telemarketing should be illegal...

[hudster]

...what a freaking pain

 

[radioouman]

Yep, it's a pain, but some companies just don't understand how to advertise to make your want their product. So they have to call you and shove it down your throat.

 

[Nitemare]

It should be illegal that I have to pay my telephone company extra per month for them not to sell my name to telemarketers

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
It should be illegal that I have to pay my telephone company extra per month for them not to sell my name to telemarketers

You should get free telephone service if your name is on telemarketers call lists!!!

Hopper

 

[hudster]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
It should be illegal that I have to pay my telephone company extra per month for them not to sell my name to telemarketers

really? you have to do that??? that's ridiculous!!! un-freaking-believable! See, that's just not right. The way I look at that, my phone number is my own personal info, not even the telephone company's info. From that perspective, the telephone company has no right to sell that info, or, at the very least, sure, they can sell that info if they want, but all of the revenues for selling MY number belong to ME!

See, telemarketing is really a pain for me, because I work from home. And, unfortunately, when my colleagues call me from the office during the workday, it shows up on my caller ID as "unavailable". So I HAVE to answer the "unavailable" calls, which of course can end up being a telemarketer instead. *grumble*

On a side note, I did sign up on my state's "do not call" list, which has cut down on the telemarketing calls dramatically. However, some of these companies that can get around being considered a telemarketer, well, they still call from time to time. Like the other day some company called "doing a survey about people's drinking water quality"...and then at the end, well, they can have someone come out to my house to do a "free" water quality test. *ugh* Sorry, that's still considered telemarketing to me, even though places like that are being a lot more subtle about actually selling me stuff.

 

[DiamondJ]

It's not THAT bad...I used to work for one...easy money....

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: hudster

Originally posted by: Nitemare
It should be illegal that I have to pay my telephone company extra per month for them not to sell my name to telemarketers

really? you have to do that??? that's ridiculous!!! un-freaking-believable! See, that's just not right. The way I look at that, my phone number is my own personal info, not even the telephone company's info. From that perspective, the telephone company has no right to sell that info, or, at the very least, sure, they can sell that info if they want, but all of the revenues for selling MY number belong to ME!

See, telemarketing is really a pain for me, because I work from home. And, unfortunately, when my colleagues call me from the office during the workday, it shows up on my caller ID as "unavailable". So I HAVE to answer the "unavailable" calls, which of course can end up being a telemarketer instead. *grumble*

On a side note, I did sign up on my state's "do not call" list, which has cut down on the telemarketing calls dramatically. However, some of these companies that can get around being considered a telemarketer, well, they still call from time to time. Like the other day some company called "doing a survey about people's drinking water quality"...and then at the end, well, they can have someone come out to my house to do a "free" water quality test. *ugh* Sorry, that's still considered telemarketing to me, even though places like that are being a lot more subtle about actually selling me stuff.

The do not call list costs where I live. Probably should opt out of it since I am normally online when I am home anyways.

 

[hudster]

Originally posted by: DiamondJ
It's not THAT bad...I used to work for one...easy money....

<utter sarcasm>yeah, people calling me, interrupting my workday, interrupting what I'm doing, interrupting my life, wasting precious minutes of my life, trying in futility to sell me stuff that I don't want, and even if it was something that I wanted, I would never ever ever ever ever buy it off of a telelmarketer because I would be reinforcing their behavior...

...yeah, it's not that bad. </utter sarcasm>

 

[Cenalian]

really? you have to do that??? that's ridiculous!!! un-freaking-believable! See, that's just not right. The way I look at that, my phone number is my own personal info, not even the telephone company's info. From that perspective, the telephone company has no right to sell that info, or, at the very least, sure, they can sell that info if they want, but all of the revenues for selling MY number belong to ME!

Its not YOUR telephone number though, your simply renting it from them for a nominal fee.

 

[Skel]

Which is funny, on OZ right now, they are doing it from within the prison...

 

[Dedpuhl]

Telemarking is successful for one reason: The people allow it. If every person that recieved a call would say "no" or hang up immediately, the business would crumble. Instead, we have lots of people in this country that will listen to every word and enough people buy the product offered, thus making the business profitable...

No customers = no money = no business = death to stupid telemarketers

 

[microAmp]

I recieve zero telemarketer calls I just disconnected my land line and went with a cell phone.

 

[edro]

I saw on the news last night (Here is Ohio) that they are trying to pass a law that will allow people to join an anti-spam list. If your name and number is on this list, it is illegal for telemarketing companies to call you.

