to the list that use door-to-door salesmen who still insist on knocking on my door despite the No Soliciting and No Trespassing signs?

Please?!?

Re:Do not patronize

[wowbagger]

I just answer the door with the lower receiver for my AR-15 in one hand, and a cleaning cloth in the other. Continue to polish the receiver as you talk to them.

The nice thing is there is no way they can claim you threatened them, as you only had a PART of the weapon at the door.

Re:Do not patronize

[gid]

And put a big sign above it that says "do not push".

Which actually reminds me of a funny story....

I used to work for a dot com start up until recently. Anyway, at our old office there was a "big red button" on the wall ( a left over from the previous tenants of the building ), that we all always glared at, wondering what it did. I was always a big supporter of the "never push it" philosophy, whilst other people wanted to push it and find out what it did.

Well, one day, a client was in the office, and she jokingly asked what the "big red button" was for. One of the guys says, oh it does nothing because he's sure he remembers someone else pushing it before... He pushed it. Just then about 90% of the power in the building went out, only a few random lights remained on. Keep in mind the building we were in actually houses a few other companies, and their power went out as well.

One can only guess why that button was there. But to this day, I never miss a chance to say "I told you so". Curiosity, indeed, killed the cat.

good for 5 years

[LinuxHam]

I even signed up my cellphone just in case someone decides to repeal the law protecting our cellphones from unwanted solicitation calls. If you register prior to the deadline, your numbers are blocked as of October 1. If you register after the deadline, your phone will be blocked 3 months later.

Summarized

[TopShelf]

The whole story boils down to:

FROM: The American People
TO: The Telemarketing Industry

Fuck you.

Sincerely,
The American People

Re:Summarized

[steelrecluse]

This is a red herring. Telemarketing companies are moving those jobs overseas anyway, it is the ideal job to move to India etc as it is done completely over the phone. So when Telemarketing companies whine about this law causing millions of lost jobs ask them how many of those jobs would have been shipped overseas anyway...

Bit of info....

[Akasha]

While the Do-Not-Call list does protect you from unsolicited calls from private groups, it does not protect you from non-profit groups (such as charities).

While I'm glad I some protection from telemarketers I know I am still going to get calls from the police asking for donations and silently threatening to ticket me if I don't donate.

Re:Bit of info....

[bryanthompson]

From the Do Not Call FAQ:

Q: If I register my number on the National Do Not Call Registry, will it stop all telemarketing calls?

A: No. Placing your number on the National Do Not Call Registry will stop most, but not all, telemarketing calls. You may still receive calls from political organizations, charities, telephone surveyors or companies with which you have an existing business relationship.

I think the allowed types of organizations are a lot more tolerable than someone trying to sell me into a book club.

Re:Bit of info....

[MImeKillEr]

While the Do-Not-Call list does protect you from unsolicited calls from private groups, it does not protect you from non-profit groups (such as charities).

True, but I *think* they still have to remove you from their calling list if you request it. Failure to do so is punishable by a $500 fine.

Fortunately, most charities get the picture when you tell them you're not interested. I've not had to tell a charity more than once.

Re:Bit of info....

[RESPAWN]

While I'm glad I some protection from telemarketers I know I am still going to get calls from the police asking for donations and silently threatening to ticket me if I don't donate.

Have you ever thought about the fact that it's probably not a policeman calling you soliciting you for donations, and that the person calling to solicit donations could in fact be from an outside contracting company? I spent some time working for such a company in my local area. (Don't worry I wasn't a telemarketer for them.) The "police officers" that called (who btw, never explicitly say that they are police officers) were merely normal people in a room with a list of phone numbers. They work for a company who contracts out to various police organizations to solicit donations for them, pick up the donations, and then give the donations to the non-profit group. There was no bad guy list also submitted to the police with the identifying information of those who did not donate. Although a donation and the applicaiton of a sticker to your car may help keep you from getting ticketed (I believe it did me once), there is no penalty for not donating, despite what may be implied.

