Cell Phone Telemarketing

[pappyld04]

I didn't check the validity here since I despise cell phones but I just recieved this eMail!

Subject: Cell Phone Telemarketing

REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public today

REMINDER... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow and you will start to receive sale calls.

.... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.

It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.. It takes about 20 seconds.

[mystofpric]

This is true actually. I used to recieve a TON of calls. Be careful with teh no call registery though, there are still ways around it. Non-profit organizations are still allowed to call you, though this is rare. Also you should ONLY be charged if you answer the call, if you don't recognize the number just don't answer it. If you find your being charged for this call without answering it contact your cell company. Also if you are on the no-call list and they keep calling contact the better business bereau

[MarieMarie]

Whenever I see anything like this, I check it out on Snopes.com--a site that investigates rumors. Here's a link to a nice article on it:

Cell Phone Directory

[mailahn97]

Whenever I see anything like this, I check it out on Snopes.com--a site that investigates rumors. Here's a link to a nice article on it:

Cell Phone Directory

Well I hate to disagree but snopes has to be wrong. I have gotten 2 telemarketing calls on my cell this week. One was offering to extent the warranty on my vehicle before it runs out....the funny thing. THe warranty has been out on my vehicle for over 3 years.

THe other was to sell me life insurance. These calls do happen.

[mystofpric]

Well I hate to disagree but snopes has to be wrong. I have gotten 2 telemarketing calls on my cell this week. One was offering to extent the warranty on my vehicle before it runs out....the funny thing. THe warranty has been out on my vehicle for over 3 years.

THe other was to sell me life insurance. These calls do happen.

According to my old cell company, the numbers were "released" in that they are considered a 'home number' for many people and are available to telemarketers. Also if you fill out ANYTHING that includes your number it can and likely will be sold.

[MarieMarie]

I wonder if it has anything to do with the cell phone company. I never get telemarketing calls unless it's with someone I've done business with in the past. Like Toyota or one of my credit cards. And I don't get the credit card ones anymore because the first time they called, I just asked them to take me off their call list.

Could also be because I have all of my contacts programmed into my phone, and on the rare occasion that I don't recognize the number of an incoming call, I just don't pick it up. If it's important, they'll leave a message.

[mystofpric]

I wonder if it has anything to do with the cell phone company. I never get telemarketing calls unless it's with someone I've done business with in the past. Like Toyota or one of my credit cards. And I don't get the credit card ones anymore because the first time they called, I just asked them to take me off their call list.

Could also be because I have all of my contacts programmed into my phone, and on the rare occasion that I don't recognize the number of an incoming call, I just don't pick it up. If it's important, they'll leave a message.

That last part is the key, usually if they do try calling and realize it's a cell they take you off their lists. If I did get calls from then I'd try politely asking them to stop calling (I had one group who was REALLY persistant) if it doesn't work I tell them I'm at work an I'm gointo get fired if they keep calling. Usually that works. I have had to report some people though. I ALWAYS register all of my number on the no-call list immediately.

[ladylove]

Thanks Pappy.

[pappyld04]

I get a lot of these same calls on my home phone already. Last chance to clear debts for pennies on the dollar, credit card BS, car warranty, etc. I have none of the above and never will. They are recorded messages and are overly annoying! I got one call by a real person and I told him to never call again and recieved a reply of "I'll call whenever I like"!

Another scam I've caught as of late is a credit company sending bills to my girlfriend for a gas bill in the Conneticut area. They claim they are about to cut off her gas if the bill isn't paid. Nice try but why would you turn the gas on with a billing address in a different state?

[mystofpric]

Er, that's exactly what the Snopes article says. That this is false.

NO what Shorty is saying is that she did infact recieve teemarketing calls on her cell phone. She knew they were telemarketing calls because the warranty had already run out on her car. She is saying that Snopes is wrong because she has infact recieved telemarketing calls which Snopes says isn't possible.

[pappyld04]

<H2 class=posttitle>I'll have to hunt down part 1 of this article.

Shutting down the telemarketers, part two</H2>

On December 1, the Federal Trade Commission closed one of the major loopholes that were still open to telemarketers. Although the 2003 Do-Not-Call Implementation Act made it illegal for telemarketers to contact registered phone numbers, the law did not extend to charities and companies with whom the residents had a prior relationship. This meant that, every time you applied for a credit card or ordered a magazine subscription, you effectively opened the door to an endless series of annoying phone calls. As of Monday, however, electronic phone calls from marketers must offer you a way to opt out of future solicitations.

For those of us who had phone numbers in 2003, this feels like the final battle in a long, brutal war. Prior to the implementation of the Do-Not-Call Registry, telemarketers seemingly had total carte blanche. They would call for most of the day and a large portion of the night, offering deals, demanding donations, and generally breaking up the flow of one's routine. Admittedly, this led to a little bit of fun, as I used to tell them that I was dead, act out domestic disasters on the phone, or ask for the caller's home phone numbers so I could call him at an inconvenient time. However, even the most ridiculous reverse harassment didn't change the fact that they had the legal right to regularly interrupt my life.

When the registry went into effect, it was like I had been liberated. Call volume in my house massively dropped, particularly after I began answering the phone with the words "I'm on the registry. If I don't know you, you're breaking the law." With every hurried click of a phone hanging up, my heart became a little lighter. Soon, however, telemarketers found the great loophole: If I had previously done business with them, they were legally allowed to call me. While the phone calls never returned to pre-registry numbers, they were still pretty high.

Time will tell if this new technique works or if it is merely opening the door to the next twist in the battle. The irony, of course, is that these phone calls are not very effective. In fact, when the McCain/Palin team began using "robocalls" in the final days of the last presidential campaign, they drew criticism from both parties. Even Governor Palin criticized the tactic. Maybe, with any luck, the days of unsolicited phone calls may be drawing to a close!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. Now if they could only apply the death penalty to habitual spammers...

[Shariana]

I was called not once, not twice, but THREE times by the same company. I was too asleep the first two times to tell them not to call back (called incredibly early) and just hung up.... this morning they called AGAIN when I was sleeping and I told them to never call back....

I am on the do not call list..... it's gotten insane.

[ToyQueen]

A lot of the calls that get through to those of us on the do not call list are simply computer-generated numbers. It could be anyone's number, and just happens to be a cell phone. I still ask the person to remove my name from the call list... I still get a few calls on my home phone, but they are rare.

[froggystyle1977]

All my numbers are on the do not call registry, and I plan to keep it that way!! I have gotten plenty of the computer generated calls on my cell usually the car warranty one which for me is impossible since I bought my car private sale. It had no warranty, I thought it was my number that someone had it before till hubby started gettting them too!! these calls are randomly made the computer picks a number and calls it!! I get them every three months or so. usually with a long distance number ot call or some crap I have learned to ignore them lmao!!!!!!!!!