NEVERENDING SAGA: Who's calling your house?

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Marty

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2002
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Location
Tennessee
If there is one thing I cannot stand its telephone solicitors calling me anymore. I have had a lot of trouble with them in the past and here it goes yet again. I understand very well how in this day and age people are desperate to have a job. Telephone soliciting is a job and they should not have to be yelled at and hung up on rudely and deserve a little respect. As a rule, I’m very courteous and speak politely to them, “Yes ma’am and Yes sir followed by a “No thank you.” It never hurts to be polite. After all, they are working and not living off of the government and my tax dollars and taking hand outs, right? Right; but there should be some rules about this procedure. Actually there are, but nobody seems to want to play by the rules. You can sign up to be on the “Do not call list” for what its worth and it may or may not work. I was on the “Do not call list” and I kept getting calls anyhow. I found out I have to constantly keep signing up for it about every three months and eventually, the bulk of the calls should stop. They didn’t stop. I get calls about everything.

I have had calls asking me to donate money for every organization ever invented. They make me feel backed into a corner when I do not or can not contribute to their cause. It’s almost embarrassing. I explain that I have certain charities that I support and although I am sure their charity is important, I have just enough to budget mine in and no more. I do what I can but let’s face it, enough is enough and I shouldn’t have to be put in the position to explain myself in the first place so I politely say “No thank you” and apologize.

Then there are the Robot Calls. That’s where you answer the ringing phone, only to be told to hold on for the next available representative while they shoot some elevator music in your ear. What the heck is that about? So trying to be polite, or rather stupid, yes, I admit I hold. And yes, being polite, I also have responded to the Robot, “Yes, I’ll hold.” That’s correct, I’ve been talking back to the robot on occasion. (Smacks head with hand). Then they have a menu come on and ask me to press one for English????? Ok you got to be kidding me. The Robot just ticked me off. That did it. I hung up.

And what about the Robot that calls and says “This is an important announcement that the warranty on my vehicle has expired?” Huh? What warranty and what vehicle? I didn’t know my vehicle was under any warranty in the first place. It’s such a load of bull. Another ploy to buy, buy, buy whatever they are selling. “No thank you,” I don’t want any.

How many times have you been home alone and in the shower, all soaped up, just applied your best shampoo in you hair and the phone rings. You know you should let it ring and let the answer phone will get it. But you also know you can’t stand that and this call could be the one you are waiting for; an important call. Don’t deny it. You know you are going to run naked through the house to get that phone no matter what. You grab a towel, thrust your lathered up self out of the tub, run down the hall, jump over the sleeping old deaf dog, bang you kneecap on the corner of the coffee table, stub your toe on the chair and head launch yourself into the wall with gusto…….but hey, you got to the phone in time. And guess who it is? You got it; a telephone solicitor.

I have had calls from people asking me to buy anything from peanut butter to buttons and after a while, this becomes very old and quite annoying.

Sears was nice in offering to give me free estimates on several services and when I politely told them “No thank you, we do all our own work” that was it, and they never bugged me again. Remodel America was a bit persistent for a few months. They said they were working in my neighborhood and would like to schedule an appointment with me. My neighborhood? I don’t think so because if they were, then why did they ask me for my address and want directions to my house? Someone is telling a fib. When they finally got it through their heads that I didn’t want to buy any rain gutters or vinyl siding, they backed off and I never heard from them again. Why is it so hard to comprehend that if I want their services, I’ll call them? I don’t need them calling me.

You really have to watch out for the ones that say they are the handicapped, or work for the Fraternal Order of Police or Fire Department. Boy have they ever gotten me ticked off. I did a bunch of checking through various ways and finally the telephone company helped out and most of these type of calls are not connected with handicapped people or police or fire departments whatsoever. They are solicitors who are also scammers. Not all, but many of them. It takes some doing to find out which ones are on the up-in-up and who are the actual imposters. These people are great. They want to befriend you and tell you all about their family and ask you about yours. They even want to know how you are doing and act like they really care. Then they hit you up to buy regular roll of wrapping paper for $75.00, and oh, lets not forget the roll of garbage bags for $60.00. I’ve already fallen for a scam a year ago from who I thought were Viet-Nam vets……..and I’ll never turn down a Viet-Nam vet cause……..but these were proven to be scammers 100% and I fell for them hook, line, and sinker. Not a Viet-Nam vet involved at all.

