# Do telemarketers call too often? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495 "2004-08-19T02:04:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/1 "2004-08-19T02:04:20Z")
I was just wondering why people in the US make such a fuss about telemarketers. I live in Cardiff UK now, and I have only received 2 such calls in about 10 months. How often do you guys get telemarketer calls? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/2 "2004-08-19T02:26:05Z")
Well, since the National Do-Not-Call Registry came into effect and was not struck down by court challenges, we average one call every couple of months, if that. Before, we’d get several calls a day, between the time we got home from work and about 9:30 PM. Some days, two calls. Other days, up to a dozen. I must say, when that legislation came through, you can’t imagine how happy we all were to hear the absence of the phone ringing in the evening. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/3 "2004-08-19T02:31:56Z")
Frankly, I think that **Cervaise** [doesn’t deal with telemarketers often enough!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=51270)😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/4 "2004-08-19T02:32:47Z")
:eek: Wow! That sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/5 "2004-08-19T02:37:50Z")
We were up to about 5 - 6 calls a night when my wife and I both were working. On the days that I stayed home during the day, that would add another 4 - 5 calls. Are you beginning to see the problem now? We are on the National Do-Not-Call Registry now and we only recieve about 1 - 2 calls a week since it has been in effect. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/6 "2004-08-19T02:57:37Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > :eek: Wow! That sucks. My reply was going to **fishbicycle’s** post > [@Shagnasty](#): > > We were up to about 5 - 6 calls a night when my wife and I both were working. On the days that I stayed home during the day, that would add another 4 - 5 calls. Are you beginning to see the problem now? > > We are on the National Do-Not-Call Registry now and we only recieve about 1 - 2 calls a week since it has been in effect. That sucks too. I could never imagine it could be so bad. I was thinking about a couple of calls per week. I can see now what’s the fuss about telemarketers. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/7 "2004-08-19T03:12:16Z")
Everyday,3-6 times a day. Once they called around 7 on a Saturday. I have never sounded more angry on the phone. I don’t think we are on the Do Not Call list, but I wish we were everytime they wake me from my sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Sharky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Sharky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharky)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/8 "2004-08-19T03:41:38Z")
I used to get several telemarketing calls a week, until several months ago when I switched to an unlisted, unpublished phone number and started using Anonymous Call Rejection and Caller ID. This was before they came up with the Do Not Call list. Haven’t had a single telemarketing call since. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/9 "2004-08-19T04:13:07Z")
My phone handset stopped working a few months ago, so we just use the answering machine and call back people on cellphones. Do Not Call did jack squat for our telemarketing calls, but not picking up the phone sure did. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/10 "2004-08-19T05:49:30Z")
I didn’t think they rang that often, until I stopped working and was home to answer the phone. For the last couple of months, I’ve been getting a minimum of 3 phone calls per day, every day. And I’m in South Australia, so there’s no enforceable Do Not Call Registry to fall back on. Telemarketers suck. No, correction: Telemarketing companies suck. Telemarketers probably hate the job as much as I hate hearing from them. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/11 "2004-08-19T06:19:12Z")
4-5 a day. I pretty much screen all my calls now. I let the machine get it unless it’s my husband or my boss. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/12 "2004-08-19T12:33:00Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > We were up to about 5 - 6 calls a night when my wife and I both were working. On the days that I stayed home during the day, that would add another 4 - 5 calls. Are you beginning to see the problem now? > > We are on the National Do-Not-Call Registry now and we only recieve about 1 - 2 calls a week since it has been in effect. About the same here. I particularly despise the automated recorded calls…it’s not a person on the other end of the line, it’s just some recording! So, of course, there is no way to say the magic words “Put me on your do-not-call list.” We had one auto insurance company call us up every month or so, until I finally looked them up in the yellow pages and bitched out the sales manager. For a while, too, it seemed like every church within 50 miles or so was calling up, wanting us to join their spiritual family. All the pastors and priests must have gone to some seminar where this was recommended, or maybe there was an article in Spiritual Marketing Monthly Magazine or something. We’re now on the national AND the Texas Do-Not-Call list. Political and charity calls are still exempt from this law, but they are far, far rarer. For over a decade, there was a telemarketing company close to a grocery store where the Bodoni family shops. It always had a “Now Hiring” banner out in front, until the law went into effect. Then the banner came down. Now it’s not in business at that location any more. It looks like the place is being remodeled. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/13 "2004-08-19T14:53:26Z")
Before the do-not-call list, we got 4-10 a day. Now, it’s about one a month, and I act like I’m going to turn them in to the Attorney General when they call. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/14 "2004-08-19T15:08:04Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > For a while, too, it seemed like every church within 50 miles or so was calling up, wanting us to join their spiritual family. All the pastors and priests must have gone to some seminar where this was recommended, or maybe there was an article in Spiritual Marketing Monthly Magazine or something. Now that’s something I’d never heard of before. It never occurred to me that a church would resort to telemarketing. I have gotten zero telemarketing calls since I cancelled my landline and live off my cellphone. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/15 "2004-08-19T15:49:28Z")
I got one yesterday. Can’t remember the time before that, but must have been at least 2 months. My trick is to use my cell phone as my primary contact number. The companies that call it get told it’s a cell and stop calling. If they were to call me again, I can initiate a complaint easily enough, since I work for the cell phone company 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/16 "2004-08-19T17:23:35Z")
iI never realised it was so bad over there! ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/17 "2004-08-19T17:30:01Z")
I don’t know how much people know about this so here it is anyhoo… we signed up with these guys, who put your name on the Do Not Call list in the UK. If you still get calls you’re then supposed to get as much info on the caller as you can - business address, name, etc - and then report them via the website. They’re at [http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/](http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/) and it’s called the Telephone Preference Service. They also do Mail and Fax versions. Note, though, that they can only help with people who are sending you non-addressed mail, ie. “The Occupier” or such. If you’re getting calls from businesses who might legitimately regard you as a customer, say because you’ve purchased from them or failed to check the “don’t hassle me” box, then you’re on your own. They also do an email version but it’s virtually useless. However since we signed up with the TPS we notices a dramatic reduction in the calls we get. I still can’t convince my family to try and get details of who’s calling when we DO get a marketing call, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/18 "2004-08-19T17:53:09Z")
[Here’s the registry.](https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx) We’re on the list but we also live in a battleground state (Ohio) and the political calls are coming in fast and furious. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/19 "2004-08-19T18:57:40Z")
When we moved into a new house a few months ago ( with a new phone number ) I thought I had covered everything by signing up to the phone and mail preference services. I even included my wife’s and my own mobile phone. Then I started getting phone calls which sounded like a fax machine calling . I had one at 3am and another at 6.45 am plus numerous ones in the daytime. So now I have had to register with the fax preference service , even though I do not have a fax machine. Hopefully that should stop these calls. Although I was given a “new” number when we moved in I have the feeling that this might be a re-cycled one , previously used by a company or business. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495/20 "2004-08-19T19:08:31Z")
I got on the do-not-call list which stopped people from trying to sell me stuff over the phone but certain groups (charaties, donations, surveys, politicians) continually call me at least twice a night. Firemen need your money, Policemen need your money, Salvation army will be in your area do you have any clothes to donate, take a survey for CBS, Mothers against drunk driving needs your money, etc. etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-telemarketers-call-too-often/260495.md?page=2)