Caveat: This was only in my area. It may be different in other areas and with larger non-profit organizations for whom it is more financially viable to handle the solicitations and collecting in house instead of farming it out to a telemarketing company. But even in those situations I'm betting that the callers would still be normal people simply working for a pay check whose only motivation to get you to donate is their commission. Most real police officers have better things to do with their time.

Re:Bit of info....

[mikeboone]

Beware of those police "charities." There might be some legit ones out there, but I've gotten calls from several who use professional fund-raising firms to call you and then the firm keeps 80% or more of the donation. And often the donation isn't even tax deductible.

Useless...

[Bull999999]

I signed up for it but I still get calls from my in-laws.

Re:Useless...

[i.r.id10t]

The difference between in-laws and outlaws is that outlaws are wanted....

Re:Useless...

[Odin's Raven]

Bull999999 quoth: I signed up for it but I still get calls from my in-laws.

Didn't you read the exemption list?

Brother-in-law: Bull, we're a little short on cash this month, could you lend us a bit to tide us over until payday?
DNC Status: Exempt, charity call

Brother-in-law: Bull, would you rather keep working in that dead-end programming job, or get a great job selling Amway products like I do?
DNC Status: Exempt, poll

Sister-in-law: Bull-wife, I don't know why you stay with that good-for-nothing man of yours. You ought to kick him out and look for a better partner. There's a guy in my AA meeting who's an ideal candidate.
DNC Status: Exempt, political campaign

Mother-in-law: Bull, my daughter deserves someone better than you.
DNC Status: Exempt during first 18 months of marriage (purchased product from caller).

great

[Cyn]

Excellent reminder slashdot - thanks - I'd hate to miss out with the deadline only 2 days away... now I'll just hop on over to the site.... oh hmm well it's not responding. Oh well, I'm sure it'll be back before the deadline - I mean, it's not like it got slashdotted.

Oh.

Out of a total 110 million "households"

[Peter Simpson]

(from the US census) Now, I realize that's probably not a valid comparison, there are probably many more phones than "households", but it's got to be close (within an order of magnitude?).

That means 50% of the households don't want junk phone calls. I'd say that's a pretty big "get stuffed" to the telemarketing industry.

And those are only the ones that cared/figured out/remembered to sign up!

Congress & FTC...are you listening?

Re:Out of a total 110 million "households"

[Sphere1952]

"That means 50% of the households don't want junk phone calls. I'd say that's a pretty big "get stuffed" to the telemarketing industry."

That means 50% of the households don't want junk phone calls so badly they rushed to sign up the instant they heard about it.

You get 50% doing anything in the U.S. and that means there's 49% that just didn't get around to it.

Re:Out of a total 110 million "households"

[Peter Simpson]

Like I said, it's probably off, but not by more than a factor of 3.

BTW, telemarketing to cell phones is federally prohibited now. I have never gotten a telemarketing call to my cell, and I believe there is a bit in the number assignment record that defines pay/hotel/business/cell/residence/etc, so that list is apparently already being checked.

But yes, I signed up my cell, too, simply because the web site says you can. Nevertheless, 40+ million phone numbers is enough to make a very clear point!

In other news

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

The government has managed in a surprisingly small amount of time to compile a database linking phone numbers and email addresses with 41M entries.

I'm sure it'll be used only for opt-in telemarketting. I mean, what else could be done with such a database?

Re:In other news

[aardvarkjoe]

You've got me. What could be done with a database of email + phone numbers?

Now, what's really frightening is that somebody has created a database linking phone numbers with names and home addresses. Imagine all the horrible things that could be done with this.

Watch out for the new ticks

[_LORAX_]

Be wary of the following if you have signed up for the list.

• Freebies: Often they come with the fine print that you exempt yourself from the list for 18 months.
  
• Sweepstakes: Ditto
  
• Checkout phone requests: If you give them your # they can call you
  
• Many many other tricks
  

Basicly there are only a few cases where you can legitimatly recieve calls.

