Tired Of Telemarketers? So Is The FCC

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Urzu1000

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Because they do pay attention to the NDNC list, because the fines are ridiculous if they don't. And they do maintain internal lists, because no company is going to break the law over someone who doesn't want their product AND knows the laws . That could result in a fine, and isn't worth the risk. It's a waste of time and wages for that company.

The unfortunate thing is, many people confuse companies. Two companies will call, offering a very similar product, and the customer will ask the first company to have their number taken off the list. When the second company calls, the person freaks out and says that their requests are being ignored. This is where the reputation that companies ignore requests come from.

These companies purchase giant lists of leads, containing tens of thousands of numbers and some basic information that they can leverage when offering their services. These lists are purchased from other companies, who sell to multiple interested parties. Ten different companies might call you on the same type of product, because they all purchased that same particular list.

I'm not pro-telemarketing (<- my number is part of the NDNC Registry), but the hatred they garner is unwarranted most of the time. I've worked in a telemarketing company before (doing administrative work), and I know a bit about the "other side" of the coin.
 

gangrel

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SOME companies care. Others don't. Many exploit loopholes ("this is not a sales call" BS).

One thing I'd love to see...put the NDNC list online. Every telemarketer who buys those lists...and even more, the list suppliers...have to remove any number found on the NDNC list, on a regular basis (once a quarter?)
 

bayouparson

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The FCC has in the past sent out letters to those of us who have complained that they do not have the manpower or resources to stop these calls. I have one of those letters. It has been my observation that a "do not disturb" solution will not work. The reason is that the infamous "Your Credit Card" call uses many different phone numbers and they have recently begun to use local phone numbers. Maybe the FCC should investigate the companies who request many different phone numbers over a period of time and then enforce the law that is already on the books where these companies call the numbers on the "Do Not Call" list and the FCC regulates this list. Several years ago we were told to ask for your phone numbers to be added to this list yet the FCC refuses to enforce even that law. The problem is that the Telemarketing business is evidently such an influential lobby the FCC turns a blind eye to those who violate the law.
 

gangrel

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I don't think it's a blind eye; I fully believe it's lack of resources. As you say: these jerks switch from number to number...which is why individual call blocking doesn't work, and is, in fact, problematic. (What happens when they release that number, and suddenly a legit company gets it?)

Here's a proposal.
My wireless phone has local call blocking; smartphones have apps for this.
So:
--require the wireless companies and local telco's to accept an upload of blocked numbers; note that this also requires the apps to include the ability to upload...easy enough...but also for the landline phones to do so. Not as easy.
--next step: the telcos have to aggregate individual reports they receive. Note that the phone number, and the count of blocks, is important.
--next step: the numbers for individual telcos have to be aggregated. These steps have to be done fairly frequently...at least monthly, for example.

Then at some point, a policy can come into play. A number blocked only 2 or 3 times in a month...that sounds like a strictly personal issue. A number blocked by 3500 people in a month, sounds like spam calling. A number judged to be creating spam gets blocked...at least. Preferably, the line requestor can get tracked, but I suspect this would be impractical.

I think a system like this could help...but now we get to the practical problems.
1. home phones can't do this, and most people wouldn't want to buy new phones just for this (especially because they'd lose blocked calls, and numbers stored, in their existing phones). Dumb cell phones would be in the same boat, if they support call blocking.
2. telcos would complain about the cost of implementation at their end
3. telcos would *scream* about the cost of integration with the other telcos
4. privacy advocates would be extremely concerned.

And I would readily believe that the telcos would lobby heavily against 2 and 3; the cost to them would be huge.
 

deekster_caddy

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So the FCC is compiling a list of numbers? Good for them. How is this going to help anything, given that most caller ID is spoofed or blocked? Or is locking down caller ID part of their plan?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of doing _SOMETHING_ about this, as it's extremely annoying and basically unstoppable right now, but please get it right!
 

dleiterman

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One method that has worked for me was using NoMoRoBo, http://www.nomorobo.com/. It works with many different VOIP carriers. I use phonepower and it has eliminated all the calls from "Rachel from Credit Card Services" and many more.
 

hvlee

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I have an AT&T UVerse landline which has free call blocking. We were being driven crazy mostly by charities having foolishly contributed to one or two in the past. Now, I'm blocking the repeat callers and the traffic has slowed to practically nothing.
 

Catfish_John

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We simply turned off the ringer on our "landline" - which we keep active for genuine emergency calls and any outgoing calls with our Caller-ID displayed by choice. The 911-Emergency System is wired into the existing (hard) infrastructure. And wireless technology is something you may not want to bet your life on if you have, say, a heart attack and you need medical help - right now. That ambulance driver needs a precise location: the doorway to you -- and not that of a neighbor's house whom you may not even know. So "robocall" us all you want to: we are burning up your telecommunications expense money with complete and utter futility assured. Go ahead, make our day, and call us anytime. A simple solution, and we only answer our individual cellular telephones for incoming calls.
 

