The third telemarketer in one week just hung up ON ME. I am so sick and tired of trying to be nice to these people and then when I say:

no thanks
please send me something in the mail
I don't give out persoanl information by phone

they hang up on me.

Are you kidding? That is so unbelievably insulting.

From now on, I will no longer be Mrs. Nice Gal. I'm done trying!

Dotsie, sign up your home phone and cell phone numbers on the do-not call list. https://www.donotcall.gov/ It takes about 30 days to 3 months to take effect, and it does help cut down or eliminate the telemarketing calls.

Cookie, I used the link you gave and registered my phones yet again...Maybe it'll work this time.

I did the same thing....seems I've done it 100 times but one more time can't hurt!

Also, when they call whether it's a computer call or a live person, you can hit the pound key# as many times as you can when you pick up the phone. It confuses the system and knocks your number out of their system!!

Dotsie, I started having that problem years ago. I'm also on the do not call registry, but that doesn't eliminate certain "charities" or companies you do business with. I hate to say it, but the best thing to do as soon as you hear that pause and if that doesn't clue you, as soon as you hear that "hello...and how are you today?" -- just hang up. I met a person who did telemarketing and he said that he didn't want to waste time with anyone who wasn't potentially going to buy from him, so you're doing them a favor if you hang up. It might feel rude, but hey -- we're talking about telemarketing here.

I have only one caveat though -- once I had a telemarketer and I hung up on her. She called me back and said we'd gotten disconnected by mistake and I said, no, I hung up. And so she says, "That's so rude!" and hangs up on me! I was so mad!

DJ, I'm laughing. Sorry, but I can just see that ahppening and then you still get burned. They're crazy!

I've registered before and I just registered again.

Here's the other thing I can't stand. The call comes in, you answer and no one says a dang thing and then the recording comes or they finally speak. Sorry, but I'm not waiting around for you. You called me! So I hang up and sometimes they have the nerve to call again.

DJ, I like your idea of answering and hanging up right away. It makes sense and it saves them time too.

It's a computer calling, dotsie, thus the pause. When the marketer sees that the call was received, they connect personally. Pressing the # key on answer might be the only solution until our no-call registration takes effect.don't know what the hanging up is about, unless they're youngsters looking for youngsters and they guage the sounds of our voices.

FYI....here are the loopholes in the do-not-call list.


Will All Telemarketing Calls Stop If I Register?
If I register my number on the National Do Not Call Registry, will it stop all telemarketing calls?
No. Placing your number on the National Do Not Call Registry will stop most telemarketing calls, but not all. Because of limitations in the jurisdiction of the FTC and FCC, calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted, as would calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship, or those to whom you’ve provided express agreement in writing to receive their calls.

Are calls from political organizations or calls soliciting for charities covered?
Political solicitations are not covered by the TSR at all, since they are not included in its definition of “telemarketing.” Charities are not covered by the requirements of the national registry. However, if a third-party telemarketer is calling on behalf of a charity, a consumer may ask not to receive any more calls from, or on behalf of, that specific charity. If a third-party telemarketer calls again on behalf of that charity, the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000.

What about telephone surveys?
If the call is really for the sole purpose of conducting a survey, it is not covered. Only telemarketing calls are covered — that is, calls that solicit sales of goods or services. Callers purporting to take a survey, but also offering to sell goods or services, must comply with the National Do Not Call Registry.

My number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. After I bought something from a company, a telemarketer representing that organization called me. Is this a violation?
No. By purchasing something from the company, you established a business relationship with the company. As a result, even if you put your number on the National Do Not Call Registry, that company may call you for up to 18 months after your last purchase or delivery from it, or your last payment to it, unless you ask the company not to call again. In that case, the company must honor your request not to call. If they subsequently call you again, they may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000.

An established business relationship with a company also will be created if you make an inquiry to the company, or submit an application to it. This kind of established business relationship exists for three months after the inquiry or application. During this time, the company can call you.

If you make a specific request to that company not to call you, however, then the company may not call you, even if you have an established business relationship with that company.