• Charities
  
• Politicians
  
• To set up a personal meeting where no selling occurs over the phone
  

So just watch the fine print on anyhting that you put your phone # on or you could end up making the DNC list useless.

States are adding en-mass

[peterdaly]

I know New York State added their entire existing state wide do not call list into the national one.

If many states are doing that it is not suprising the number is that high.

-Pete

Re:3 are mine

[freeze128]

When can you sign up again? I thought you could sign up anytime. If the next opening for sign-up is in 5 years, then I'm gonna just pull the ringer out of my phone.

It's not ending; it's just updated quarterly

[Animats]

It's "business-friendly" - the database only gets updated every quarter. If you sign up next week, you get into the next quarterly update.

Re:80 %?

[mz001b]

The FTC has estimated that the list will block about 80 percent of telemarketing calls. Charities, pollsters and political campaigns are exempt. In addition, a company may call a person if he or she has bought, leased or rented from the firm in the previous 18 months or has inquired about or applied for something during the past three months.

Political campaigns?... crap, I can see it now. Hi I'm calling from Ace Windshield Replacement. We're running for California governor, but enough about that, let me tell you about windows. With your appropriate donation to our busine...err, campaign, we can repair any windows in your vehicle...

Argues for a National-Please-call list

[goombah99]

Given this is close to half the housholds in america, and is only the people with the energy to actually make the effort to register, it seem pretty clear that the default assumption should be opt-out not opt-in. Indeed I cant think of a clearey more convincing way to demonstrate this than this very fact.

The needs to be a national please-phone-spam me list. you could even make it valuable to telemarketers and raise money too by

1) selling this list to them.
2) having sub categories on the list for various types of calls the recipiuent welcomes such as

i) get rich quick
ii) Roofing companies only in your area this week
iii) "free" vacations in a condo time share.
iiii) changing your phone company
iv) call me if I'm already an instant winner

Re:This would be great if it worked

[afidel]

The national DNC list does not take effect until Oct 1 so give it some time =)

Re:This would be great if it worked

[N7DR]

I am on the Colorado list. Not long ago I got a call and, since I had nothing much better to do, talked to the telemarketer nicely to extract as much info as possible (since it's my experience that as soon as you take a combative approach, they hang up before you've got enough information to report them).

I then went to the Web site to report them. The Web site makes it clear that the whole do-not-call system only works properly if violators are reported. So I went through a few pages of filling out forms with all the tedious details of the call. Then I hit the "submit" button and get a "your submission could not be processed" error.

OK, thinks I. This is because the morons expect me to be using IE. So I went through it all again using IE instead of Firebird. Same thing.

So I send them an e-mail at the mailto address, telling them that I wanted to report a violation and was unable to do so because the web site repeatedly gave me an error when trying to process the information.

I never heard anything from them.

I'm not sure what to conclude from this story. But I ended up being even more ticked off at the state government than I was at the telemarketer. And that's a pretty high threshold to reach.

I sure hope that the national list has a more effective mechanism for reporting offenders.

Re:3 are mine

[-Surak-]

You can sign up any time, but telespammers are only required to check the master list once every three months. So if you wait until after the 31st, they won't need to stop calling your number until Feb 1st (instead of Oct 1st). They explain it on the front page of the donotcall.gov site.

Re:Rights?

[Anonymous Coward]

America, not only do business have the right to an opportunity to make money, they have the RIGHT to make money.

So nice if you to join us, Mr. Valenti.

Here is how one guy got 'em good...

[twoslice]

Tom Mabe

He went to a telemarketing convention and got a hotel room under an assumed name, dialed up rooms at random trying to sell them shit in the wee hours of the morning. He has produced a CD on it and it is quite funny to see telemarketers really pissed at him...

Re:Rights?