Then there are other kinds of phone people bugging me who have worn me to a frazzle. I share the same last name with probably a half a million people that apparently don’t pay their bills and for some reason, the bill collectors seem to think they all live in my house! That’s right, I am harboring a whole load of dirty no-counts who ran out on their debtors. I am constantly getting calls from this company and that company insisting that Joe Blow lives in my house and needs to step up and pay them what they are owed. But Joe Blow doesn’t live here! “I don’t even know Joe Blow,” I explain to no avail, but the calls keep coming. They start at 7:00 AM and end about 8:00 at night. I have explained nicely and politely to every single person that they have the wrong Joe Blow house and guess what? They are nice right back! They have even offered to take this number down and removed it from their list and make a note that Joe Blow doesn’t live here. Ahhhhhh, relief. Then sometimes I get really lucky and the bill collector will actually listen to my plea and offer to report this mistaken situation to their supervisor for me, promising I will never be bothered by them again. That’s wonderful! What a good sport! I am elated! Cheers and Rah. I finally got rid of a collection agency. Until I find out its all a LIE LIE LIE because come 7:00 AM the next morning, the phone is a ringing off the hook for the likes of Joe Blow.

So then I decided to get smart and copy their phone numbers on my caller ID on a piece of paper. I thought that if I keep a record of their phone numbers, I’ll outsmart them and not answer the phone when their number shows up. Well oopsie, that didn’t work out at all. These people have endless millions of different phone numbers.

These people harass me, hound me, and make me crazy and I don’t want to be nice anymore. They are breaking me down and wearing me out and I’m beginning not to be very cheery towards them. I’m loosing my sense of humor fast and I know someday soon I will explode on them. I know these folks are only trying to do their jobs and collect money that is probably rightly due to them, so I have to keep that in mind. I do want them to hold down a job but gee whiz, it’s getting difficult for me to maintain a polite tone when I really am beginning to grit my teeth.

The other day, finally, the you- know- what hit the fan. That’s because I was in the tub again when the phone rang. Yes of course I knew I should have let it ring. I jiggled and flapped myself down that hall as fast as I could. Just picture Shamoo the Whale out of water flailing around dripping suds all over the place. Not a pretty sight, and I stubbed my toe for the last time. As soon as they asked to speak to Joe Blow, I no longer could contain myself and let it rip like you cannot believe. No more Mrs. Nice Guy. I opened up a can of whoop butt on them and my potty mouth emerged as I let out the big ones as loud as I could and hung up. That’s right; I let them have it and I’m not proud of it. And darn it there ain’t a band aid left in the house for my big stubbed toe because this time I ripped the nail half way off of it.

I complained yet again to the local telephone company who thinks I should change my phone number. No, that’s not an option for someone who has had the same number for 14 years. I cannot even remember my zip code half the time and you want me to have to learn a new phone number? Nope, that’s 2 more numbers than the zip code and that would be a brain-overload for me at this stage in the game so that ain’t gonna happen. The other suggestion was to renew my update on the “Do not call list” which I do every single week now and we already know that doesn’t help. So here is the new plan as per the telephone company: Instead of giving the solicitors information they ask for, I am to turn the tables on them and ask them for their information; the name of their company, address, phone number, record the date and time of call, whatever I can get. That’s right; the second they call before they get a chance to say one thing, I’m to say : Who is this, what is the name of your company, where are you located, what is your name, what is the address of your company and so on. Then report their sorry buttes to T.R.A. which is the Tennessee Regulatory Authority who oversees the Do Not Call List. Then they are supposed to go to bat for people who get phone calls like this, investigate, and then send them a fine for each report against them. Sounds good to me. There is one in your state too! So I called and spoke to Hal. Hal isn’t really his name. He gives you a number to call him instead of a name, but I call him Hal. Hal is now my new best friend and he’s going to help me out and hopefully stop a lot of the calls. He’s a special Agent of some kind and helps stop nuisance calls. I love Hal. What a guy.

Meanwhile this is exhausting and I am no longer in good spirits speaking to so many strangers wanting so much from me. Telephone soliciting is an invasion in my life in a way and I really feel it needs to be stopped by our government 100%. That means no calls asking me to make a purchase from them, no calls asking me for donations, and no calls looking for Joe Blow because he does not live in my house. The Do Not Call List is just not enough. All soliciting needs to be stopped period.

By the way, I finally got to the store and picked up a box of band-aids for my toes, just in case ,my pal Hal messes up.
 
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Boy can I agree with this. I get calls all the time about the warranty on my vechicle has expired yah on a 10 year old car no kidding. The other one I get all the time is to lower my intrest rate on my credit cards I dont't know how many of these I have stay on the line just to tell them I don't own a stupid credit card. But do you think they well take me off their llist I think not.

Boy I wish they would get the message.
 
When that stuff was happening to me, I hung up on robots.

When it was a live human, I said very fast. Nothankyoutakemeoffyourcallinglistgoodbye and hung up. I hardly get any calls anymore. Guess word got out.
 
Marty, you always seem to crack me up! Your stories are so riveting and funny!

Sorry you hurt your toe-that makes you so mad but especially when it wouldnt have happened if you werent running to get a useless phone call!

Bummer U have such trouble. I am on the no call and dont get many calls, just from the people I do business with.

I have had our phone company call us more than once and I say " You all have already called me about this bundle-the answer was no" dont call me again!

I hope Hal helps you, so you keep all your toes attached!!
 
