I have had success with saying politely “Hold on a moment…” and simply walking back to my book / TV / computer.
After a while they hang up, then the phone makes noises and I hang up.
The record for a telemarketer waiting was 18 minutes. :eek:
[QUOTE=I also get lots of calls from Rachel at Card Member Services. When I press one to talk to a live person to ask them to PLEASE please PLEASE take me off their list since I’m on the Do Not Call List, they hang up on me. Sometimes before I can make my request, because I tell them No I don’t want their help. I just want them to go away.[/QUOTE]
I get those calls at home and on my cell a fair amount. Usually I ignore them, but sometimes I’ll talk to a live person, and try to string the conversation out as long as I can. I did that once, and got whoever it was to say, “Stop wasting my time” before he hung up on me. Next time, I might start asking them what they’re wearing, or tell them they sound hot.
Smeghead–I get that a lot too. Like how dare I waste their time! How DARE I tell them I do not want to be on their list (if I get that far).
:rolleyes:
Ugh.
HypnoToad–if they call back I am SO trying that. Or maybe if I get a call from Cardmember Services, I’ll tell them I know my credit sucks but I just don’t care. See what they think of THAT little lovely. 
I got one a couple of weeks ago and he let me know that my Windows computer was telling them that it is infected and he would like to help us fix it. I was very concerned and asked him which of my six computers was affected.
Indian Scammer: Oh, sir, you are having me on.
Me: No, I have one, my wife and kids each have one, then there is the one downstairs and in the den.
I was planning on stringing him along for a while but I accidentally hung up. I felt bad about that…
I think I’ll try this next time…
Me: Hello?
Drunk Raj: Your computer is calling us and telling us it has a virus and we’d like to fix it.
Me: slowly okay, let me get my computer out.
DR: Yes, sir.
Me: It’s starting up…hang on…it’s a little old…it’s still starting…are you still there?
5 minutes pass
Me: Oh, darn, I forgot my password, I’ll have to find it, hold on…
10 minutes pass
Me: Okay, I logged on. What do I need to do?
DR: Open Internet Explorer to this address:
Me: Okay, where do I find Internet Explorer? I only have Netscape Navigator 3.
.
.
.
Me: Well, I’m running Windows 3.1
or
Me: No, the computer doesn’t have a modem and never connected to the internet before
or
Me: I got an error box here. You’re from Microsoft, right? How do I fix this error? I’d like to get that fixed before you fix my malware.
Actually, maybe having a soundboard up with modem dialling sounds would be fun too…and the old windows sounds.
ROFLMAO!
Plus, I could see my parents (who haven’t updated their system or bought a new computer in probably ten or fifteen YEARS) saying this to somebody and being totally honest. My parents, bless their little hearts, are not the most technologically saavy people on the planet. Last year, on Black Friday, my stepdad went out and bought my mother a Kindle because they were on sale. She returned it on Sunday because she couldn’t figure it out and I wasn’t able to help her over the phone because I don’t HAVE a Kindle (I have a Nook First Edition). A few months later, my brother (in a fit of generosity) bought Mom and Dad each a Kindle Fire and I think they’ve finally figured out how to use them.
The point is “Take me off your list” doesn’t legally obligate the company to stop calling. “Put me on your do not call list” does. Other than the national do not call list, it’s the only way you have any hope of recourse against a company that won’t stop calling. If they’re scammers nothing short of prosecution will stop them, but at least there’s a chance you could collect damages if they do get caught and prosecuted.
There’s more chance of me flying to the moon in a Cessna than any of those plonkers paying damages.
That doesn’t have anything to do with my point. I’m talking about the fact that there is no law in the U.S. requiring marketers to honor a “Take me off your list” request, but the law does require them to honor a “Put me on your do not call list” request.
The fact that there are those who break U.S. law and get away with it because they aren’t physically here is not in dispute.
This guy
has made a profitable hobby out of suing telemarketers.
I think the law he is suing under concerns recorded sales calls, but I’m pretty sure its a federal law.
And of course, this wouldn’t work against scammers like the OP encountered (though if the calls are repeated, a complaint to your phone company of harrassing calls might get some results…they CAN trace such calls).
Last time I lived in Houston, I was getting recorded calls from a company selling cable t.v. and it took me FOREVER to get them to STOP calling (often as many as 4 times a day and it went on for over 6 mths).
Everytime I would push 1 to speak to someone, they’d hang up on me as soon as they realized I was asking to be taken off their list. :mad:
I got SO mad, I began documenting (logging the times and dates AND recording the calls) and intended to take them to court.
I managed to get a call-back number by pressing 1 and pretending to be very interested in signing up and saying I needed to ask my Mother-in-Law if I could use her credit card to sign up.
This was the ONLY way I was able to find out the company name…it was not mentioned anywhere in the recording and the humans I got through to WOULD NOT TELL ME (hanging up on me several times when I pressed them).
Guess who the number belonged to? DISH NETWORK (which has been sued by the attorney generals of several states for their repeated violations of telemarketing law.)
Anyway, I finally was able to send them a certified letter demanding that they stop calling me and they did.
Look up the law in your state (and the federal law). If you are willing to take the time to document the calls and file a small claims suit, you might be able to make a little money off of them AND get some satisfaction.
Each such call usually contains multiple violations, each potentially carrying a $500 fine (calling unbidden, not stating the company name, not giving a phone number/contact info, refusing to remove you from the calling list, etc…)
P.S., again, for dealing with “legitimate” telemarketers, your Do Not Call registry must be updated every 5 years. You can do it on-line for free. I noticed that I started getting such calls again recently, almost exactly 5 years after I got on the list.
Good rant and good job sussing out Dish Network, but I just wanted to point out that the DNC registry does not expire.
I don’t know why you started getting calls again, but you shouldn’t have.
With respect, I doubt it. “According to a guy we found that used to be a telemarketer” isn’t really a reliable source, and despite urban legend to the contrary, the law is very rarely made up of “magic words.” If there’s a law saying they need to remove you when you ask, and you make it understood that you want to be removed, they’ll need to remove you or be in violation of said law, “company policy” notwithstanding.
Is the FCC a better source?
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/unwanted-telephone-marketing-calls
Look at the paragraph labeled “Company-Specific Do-Not-Call Lists”
How about the Maryland attorney general’s office?
http://www.oag.state.md.us/Consumer/edge96.htm
Not really. If you are on the federal Do Not Call list, any calls you receive are from entities that have demonstrated they have no respect for the law. Most of them are scammers looking to steal credit cards, identity information or other fraud, so adding a violation of the do not call statute is chump change. The FCC and a state attorney general are powerless to stop a determined telethief.
As I said in post 28, that is not in dispute. There’s no law in existence that has 100% success in enforcement. I’m talking about the common belief that if you say “Take me off your list” a company can’t legally call you any more. The cites were in response to a doubt that federal law requires telemarketers to keep an internal do not call list and add anyone who requests it. You don’t even have to be on the National Do-Not-Call list.
No one is claiming that uttering the words “Put me on your do not call list” mysteriously renders a telemarketer unable to call you anymore. In fact, it was more about pointing out that no company, honest or not, is obligated to obey a request to “Take me off your list” no matter how many “pleases” you add to it.
“Abracadooby! Abracadingdong! Dammit, I know that rabbit is in this hat somewhere!”