[carbon3C]

What about the rights of the individual to NOT ANSWER or to HANG UP on telemarketers. What about the right of the individual to block the intrusion in the first place? I never never never answer my phone when it says "Out of area". Should marketers have the right to turn on your TV set any time of the day so they can share their ads with you?!?!? According to your twisted view of things, it sounds like they should. The cost of productivity due to telemarketer interruptions is so high that we should be allowed to sue for damages. Give me a break. Since when do rights allow others to encroach upon another individual or his property against his will?

Re:Rights?

[514x0r]

and anti-drug laws infringe on drug dealers rights to make money selling drugs.....

Got shell scripting?

[JiffyPop]

Am I the only person with a strong urge to write a program to put every number in the US on the list? :) A little wget in a loop, an email parser that waits for messages from register@donotcall.gov... would hardly be impossible.

That would be an incredibly huge finger to give the telemarketers

Re:Got shell scripting?

[cK-Gunslinger]

Sounds good in theory (you'd probably need your own domain, as each group of 3 numbers probably needs a unique email addy), but it would probably do more harm than good. It would probably be obvious that someone "cheated" and the TM's would petition the gov that the list is invalid and can't be used at all.

Why not just sign up all the numbers that affect you personally, and let eveyone else do the same?

I'm sorry...

[gfxguy]

I'm failing to see why eliminating the jobs of people whose job it is to annoy other people is a bad thing. I'm just not seeing the downside, here.

Re:I'm sorry...

[fucksl4shd0t]

I'm failing to see why eliminating the jobs of people whose job it is to annoy other people is a bad thing. I'm just not seeing the downside, here.

Yeah, I really don't wanna have to resort to a B ark, especially since I'm a marketing consultant.

Great source of telephone numbers

[W33dz]

I can't help but wonder how long it will take before some offshore telemarketing company uses this lovely list as a source for valid numbers? Yes, yes, it will be illegal. No, no, the man in Malaysia doesn't care, and the company selling the goods has deniability because the marketing is outsourced. FWIW, I signed up last month.

Re:Need help remembering

[mercuryresearch]

I remember it as well. I think this is the one:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~egbg/counterscript.html

Re:This is a horrible idea

[boarder]

"At the end of the day, you've taken away jobs and hurt the economy. That's why this is a bad idea."

That is the worst and most idiotic argument for telemarketing I've ever heard... and it is the exact one that telemarketers use.

Yes, it will take away jobs, but you know what? I don't give a crap. Screw those people for taking a job harassing me. It's called capitalism: the market doesn't want them, so they don't prosper. Would you complain if they made SPAM illegal?

As for hurting the economy, I doubt that will matter in the long term. Sure, there will be a lot of lost jobs; but they aren't highly skilled/trained jobs, so those people can move to any other unskilled labour position. The market will adjust.

41 million people DON'T WANT THEM CALLING! That's about as many people as voted for G.W.Bush. I'm on the DMA's no call list, and I still get calls... that shows their self-regulating DOES NOT WORK!

Yeah.

[dolson]

I know you hate telemarketing calls, and I hate them too, but I work there to pay my bills (hopefully temporarily), and some people do actually like telemarketers (doesn't make sense to me, but it's true).

Please, don't be rude about it... If you don't want to be called, you can do something about it without being an ass.

Here's what you do if someone calls you:

[telemarketer] Hi this is Dana calling on behalf of SBC...
[you] Hi Dana, I'm not really interested in any telemarketing calls... Can you tell me who it is that employs you?
[telemarketer] Yes, I work for TeleSpectrum.
[you] Okay Dana, can you put me on TeleSpectum's Do Not Call list, AND send me your DNC policy in the mail?
[telemarketer] Okay, I will do that.

That's as simple as it is, and you'll get a copy of the TeleSpectrum DNC policy, which states that if we violate your request, you can sue for X amount of dollars. So, the next time we call you, if it happens, it would look like this:

[telemarketer] Hi this is Jim calling on behalf of SBC...
[you] Hi Jim, I'm not really interested in any telemarketing calls... Can you tell me who it is that employs you?
[telemarketer] Yes, I work for TeleSpectrum.
[you] Okay Jim. I am supposed to be on TeleSpectum's Do Not Call list. Can I please speak with your supervisor?
[telemarketer] Okay, please hold the line.

