FTC prohibits prerecorded telemarketer messages.

[Splintered]

http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/08/19/2229245.shtml
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/31211

"In the ongoing battle to let us eat dinner in peace without being interrupted by amazingly annoying telemarketer blather, and in this case the even more infuriating recorded telemarketing drivel, the Federal Trade Commission today basically outlawed recorded telemarketing calls. Specifically, the FTC changed its venerable Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to prohibit, as of Sept. 2009, telemarketing calls that deliver prerecorded messages, unless a consumer has agreed to accept such calls from a given caller/seller. Between now and 2009, telemarketers must provide an obvious, easy and quick way for consumers to opt-out of any call, the FTC said. Such an opt-out mechanism needs to be in place by December 1, 2008."

Hallelujah! That puts one more barrier between me and those stupid telemarketers.

I'm happy, how about you?

[Godslayer Jillian]

I've never encountered this kind of problem before, so let me ask.
What do you mean by "easy and quick way for consumers to opt-out of any call"?
Can't they just hang up?

[Splintered]

It means that the telemarketer have to tell you how you can opt-out from being called again. If there isn't an opt-out system, the telemarketer could call you once, and then call you a week later, and then call you a week later after that, until you opted-out. Even then, they would make their systems of opting out hell (Like Opting-Out of spam messages). This prevents them from calling again, without facing penalties.

[x-deviant-x]

they call anyway. I registered both my house phones and both my cell phones with the national do not call list, which claims you have to allow 30 days for telemarketers to remove you from their system. it doesn't do any good. they just call asking for someone that doesn't live there, and when he isn't available they ask if you're interested. and their newest one starts off sounding like a survey and they want to give you a free gift that you only have to pay shipping and handling of $99. Or, they cut all the bull shit and just send you a subscription you didn't ask for, then send you a bill and if you don't pay it they turn you over to collections. One magazine did exactly that to me recently and good luck calling them to ask how the fuck they got my request for their magazine.

[Splintered]

Then report them.

Go to here: https://www.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspx Ask them for information, fill out the information and file a complaint.

If they bill you for something you didn't pay for, then I believe you can go after them for fraud. Find a legal forum and ask them about it, they'll be able to tell you what you can do about it.

A little bit of action goes a long way.

[Joker_in_the_Pack]

I have an easy way to deal with live telemarketers, it's called an Air Horn. Works wonders really.

[Renatus]

Originally Posted by Joker_in_the_Pack

I have an easy way to deal with live telemarketers, it's called an Air Horn. Works wonders really.

I saw it on Becker once, I've wanted to try it ever since.

[CptSternn]

Ironically enough the do not call list doesn't apply to government agencies. When I lived in the states they first implemented that law, yet the state police always rang me a few times a year to try and sell me shite I didn't want. I always told them I was on the list, they told me they were a government agency and it didn't apply.

After the first two time they did that I got creative. I just told them I was a felon just out of jail for killing a cop. Since cops are the ones making the calls, they either hang up or yell a few expletives and then hang up.

Either way, no more state police ringing me at 10 am on a saturday to sell me feckin' jellys and jams on the phone.

[Saya]

Canada won't get a no call list seems like the only people who called me when I had a home phone were telemarketers. I just hang up on the pre recorded, the only ones I got that weren't pre recorded was this organization of concerned parents something or other wanting me to join their cause, had a fun argument that time. She said that Hollywood makes too many R rated movies and not enough family movies, I just argued that I'm a young adult, I don't have kids and I'm the one watching the R rated movies. We debated for like half an hour. Then a few months later a guy called me from the same organization and said it was a follow up.

Caller: Can I speak to the man of the house?
Me: There is no man of the house.
Caller:........Okay, I'll call back later.

I got confused, is he gonna call back when I start living with a man?

[Minyaliel]

Telemarketing... can be fun. I don't know how many of the poor buggers I've verbally abused, but it's dangerously close to becoming a hobby. My favourite strategy is to pretend I've got a really bad case of Tourette's... It sounds cruel, but it is very funny. I consider it a revenge for even considering spending my precious time on trash.