Marty! Did you drop the F-bomb???? TeeHee!

All I can picture is a weird little man hiding in the bushes with his cell phone,,, waiting waiting waiting for you to jump in the tub,,,, then dials 5 minutes later to get the see the one,,, the only,,, Martha Garrison bouncing soapy, peep show,,, including cuss words! Oh man you would make his day!

I don't know what to say our Do Not Call list seems to have worked here. Hardly ever get one and we signed up over two years ago.
 
My husband and I have gotten very close to just disconnecting the land line for this very reason. We both have cell phones that are in our pockets most of the time, that's the much surer way to reach us (most of our contacts know this). We are finally with a cell phone company that has really good coverage in our area - but that's a whole 'nother can of worms! I think soliciting on a cell is illegal, because it uses up the recipient's minutes.

We have a greeting on the answering machine that gives the cell numbers, and then leaves the option of leaving a message. We have gotten really good at not jumping when the phone rings. If you can't do that, I believe most phones have a switch that allows you to just turn the ringer off. If you did that, the first you would know of a call is when your answering machine picked up. I think I've heard that harrassing phone calls from collection agencies are also illegal, even when they have the right address! They certainly wouldn't want to leave a message telling a possible "Hal" where to contact them. Robodialers don't last through the greeting, of course, nor do most human telemarketers. Answering machines usually don't get rude or feel a need to explain themselves, sob stories get nowhere with them! Of course, if there's someone who's calls you can't miss, I guess this might not be an option for you.

Now that I think about it, I do know of one answering machine that got very rude. I saw a story in the paper by a guy that claimed to usually refrain from blue language. But he was making himself a cup of hot chocolate when the phone rang. He set the cup down on the counter and answered the phone, only to find it was the dreaded robot. At that point, his dog ran through the kitchen, chasing the cat, and snagged the phone cord. The phone was jerked out of the man's hand, it and the answering machine crashed to the floor, and the hot chocolate got knocked over and splashed all over the kitchen as well. He says he expressed his feelings in no uncertain terms. He had words for the dog, the cat, the hot chocolate, everything! Well, a few days later, a friend of his rather delicately expressed discomfort with his telephone greeting. When he finally figured out how to check it himself, he was appalled! When the machine hit the floor, it had apparently dumped his original message, and had recorded the whole tirade! No wonder no one had been leaving messages!
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I am on the no call list, and it seems to be working pretty well. However, when a call leaks through, I usually say"I am on the no call list, and by calling me you have violated a law. Do you realize you have just committed a felony? " Well, I don't know if it is a felony or not, but it sounds good. And it usually works.
 
My solution: Caller ID. If I don't recognize the number, I don't answer and they can leave a message. So, I apologize if anyone trys to call and I don't answer immediately! I only answer numbers I know and return calls to people I want to speak with!
 
My solution: Caller ID. If I don't recognize the number, I don't answer and they can leave a message. So, I apologize if anyone trys to call and I don't answer immediately! I only answer numbers I know and return calls to people I want to speak with!
We do the same here. Anyone that really knows us knows to call our cell phones, we only use the regular phone line for equipage or the computer.
 
My house phone is only connected to the computer. If you need to get a hold of me, everyone has my cell number...
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and both numbers are connected to the Do Not Call list.

Lucy
 
I also have caller ID so if I dont know the number, I wont answer it. I get alot of calles that I dont know on my cell and it tells me what state there from so if its not from ma, i wont answer it. lol. When my dad answers the phone and its a solicitor he'll play around with them and say that so and so passed away or what ever. its actually really funny.
 
Great story, Marty!

My favorite from back in the pre-caller ID days was a very vivacious saleswoman who wanted to clean my carpets. I told her I had dirt floors. She responded brightly, "We also clean upholstery!" I told her all my furnitiure was twig. She was undaunted. "Well, if you ever need cleaning, please call us!" By George, with a saleswoman like that, I probably would!
 
You should NOT have to keep signing up on the do not call list, and instead of five years, that has been made permanent for life! I would be writing to someone.

The Fire, Police, etc... departments asking for donations are not included in the do not call list restrictions. I have forgotten the reason why, but they are not.

Anyone else, that is trying to sell a product, have them give you their name and phone number and report them. There is a place on the website to report these people and they are subject to large fines.
 
First of all Marty my dear I feel your pain.

Second of all you need to do some funny charicatures to go along with your story and publish a cute little book on phone soliciters. That would be a hit.

I solved my phone calls problem by getting a cordless and answering machine that I can hear who is calling. So if its Mom I answer. I don't feel bad anymore about not answering, don't even register. The sales calls just go click. Sometimes people hang up so the dial tone comes on real loud, don't know what's up there.

My problem now is they are calling my work phone. Someone selling bridle something or other and a training org. I get 3 calls a day these days. Very distracting. I just say that not interested thank you good by thing.

Oh yeah Marty the visuals were quite interesting, been there with the flapping sensation, so LOL!
 

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