Alternately, you could sign up online on as many call centers as you can ( example: http://telespectrum.com/ct_dnc_request.asp ) which would achieve the same basic effect.

Re:Yeah.

[AuMatar]

I'll stop being rude the instant you do. The fact that you call me to bother me and interrupt my family time makes you a prick. If you had the minimum amount of human decency, you wouldn't have taken a job that requires you to annoy, bother, and harass people. Seeing as you did, you deserve whatever you get.

Re:Yeah.

[All Names Have Been]

I know you hate telemarketing calls, and I hate them too but I work there to pay my bills...

I know you hate having your kneecaps pulled off with rusty pliers - I hate it too! - But the local mob boss said I had to and it pays my bills.

I wonder how much time I'd waste per day fucking around with your little "get me off the list" script. I get 12 calls a day from your peers. Seriously. It's so bad I don't answer the phone anymore unless I recognize the caller ID or someone I know leaves a message. The DNC registry can't come quick enough for me and I'll be glad when most of this "industry" of selling vinyl siding and double glazing goes tits up. Screw you all.

Re:Yeah.

[TheOldFart]

You are absolutely right. If it wasn't by telemarketers I would have lost my job a long time ago. See... after talking to my manager, all I can think of is dropping napalms on some children orphanage (is there another kind?). But then, at the end of the day, every single day, I receive my dose of unsolicited calls from you. That's when I exercise my anger management:

[telemarketer] Hi this is Jemima calling on behalf of SBC...
[me] I don't use SBC. How would you like my cock up your fucking ass right now?
[telemarketer] You don't need to be so rude
[me] You don't need to fucking call me every fucking minute of the day you fucking, cock sucking whore.
[click]

It works wonder and you feel much better...

Please keep calling me. My manager appreciates how calm I am under so much pressure.

So why isn't she suing?

[jridley]

I think you can immediately sue any company that calls a cell phone number. Free money.

Re:This would be great if it worked

[FlyGirl]

I sure hope that the national list has a more effective mechanism for reporting offenders.

They, at least, include a phone number.

From http://www.donotcall.gov/FAQ/FAQConsumers.aspx

For more information, see the privacy policy. You may also call 1-888-382-1222 to submit a complaint; for TTY, call 1-866-290-4236

Good way for phone company to make money

[mfrank]

One of the phone companies needs to come up with a service where if you get an unwanted call, you can press *38 (star-F-U) and the caller gets billed a dollar. They'd make a fortune.

Charity begins on the phone...

[jefu]

I've said a couple times that I expect soon for the telemarketers to make deals with charities, so that they'll be calling on behalf of the charity but selling the same old crap. That way they'll be immune to the do-not-call list.

I've been told I'm far too cynical about that though and that it will never happen. If I were a betting human though I'd place a bet on it and I'd say it will be about October that you'll start getting the calls from them.

Then they'll figure out how to use the "existing business relationship angle" and the do not call registry will be worth all the paper its EULA is printed on.

Re:This would be great if it worked

[El]

This sounds like the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Operating on the "it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission" they came out and set up an insect trap on my property (never mind the 6 "no trespassing" signs) with a "call this number to have the trap removed" message on the side. Of course, every time I called the number, it told me "this voice mail box is full and cannot record any more messages!" Arrghh!!! If you think the State feels any obligation to look out for your rights as an individual, you're delusional.

Re:This is a horrible idea

[El]

At the end of the day, you've taken away jobs and hurt the economy. That's why this is a bad idea.

That's why it's a bad idea to pass laws against those people that stand on streets asking for money, then screaming obscenities at the people that don't give them any... you see, if you make this illegal, than you've taken away these people's jobs and hurt the economy. Liquor stores and drug dealers in your city will be forced out of business! Think of the children!