Turb0Yoda

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"The 911-Emergency System is wired into the existing (hard) infrastructure."
Which is why I will always go to a payphone or landline if I want to call. In an emergency, cell signals will be used by the government, which means your calls can't go through(unless you have a government issued phone or possibly a satellite phone), so cell phones wont call.
I digress
 

HumbleSage

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The technology already exists to block these calls. Carriers are just paid off to NOT implement them by marketing lobbyists.
 

gangrel

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Do you have references for that? I don't mean this personally, but this kind of statement is often pure anti-corporate propaganda, with no basis in fact.
 

kciwart

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I read all the comments and feel your pain. I get a dozen calls per day on my landline. However, how many of you have heard your telephone ring, and when you look at the caller ID, you see YOUR OWN NUMBER? I've even gotten calls from numbers one digit off my own and been threatened with a lawsuit if I don't stop calling them.
As many of you have said, these people don't give a damn. They are going to continue to call until the software to stop the spoofing and the carriers are forced to use it.
 

gangrel

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Hoo boy, now that makes me nervous...here's why.

I expect we've all gotten those calls that, once you pick up, the other side hangs up. What's the point?

They know the number is valid, and could be used for spoofing......
 

Urzu1000

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They do. It's a numbers game. Different services or products generate more results. Someone selling a car warranty might contact 400-800 people in a day, and sell one warranty for a few thousand dollars. Someone offering cheaper products might sell 2-3 units in an hour.

There are also telemarketers who aren't directly selling a product. I've seen some offer free doctor's appointments. In this case, it costs the consumer nothing, but the doctor pays per person to get new patients in the door, who may stick around for a paid appointment later. This rare case of telemarketing actually benefits the person being called.
 

gangrel

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Only if
a) I need the service in question, and
b) I don't already have a provider for that service.

I'll grant that it *can* be beneficial, but if this got tossed out by changes to block the total garbage, IMO it'd be a very small loss.

 
One thing to know, if you go to one of the websites to look for a health insurance quote be prepared to get a million spam calls about it. I was just curious to compare the rates against my company plan and they suck by the way. Then the calls started about 50 the 1st to 3rd day, then they dropped to about 20 calls, today is the 1st day I've gotten less then 10. I tell them I got insurance and to take me off their call list and they hang up on me before I can finish saying it. The last calls the phone rings there is a pause then a beep then either a person or recording. Now I just hang up if there is no immediate answer.
 

gangrel

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OUCH!!!!!
I could've told you they would, as you're comparing a group plan to an individual plan.

I presume entered a phone number or address somewhere along the line? If so, there's where you got nailed. Clearly, at least *that* web site makes money by selling that info, and if you're looking...well, it's open season! They think.

I never got the phone calls...just email...when I was looking at insurance quotes while buying my house. Got them fairly regularly for several months. Of course, it's just email, and a few extra to delete is nothing.
 

gangrel

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RED FLAG!!!

Now we know how they pay for their 'free informational service.' And to make things worse, they'd say "that *was* consent." No, it wasn't; it was still fundamentally coerced. Lesson to be learned...if they 'require' it....try a different site.
 


You have to believe, anyone who goes through the troubles of going on a no caller list, is far more likely to just hang up on any sales call. It's a number game, as you say, and if you are 75% less likely to make a sale to a particular group, why go out of your way to harass that group, when it cost you money to make the call.
 

HumbleSage

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Sorry so late to respond on this, for some reason I wasn't getting email thread replies.

I do not... yet (trust me on this though I, like you, want facts), but your reply definitely has me looking for it because I have to admit because of my intimate knowledge of how communication systems work and what "can" and "can't" be done it's the only raw conclusion I can draw. I could write an entire article on this but I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet. There are ways to block calls but, nothing that is in-place, or could be in-place, to stop this kind of activity. You can block certain callers on an iPhone but, that doesn't really help with spoofing. Sprint offers a service in their web portal that allows you to block calls to your phone as well, but again only "static" numbers. Frankly this may work great for the average stalker boyfriend/girlfriend harassment but for telemarketing it's just not going to cut it. Marketing itself is a huge dollar industry and it is possible at the higher levels to block or filter communications in blocks or layer filtering so I can only be led to theorize that there's some sort of payoff going on. Maybe some of these big telecommunications companies get some sort of kickback to not bother addressing this issue at all.

Oh, and nothing personal taken, I probably would have thought the same thing you thought reading a statement like mine by someone else. :)
 
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