Chances are, telemarketers would call anyways and say that they aren't selling anything.... they just wanted to give some "info".

 

[DiamondJ]

Originally posted by: motoamd
I recieve zero telemarketer calls I just disconnected my land line and went with a cell phone.

Yea...Thats a sh!tty day when the telemarkters get a hold of those numbers.....

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
Telemarking is successful for one reason: The people allow it. If every person that recieved a call would say "no" or hang up immediately, the business would crumble. Instead, we have lots of people in this country that will listen to every word and enough people buy the product offered, thus making the business profitable...

No customers = no money = no business = death to stupid telemarketers

So you are saying that it is all Skoorb's fault?

 

[microAmp]

Originally posted by: DiamondJ

Originally posted by: motoamd
I recieve zero telemarketer calls I just disconnected my land line and went with a cell phone.

Yea...Thats a sh!tty day when the telemarkters get a hold of those numbers.....

I make sure no business ever gets a hold of that number.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: motoamd
I recieve zero telemarketer calls I just disconnected my land line and went with a cell phone.

About to join you. $23 a month for home # and $10 for a pager is being turned into a cell phone with 300 anytime minutes and unlimited weekend and night for $30 a month.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: DiamondJ

Originally posted by: motoamd
I recieve zero telemarketer calls I just disconnected my land line and went with a cell phone.

Yea...Thats a sh!tty day when the telemarkters get a hold of those numbers.....

It is illegal, under Federal law, to telemarket or otherwise mass market to cell phone numbers. The reason why has nothing to do with telemarketing per se, but because it is illegal to mass market in a way that would cost the end-consumer directly. Unlike regular home phones, cell phone customers pay for their airtime minutes, including incoming minutes, therefore it is illegal to telemarket to them.

Otherwise, telemarketing is here to stay. It is not a case of "some companies just don't understand how to advertise to make your want their product." Telemarketing is dollar-for-dollar the most successful marketing strategy and sales technique in history. Bar none. And with products with complicated sales transactions, it is almost the only way. In fact, many companies use broadcast advertising (TV, radio, cable) only for brand/product recognition and then use telemarketing to close the deal.

 

[Dedpuhl]

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
Telemarking is successful for one reason: The people allow it. If every person that recieved a call would say "no" or hang up immediately, the business would crumble. Instead, we have lots of people in this country that will listen to every word and enough people buy the product offered, thus making the business profitable...

No customers = no money = no business = death to stupid telemarketers

So you are saying that it is all Skoorb's fault?

If he's bought something from a telemarketer....yup.

 

[LeStEr]

Originally posted by: DiamondJ
It's not THAT bad...I used to work for one...easy money....

YES it IS THAT bad. On average we get 5 calls a night and im not kidding. We can screen most of them but they keep calling.........Annoying as fvck!

 

[Mani]

For the love of god people, tell them to take you off the list. Not only does the calling company have to take you off their list, but EVERY telemarketer in the nation is required by federal law to, even if you only tell one! They put you into a do-not-call list database that all telemarketers have to adhere to.

It might take a few days/weeks to get it in the system, but it usually works. Until you apply for another credit card anyway...

 

[ProviaFan]

I'm online so much (damn dialup) that I usually don't have a big problem with telemarketers.

 

[TheShiz]

just hang up on them, or get an answering machine, or tell them to hold on a minute and leave the phone and go do something else.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Dedpuhl
Telemarking is successful for one reason: The people allow it. If every person that recieved a call would say "no" or hang up immediately, the business would crumble. Instead, we have lots of people in this country that will listen to every word and enough people buy the product offered, thus making the business profitable...

No customers = no money = no business = death to stupid telemarketers

Apart from that regretable time with the purchase of a PC gamer subscription over the phone nowadays I ALWAYS either hang up the instant I determine it's a telemarketer or I say "don't call here again", and then hangup. I did that before because I was not used to them (it's not even close to as bad in Canada as it is in the US and I had a relatively new landline).

I've noticed that we get about 4 calls a day from an "Unknown number" on the caller id. Anytime I let the answering machine or myself answer it a few seconds later we get a hangup. It's exceedingly annoying. Do I have any recourse? I can't even ID what the number is.

 

[StageLeft]

Also what's legally about the nastiest thing I could tell one of them? F#*k off? Or just Go to hell, or just "I hate you"?