[metum_capere]

yay! I just got a new cell phone and number.. i keep getting prerecorded collection calls for the previous owner of the cell number. so annoying. maybe this will stop prerecorded collection calls too? If there was an actual person on the line, I could at least tell them to fuck off.

[Sir_Vex]

Is there really this much of an issue with telemarketers calling cell phones? I've never had an issue with my cell phone.

[Nocturne Midnight]

Generally when they call my house I'll whisper a hello. They'll generally get right to business and ask if I want to buy whatever. I act like I'm interested then I start screaming stuff like "Oh my god! He's coming into the house! Please I don't wanna die! I don't wanna--" then I hit the phone on my desk. Needless to say, they generally hang up.

[x-deviant-x]

lol

we've been getting ring tone blasts over our cell phones lately. It's basically a pre-recorded message that's kind of like a text, only it has voice, so you don't even have to answer the phone to hear them try to sell you their junk. the recording comes on when the phone rings, regardless of what ring tone you have set, and the number to call to buy their crap shows up as a text message.

And even better, it doesn't seem to matter whether the ringer is off or not, however that might just be because my phone is shit, since it likes to ring even when i have it on silent or vibrate.

[TheBloodEternity]

Originally Posted by Nocturne Midnight

Generally when they call my house I'll whisper a hello. They'll generally get right to business and ask if I want to buy whatever. I act like I'm interested then I start screaming stuff like "Oh my god! He's coming into the house! Please I don't wanna die! I don't wanna--" then I hit the phone on my desk. Needless to say, they generally hang up.

Lmao!
I would do that, but knowing my luck the cops would show up at my door seeing what happened.

I keep getting these calls asking about a personal I filled out online or something, and I've never filled out any personals! It freaks me out because they know my name.

[Sir_Vex]

Whenever the call and ask for my father, I tell them he's dead and I'm offended that they'd call asking for a deceased family member. Usually they proceed to ask for my mother then.

[Solumina]

I don't really mind the people, they usually apologize if I politely tell them that I'm doing something and that I would prefer not to receive any calls in the future. Also I have never had someone ask for my mother after hearing that my father is dead, they are usually quite apologetic and say that they will make a note of it so that we don't get anymore calls asking for him. *shrug* Telemarketers are people too, they are just trying to make a living and it isn't their fault that the company that they work for has them working in call centers that call places in multiple time zones

[x-deviant-x]

i used to be one of them and i still don't like them. i used to collect donations for the state troopers association. lol. what a rip-off that was. we weren't allowed to say that we were troopers, but we were suppose to lead the "customer" into believing as much. if they asked directly we had to tell them, but there were ways around that too. a lot of donations for police are conducted by a 3rd party company, that keeps 70 to 80% of the proceeds.

i'm rarely rude to callers, until they won't take no for an answer. or when they call trying to sell me an overpriced vacation package for the city i live in. we got a call once from a bitch that would not hang up until she discovered we're a gay couple and said it was only for straight people.

[Sir_Vex]

Originally Posted by Solumina

I don't really mind the people, they usually apologize if I politely tell them that I'm doing something and that I would prefer not to receive any calls in the future. Also I have never had someone ask for my mother after hearing that my father is dead, they are usually quite apologetic and say that they will make a note of it so that we don't get anymore calls asking for him. *shrug* Telemarketers are people too, they are just trying to make a living and it isn't their fault that the company that they work for has them working in call centers that call places in multiple time zones

The vast majority of the time they don't seem remorseful or even mention that they won't call for him again. It's just, "Oh. Is your mother there?"

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

I like the telemarketers and surveyors who start talking at the speed of light the second you even think of saying "Hello?"
I got one that asked me "LKILEJRNLKUFSIUFHHELHKDJFJCARWSFHUIERKJDRIVERSLhw eyuriiwFDJjhaluehrlakherlajbluaserne"