telemarketers

My family is racked with calls from people soliciting phone calls. I got fed up with asking to be taken off the list so I decide to have some fun with them. One day a guy called and I asked his name and asked who his company was, if he was married (he said no, so I wanted to know if he was available, he said "no comment".)
I talked to him for a while and he kept teling me it wasn't any of my business. He got angry and hung up a few minutes later. About 2 days later the same guy called back and I was like " Hey! Whats up Chuck? (his name was Chuck you see). Got a girlfriend yet?. The guy said of s**t its you again and hung up. It was so funny. My friend and I had an idea for a prank on a telemarketer hasn't called us in a while (I swear they give each other info). Here's how it goes: tele-hello! how are you?
me : is this the suicide hotline? I knew you guys would call back. My girlfriend broke up with me and I just can't go on. I just wanna die! ( audible cocking of a gun) . I'm gonna go now. (KABOOM!)
tele- sir sir are you there?
me- Yes I missed. Hang on I need to reload. (click)
If you have any stories or ideas please feel free to tell me.

:) I WOULD LOVE TO PULL THAT TYPE OF THING OFF :D

the latest 2600 has a great article on this. Check it out.

Did you know that it is illegal for telco to call you after you ask to be taken off their list? If they call after you ask them not to then it becomes harassment :)

:( .......Its got so bad around here that we use the home phone for outgoing calls only.

The state of Montata has legislation pending to create a state list. All telemarketers will be required to check that list and will be violating the law if they call anyone on it. I can hardly wait for that. We also have spam legislation pending, but I am unsure how that will end up working.

yes I know if you ask them to be taken off the calling list you get the name of the company and the phone #s if they call back I think you can sue

I respond in a similar way, asking the telemarketer questions instead. The is a very good flow chart on the internet for this purpose. It is annoying but also fun as I usually answer "no comment" for all the questions ... LOL

We have a "no-call" list in my state, which keeps it quiet for me thank goodness. For those of you who do not enjoy such legislation, might I recommend a trip to Wal Mart or the local sporting goods store. Find the boating supplies section and pick up a "portable boat horn" (make sure you get one that is audible up to about 1.5 miles, or 3km) to keep by the phone for those telemarketers. Allow them time to get at least half way thru their pitch then blast away and hang up. After all....they give SO much to us, why shouldn't we give back? One quick blast usually gets the message across AND buys that poor joker a 10 minute break before he can hear well enough to harrass anyone else.

It is my understanding that the FCC is currently considering creating a national no call list. What I've read so far indicates that it would be a free service (must states that offer it charge a $6-8 yearly fee). The FCC moves @ a glacier space (so maybe by the time my not yet created children are in colleage it will be offered). My sources are Forbes and the Wall Street Journal -neither of which have discussed it recently -maybe the FCC moved away from that idea.

Cheers,
-D

Lol. There are better ways to piss off telemarketers and market research firms. Take it from me, :D one of those who used to annoy people incessantly with surveys and get paid well for doing it. For one thing, you might try to sound interested and then make them repeat themselves over and over, or pretend to be hard of hearing, but only after they've started a conversation, otherwise they can just put hard of hearing as an excuse to hang up. Also, tell them to go back and change answers. If they do hang up on you, call them back and ask to speak to their supervisor and complain about how rude they were. Also cost them money by taking lots of time to answer questions, rack up those long distance charges, that way the individual looks bad. Lol. I hated those days. Ah well, I quit. Hehe. Enjoy.

The key is to see it as an opportunity, not a problem. Remember that pissing off the caller themselves isn't as important as making the system stop working well. For instance, try telling them that you've recieved seven calls from their company that very day. Or that you're getting strange static interference. Or impersonate a higher-up with: "Ah, this is amusing. Who is this? Ah, Johnson in the calling farm... Hasn't Mr. Davis given you the list of people in the company who are to be removed from the dialing computers?"

Or claim you already bought their product earlier today from another caller. Or let them know that they have the wrong number, or that they are calling for a dead person...

Simply using the foghorn would be momentarily gratifying, but not as potentially useful.

This really happened to me..... I couldn't believe it.......

I was sat ay my PC one weekend morning when the phone rings.... It's just after 9:00am.... Only telemerketers call my place at that time. I pick up the phone and get Miss AT&T on the other end. I figure I'll have some fun and tell her that I don't have a phone - when she challenges me I will tell her that she called me on VoIP and I was talking to her via my computer - for free - so her rate plan was additional expense..... I was quite proud of myself - quick as a flash I had it all worked out..... :D

So..... She runs her speil and about half way through I tell her that this won't help me 'cos I don't have a phone....... Well slap me stupid if she didn't say "Oh, ok, sorry to have bothered you" and hangs up on me......

I sat staring at the handset for a full 10 seconds..... I'm still not sure who won, me or her!!!! LOL....

I had a call today and spent 35 minurtes on the phone with one. I talked to the telemarketer and then I talked to the supervisor (nice guy, has three kids been at his job for 15 yrs) I had fun asking them to change answers. I asked everything from how long have you been working to do you like hotdogs. It was hillarious (neither liked hotdogs by-the-way) Defeating the sytem is funny, it is amazing how gullible people can be.

Well lets see I simply asked to be taken off the list, never answer a double ring because I have call screening and that tells me it's a telemarketer. I make up phone numbers when ever a store asks me for my number or leave the phone number blank when I return something. Never enter contests at malls or free give aways if I must disclose any personal information. Oh and now and then I may let one through and then play Mr. Moron with the person play off what ever they are saying repeat it with an accent for 3 minutes then be asked to be taken off the list. My phone rings maybe 2 3 times a week is all more then that it is for teenage son :) Try just saying Hello every time they say someting in your best accent..works for me.