This recent thread talked about the problem, but I’m wondering if there is an answer I missed that addresses how to stop them (or at least reduce them).
It’s an election year. These are mostly robo-calls (so there’s no one on the other end to chastize). It’s on my cell phone and land line.
I already know that the Do Not Call Registry plainly tells me that the list does not apply to charities or political crap.
What I want to know is: Is there ANY way to opt out?
Often the calls come from a toll free or out of state area code, but sometimes, they have my local area code. Being self employed and relying on phones for much of my business, I usually answer calls even from unfamiliar local numbers, not wanting to miss out on a possible new customer.
So, not answering or letting all unknown numbers goes to voice mail is not a good option for me. And it’s more of an annoyance than anything else, being on an unlimited minutes plan.
Some phone services (especially VOiP based ones like Ooma, for example) offer premium services where you can activate blocklists. Ooma’s blocklist, for example, is actually a group blocklist, so people “nominate” numbers to be added to the list and Ooma approves them. This would probably be pretty effective for this kind of thing. If they let you opt-in on a category by category basis, that would be even better. I am not a premium subscriber, so I cannot answer if they do the category thing…
That gives me an idea I should’ve tried already. Go to my phone company account page and see if they have something similar.
:::time passes while I search:::
Looks like I can block numbers from calling or texting, but I have to have a specific number to add to my unwanted list. So, that takes care of everyone who has already called. Won’t let me do blanket area codes or exchanges.
My parents had a service or something that would require you to state your name and purpose if you were not on their approved list. Then they could review that and decide to call you back. Nver asked them where they got that from.
Why would politicians write the rules so you could call-block politicians?
The Canadian DNCL system specifically excludes political calls (and IIRC most charities) from DoNotCall rules. Since it can’t really be enforced against calls from the USA or elsewhere, what was the point anyway?
If you have a computer with a dial-up modem that is Caller ID capable, I use Phone Tray to manage unwanted calls. Block numbers with a mouse click, wildcard blocking and online lookup of numbers while they are still ringing. Free.
No. Why should ther be? It is your duty as a citizen to participate in the political process of choosing our elected representatives.
Well, I guess you could renounce your citizenship, and move to someplace like Russia or North Korea. I don’t suppose they have many political calls there.
Or you could get convicted of a felony. Most states exclude convicted felons from voting.
If you’d prefer one of those to participating in our democratic election process, go for it.
It is possible to vote and fulfill your public duty without subjecting yourself to political advertising. There’s nothing about the democratic election process that requires you to interrupt your dinner to listen to a recording about some issue or candidate or other. Why, sometimes when I find one of these messages on my answering machine, I delete it without listening! Horrors! What’s next, hitting mute when the latest attack ad comes on while I’m watching The Daily Show? That should be illegal!
I wonder about the legality of calling cell phones - they’re using the taxpayer’s money (their cell phone minutes) to deliver a political message. Isn’t that a no-no?
You could move to New York. We’re pretty much a lock for major elections and our primaries are set too far back to decide anything, so nobody bothers wasting much money on political advertising here. At most you’ll get a few ads for local races.
Receiving political telemarketing is NOT participating in the political process. Well, it does tend to influence my vote. I have a policy of not voting for anyone who telemarkets to me. And this has even made me vote against a guy that I had previously supported.
I usually say, “I’ve decided to vote for whichever candidate calls me the LEAST, so that’s -1 for your guy.” It’d be nice if everybody started doing this; it would probably be the only way to get candidates to reconsider using these calls.
Also, one time I kept getting calls from my U.S. Representative’s campaign, and they wouldn’t stop even when I asked. So I tracked down the Representative’s home number and called it one evening. I spoke to his wife, and told her about it. The next day, the Representative called me, apologized, and told me if I got any more calls to let him know. I did get one more, but they stopped after that.
Apparently candidates don’t like getting unsolicited phone calls at home. Imagine that.
If you have the free time…I would find out the PAC or whatever that made the call and send them an invoice for $50 for processing an unsolicited phone call. Send them a dun notice or two after they fail to pay, then file on them in small claims court.
Like I said, I doubt even small claims court is going to back you up. Even if they don’t respond, you have to prove up your case, which the court probably won’t accept, and then your are out for the court fees.
Small claims may be different, but not showing up typically results in a default judgement–the court basically taking the claims of the petitioner as stipulated to.
