It's not just the everyday citizen; it's not just Congress. A Federal judge also appears ready to tell the telemarketers to go to hell, because he refused to grant a preliminary injunction preventing the implementation of the national "do not call" list, because they were unlikely to win the case.
Though I live at college right now and don't get any calls like that, I'm glad to know that this idea is going forward.
Now all we need is a national "do not e-mail" list to round out the package...
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Well, if that single all purpose number thing ever happens you supposedly will be able to....
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"The telemarketers had asked West to suspend new rules that require them to ... get explicit permission before putting charges on credit-card accounts."
Erm... Last time I checked, charging something to someone's credit card w/o their permission is generally known as "fraud" and/or "theft".
Posted by Futurama Guy (Member # 968) on :
"arguing it violates free-speech rights"...
I am so sick of this claim...I think it is overly abused and misused utter bullshit.
Anyway, my roomate and I just moved to a new apartment and got a new phone number and within a week we were getting these kind of calls. To make matters worse the individual who used to have this number still gets those calls here, as well, adding insult to injury.
On an average day, if we are not intentionally online to prevent the calls, we probably request to be put on 'do not call lists' up to 3 times per day!
Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
quote: Now all we need is a national "do not e-mail" list to round out the package...
International, more like. I get about 10-15 junk e-mails per day, even with filters on (Granted, that is on Hotmail, but still).
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
quote:Originally posted by Futurama Guy: "arguing it violates free-speech rights"...
I am so sick of this claim...I think it is overly abused and misused utter bullshit.
Anyway, my roomate and I just moved to a new apartment and got a new phone number and within a week we were getting these kind of calls.
That's because the phone company sells your nice (likely unlisted) phone number to telemarketers along with all the info you give them when you got your phone, including your address and age. How do you think you get junk mail? Get a cell phone and you won't have to worry about it. Personally, I sometimes keep the telemarketer on the line for as long as possible while I watch TV ot look online, hear all about the free gift/ great deal/ new service then tell them to remove me from their list and go to hell. I still get the machine calls though: and always while I'm sleeping too! What's the point of having the machine call someone and not even a recording playing (just silence)? Demographics?
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
I have my work number on my home answering machine so I can get scalls about freelance work. I've had telemarketers call me at work before trying to sell me investment opportunities. I tell them, "Look... this is my *day* job. I'm going home tonight to work on the freelance stuff that constitutes my *night* job. Do you think I have $5000 just sitting around to give to you? Ba-bye."
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote: Get a cell phone and you won't have to worry about it.
You'd think that'd work, but it doesn't. I've received telemarketing calls to my mobile on several occasions, one of which bizarrely was from someone with a strong Indian accent asking if I would like to buy a mobile phone...if only someone would build in a function that allows you to blast ear piercing feedback down the phone line at the touch of a button.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
I thought telemarketers calling cells was supposed to be illegal...?
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
Apparantly not in the UK it isn't.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
quote:Originally posted by Reverend: [QB] I've received telemarketing calls to my mobile on several occasions, one of which bizarrely was from someone with a strong Indian accent asking if I would like to buy a mobile phone...
My mom works for a collection agency that has recently closed several offices and moved them to India where the payroll is only a tiny fraction of that in the US. You'd think that long distance charges would make that kind of call cost prohibitive, but apartantly not. Don't be suprised to hear a lot more solicitors with an Indian accent if the telemarketing bill is passed: a nice loophole, no?
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Call centers have always been located in out of the way areas. (There's one in Yakima, ClientLogic, and we're, like, not a booming economic region.) Physical location is, after all, all but irrelevant, so why not go where the rents are cheap? (In our case, the now all but abandoned husk of the once thriving Yakima Mall.)
I was collecting news articles about this phenomenon, because it is all tasty and global, but I lost it. I should have put it up on my SUPER CRAZY WEBLOG! Er, but, anyway, a quick google produces a few items of note to anyone interested:
Uh, and there was an article in Salon once. But I can't seem to find it. Here's one about Indian Star Trek fans, though. Because, see, there are a lot of these call centers in India. Which is what I was searching for. What?
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I've gotten weird calls on my cell phone as well, probably because it's not a cell phone specific number. Also, we've gotten our fair share of telemarketers calling. And the ones that are silent are really annoying. I remember one night someone put in the wrong number for a fax machine and we kept on getting fax calls for like 10 minutes. It would call like 30s after we'd hang up. Finally my mom found out the number and called the place that was sending the faxes.
And, I've heard it said that SJ is the call center capital of Canada or something. We have ClientLogic here as well, I think.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
Ooh, fax calls are always SOO much fun. I usually turn on the fax software and intercept them, then trace them back to the source. OR you could just get online until they go away...
Posted by Cartmaniac (Member # 256) on :
Remember my problem solving flowsheet? Well... I've got quite a few of them juuuuust for telemarketeers. Nothing so gratifying as turning the tables on those irritant leeches.
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
We have a separate phone line for internet, so that wouldn't work. And we don't have fax software either.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
The place I worked at, a tele-research/opinion place, had an auto dialer. They would get the exchange numbers from the telco for the various area codes and set it up to dial, 810-982-0000 to 810-982-9999, so we would get a lot of people that had unlisted numbers without actually buying them from the telcos, which is what happens when they don't ask for a person by name.
A switching error occured and when we were conducting our polls the people that asked to be deleted didn't get deleted, which caused a few problems.
Nothing so gratifying as turning the tables on those irritant leeches.