Your freedom to swing your fist ends where my nose begins. Unsolicited callers are clearly infringing on MY rights. If you've got a business model that requires you to make cold calls to attract suckers, I would suggest that you don't have a business model, you've got an extortion racket.

Re:This is a horrible idea

[raygundan]

You have got to be kidding. I have, over the last 8 to 10 years, asked to be added to the do-not-call list of EVERY TELEMARKETER who called my house when I was home to answer. I *STILL* got 3 or 4 calls a day from telemarketers during the evening hours when I was home. Suing? Yeah, right. You folks may be required by law to identify yourselves, but just TRY to prove which calling center called you from the end of the average telephone user. Centers call on the behalf of multiple companies, and we have no idea which center you're calling from. If I ask who you are, you fuckers hang up. You block my goddamn caller ID. I go right back on your lists every time I move, and you seem to have a hard time finding where you put that darned list in the first place-- because NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I ASK TO BE REMOVED, my average daily number of telemarketing calls DOES NOT CHANGE. If centers are actually no longer calling, they must be notifying other centers to pick up the slack, or closing down and moving to a new office every 3 months so they can pitch the list and be a "new call center".

The only thing that stopped it was my state's do-not-call list. This new DNC list adds another level of federal fun to the overwhelming national sentiment that telemarketing sucks poop right out of a hose attached to the collective asses of every cow in North America. Don't freaking call me. And don't take jobs that violate your principles, especially if you "don't care if they shut down tomorrow."

No, we couldn't have stopped it "a long time ago". We tried and tried. Now, the law has been changed, and we have a reasonable recourse. Don't like it? Well, golly-gosh-dangit-- too bad.

wow, thanks for making my point

[boarder]

"You could have requested to be added to the do
not call lists for each individual call center,
and eventually you'd have been removed from all
the call centers."

Umm, I do just that. Every time any telemarketer calls while I'm home, I tell them that. I also ask them if they are a member of the DMA (which most aren't). This will NEVER stop the illegal auto-dialed calls... it also doesn't stop the calls that come from companies that hang up if they call you and THEIR reps aren't available to talk to you (but keep your number in their list). One company called twice a day for 3 weeks only to hang up because nobody was there on their end (I called the atty general to file a complaint and finally got the issue resolved).

The whole point is that saying "put me on your do not call list" DOES NOT WORK. And, even if it did, it would take a year to get through to every call center that might call me if I waited for them to call. Not only that, but once I move and change phone numbers, the calls start right back up... a central do not call list allows me to quickly stop those calls again.

"And if they called you back within 10 years,
you could sue them. That's the law."

Have you tried to sue a telemarketer for calling? I have. It is not easy, and I did end up giving up. First off, getting the necessary info from them takes knowledge of what you need. Next, you have to go through a long, arduous process of court systems and contacting call centers and proof and stuff like that. It sucks.

"You're probably also the kind of person who
gets mad if we call as early as 8AM or as late
as 9PM, aren't you? Well, that's the US law, so
if you don't like it, contact your government
and get your laws changed."

Ummm... excuse me? Isn't that EXACTLY what this story is about? We, the U.S. people, are saying we don't want you to call. The government is finally listening and changing the law. Now, the telemarketers are getting angry. They don't like it? That's the law, as you say.

Re:This is a horrible idea

[cpeterso]

but if you dismantle the do-not-call list, you are taking away the jobs of do-not-call list admins!

Re:This is a horrible idea

[jridley]

You're not doing it right then.
When a telemarketer calls, you don't say "please put me on your do-not-call list."

You say "Please put me on the do-not-call list for EVERY company that your firm represents."

I started doing this a few years ago, and within 6 months, NO TM calls, except for piddly little local places like one-man heating duct cleaning places just going through the phone book at night, and that's like 3 a year.

Also, the DMA's "no junk mail" list works. I sent mine in, and I haven't seen a credit card application or anything else like it for a couple of years.

But I still like this, and signed up for it the first day. If there were 100 ways to tell TMs to frag off, I'd do them all.