An end to telemarketers...

Due to a federal court order, people who do not want to be disturbed by telemarketer's calls can resume signing up for the government's do-not-call list. Consumers can register home or cell phone numbers with the free government service by visiting the Web site www.donotcall.gov or calling 1-888-382-1222, beginning Thursday at 8 a.m. EDT. Once you have your numbers listed, it might take up to three months before you seriously start to see a reduction in telemarketing calls. However, telemarketers calling listed numbers could face thousands of dollars in fines for each violation. The list is intended to block about 80 percent of telemarketing calls, with exemptions for charities, pollsters and calls on behalf of politicians. A company also may call people on the list if it recently has done business with them.
Anyways go to www.donotcall.gov and add your numbers and stop the evil telemarketers!!!!


SOURCE: http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/arti...24120209990008

(but i think that that URL is always changing, and you have to be a member of AOL to view it)

WOW there is a god!!! about time aswell

I have always found that an "ex-directory" telephone number does the job :) If I need to give a number and don't trust the recipient I always give my mobile (cellphone)..........now that cost them serious $$$ :D

Cheers

nihil,

In the United States, it usually costs you money to receive calls on your cell phone ... so that wouldn't be a good option there.

Unlike Europe, where the Calling Party Pays (CPP), the United States has no dedicated area codes for cell phones and thus the caller cannot know he's calling a cell phone ... and thus they charge the cell phone owner for the incoming calls ...

Cheers,

BrainStop

Thanks for the info BrainStop, I didn't know that. Do they have the free "ex-directory" number option?


Cheers

Hang on a minute...so everytime you get a call on your Cell phone in the States you pay for the connection from the Provider to yourself??

Surely thats not right? Is it?

Cheers
V$D$

nihil wrote:

Quote:

---

Do they have the free "ex-directory" number option?

---

Back when I was there (until 2001), the "ex-directory" option cost you $5 a month on your residential phone line ...

Vice$DoS$ wrote:

Quote:

---

so everytime you get a call on your Cell phone in the States you pay for the connection from the Provider to yourself??

---

Yes, which is why most cell phone providers will try to sell you a monthly package with a humongous amount of "free minutes" included. Otherwise, people would not be handing out their cell phones numbers and using them.

The reason the US system is the way it is comes from the unlimited monthly calling plans for residential phone lines. For approx $25 a month, you can have unlimited calling in your local area on your phone line (which is why dial-up was a lot cheaper to use in the US than in Europe). This also meant that the phone company wasn't able to charge extra for cell phone calls (since the cell phones are in the same area code, example, I was living in DC, so my home phone was 202-xxx-xxxx, and my cell was 202-xxx-xxxx since I had a DC service provider).

The phone companies thus had two options:
1. Make you listen to a message any time you dialled a cell phone number telling you that this call would be charged an additional fee because it was a cell phone.
2. Make the cell phone user pay for the priviledge of having a mobile phone.

It's a crappy system, which the phone companies are defeating themselves by giving cell phone owners more and more free minutes.

I used to have a cell phone for my job in the States. The monthly plan I was on started with 400 free minutes (and every additional minute at $0.30) then it changed to 600 and when the company got bought out it even went to 700. Now you get plans with 1200 or more minutes ...

Anyway, that's the way it works ... whether you like it or not. The upside is that when I call someone in the States, I don't care about calling him on his cellphone, cause my phone company just charges me the same regular rate for the international call. Unlike calling a cell phone in Europe, where they charge an additional $0.25 per minute for cell phones ...

Cheers,

BrainStop

yup thats right. its the same thing here in Singapore. the mobile user pays when caling and receiving a call.

I think its a stupid thing but thats the way its done here. thats why i do not bother to entertain telemarketers and wrong numbers.

It is the same in canada as the states, personally i like it. I have a cell as my only phone and i get 0 calls from telemarketers
there is no way they will dare call you when you are paying for the time. I have had only one telemerketer call in the last 10 years and that person got a an earful and a complaint to the phone company. If you don't gab alot on the phone it is actually cheaper or the same to use a cellphone here.

When you say ex-dirctory do you mean not listed in the phone book?

Interesting,

Yes "ex-directory" means you are not in the phone book, and "directory enquiries" will not give it out.

In the UK, we pay for local calls..............about £0.01 per minute off peak. You pay for calls to cell phones, usually £0.25 to £0.50 per minute. I have a contract fo mine, I get 120 minutes per month free time, anytime, anywhere. I have not paid for a call in six years! they make the money out of people calling me.

I guess the Telcos have to balance their books wherever they are?

I have a new deal with my broadband...£11 ($16) per month. Unlimited UK and £0.06 for each call up to 1 hour international, off peak.

Broadband is £27 per month 24/7/365(6) that's about 40 US dollars. It is very new where I am living now (April 03), so I am connecting 288/576k. There is obviously some redundancy built in?

Cheers

you can also register with the TPS (telephone prefrence serice) in the UK to stop telemarketers on 0845 070 0707

Also nihil the prices you are quoting seem to be BT together Option 1 and there are alot cheaper ways to call - for example BT charges £2 per month for that option where as with the talktalk package (from carphone warehouse) their package is free and they give you 70mins for only 5.5p - as well as 10% of to all mobiles, 14% to 93% of international and 50% of one 0845 number....which can be used in conjunction with BT broadband (like I am doing)

heh btw I'm an evil telemarketer selling the Carphone Warehouse package ;) after working for BT in credit managment (evil people who disconnect phones) I have switched to the oppostion - lol

v_Ln

:::: heh and am damn good at what I do - £85 commision for 3 days w00t!!!!
so if your in the UK and you get an Iirish accent calling about Carphone Warehouse be nice its me :D

Hi val,


Just checking the instructions that came with this new BT phone...

IF subject = carphone warehouse
AND accent = Irish
THEN lift metal grille and press big red button
ENDIF "boom"
ELSE

or something like that :D

Cheers

My quick two cents on this subject... the telephone thing that is supposed to protect your number here in the states works. I havent gotten a single call since I signed up for it so either it was really good timing or it actually works.. and now for the cell phone talk

Here in the US telemarketers are not allowed to call cell phones right now. I dont know why but the theory still works, if you dont want them calling you just give them your cell phone number and they cant call it.

in addition....most plans give you the first incoming minute free, at least in the US. i pay $50 a month and get 3000 minutes anytime, anywhere and doing consulting on the side, i use almost every one of those minutes.

i pulled my land line roughly 3 years ago and haven't looked back since, evil telemarketers!!!

When I had my cell, I had 500 daytime minutes and 1000 nite time and weekend minutes plus rollover. It cost me 40$ a month.
BTW: Nihil, do you know the equivilance of a dollar to one pound? I have found a store in UK that I want to buy the Bad MotherF**ker Wallet from Pulp Ficton from. Jes curious. Thanks...

AS for me I have fun with telemarkiters............ just go alon with them........ lol....... u can talk crazy withthem......... it can be cruel...... but in the end..... who called who... so I c this is totaly legid to fk them up alittle

Hi nate_k9

I usually work on $1.45 =£1 by the time you have paid charges and all. You guys have a much better deal with IT kit, the actual purchasing power seems to be $1 = £1................we get ripped off over here :(

Cheers

Yea that sucks. I figured it up, they had a thing to convert money to US and the wallet is like 32$ check it out http://www.asos.com/product.asp?sku=2ACMI0003 I want it though. Thanks Nihil

Yeah, I signed up with our home number and both mobile numbers when the list became available. No more sales calls a night. Now there's more opportunity for the mother-in-law to call.

Mixed blessings?