No Call List

Caller ID? I'm not going to pay the phone company more money so people won't bother me. It's a freaking joke. Just like it costs extra to have an unlisted number.

I've actually stopped a lot of telemarketing calls and junk mail by getting my name on the "preference list" or whatever it's called that's been around for years.

Really though, if it were up to me, I wouldn't have a phone at all. I never use the stupid thing.

Edit: just realized I had a telemarketer leave me a message today. So much for that theory :)
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Ripple Rock Amusement Park

*** This post was edited by millrace 9/25/2003 10:10:58 PM ***

Since when does it cost extra to have an unlisted number? It must be a state-by-state thing, because in Illinois, you don't pay extra to not be listed.

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

Caller ID would be a great solution to the answer if it worked correctly on every single phone call. Here in no-man's-land (a.k.a. South Central Kentucky) our caller ID system is very hit and miss. And trying to complain to the phone company about it not working every time gets you nowhere fast. :(

On the "unlisted number" topic, it is quite rediculous to have to pay to have your number non-published. I guess when you have as many fans as I do, you want your privacy though.. ;)

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This ain't no book you can close, when the big light hits your eyes. Cropduster-Riot Act-Pearl Jam

Actually, there is one thing keeping me from upgrading to highspeed. As long as I am online, NO CALLS can get to me. I see it as a nice way of screwing over the telemarketers. And with my experience, NO means Tell me more.

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I am not who you think I am.

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Chitown said:
Since when does it cost extra to have an unlisted number? It must be a state-by-state thing, because in Illinois, you don't pay extra to not be listed.

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$5 a month north of the great cheddar curtain.

d8 -- who just ignores the phone whenever he can.

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"Welcome to Wisconsin... Illinois' Largest State Park."

It's about $3 a month to have an unlisted number with CenturyTel here in Ohio.

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- John
Homepark: CP Home-away-from-homepark: PKI
My Campusfish Blog

Sometimes not even an unlisted number helps. We have an unlisted number, but Alltel (in their brilliance) only waits 4 months before recycling phone numbers.

So, yeah, we don't get many unsolicited phone calls, but we get lots of calls for some guy named Dennis. Sounds like a real deadbeat, too. Most of the calls are of the harassing, collection type. I kid you not, we got a call once at 1:00am from some guy who left a message on the machine telling Dennis that he was sleeping with Dennis' wife, that he knew she was pregnant, and that Dennis should let her go to be with him.

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Walt Schmidt - Virtual Midway
*** This post was edited by Gemini 9/26/2003 6:33:13 AM ***

I don't need a bill to tell me it's OK to hang up on a telemarketer. ;-)

What really pisses me off is junk email. Sometimes it does not matter how many filtering options you have.....you will still get too much. The ones where they say "this is a one time mailing" really annoy me, or the ones where you have to "unsubscribe" to keep from getting anymore emails. Once you take the minute or two to unsubscribe they send you an email tell you that you have been successfully unsubscribed!

Walt, sounds like you are at least getting some entertainment from keeping this phone number. lol.

This Dennis dude sounds like he has some issues huh? lol.

-Tina

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Gimme speed, height, airtime and plenty of LAUNCH!!!

I don't have my phone bill in front of me Chitown, but I live in the same town as you (for now) and I know I get charged to have an unlisted number each month. -- My wife and I joke that it's to make up for the loss of revenue of not being able to sell our number to telemarketers.

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--George H
Currency Tracking Experiment...Where's George.com

My New Blog...Check it out

Here in Cincinnati, I pay roughly $2, or something like that for my unlisted number. However, the unlisted number is basically so no one can technically look up your number by calling 411.

When a business orders phone numbers for whatever reason, they have the option of ordering "listed" sample only, or a random selection of all numbers in a particular region, markets, etc.

CoasterDad64 - Thanks for the follow up. We too keep an internal list of respondents who inform us to be put on our DNC (Do Not Call) list.

coasterqueenTRN: Amen to the "junk" e-mails. That is more annoying than the phone calls. Especially when I get e-mail that I can't even read because of the foregin language it may be in. Maybe we should get Rep. Ed Marky to put together a national "junk" e-mail list. What a nightmare that list would be.

On teh radio in Chicago this morning. Another Judge has determined that neither the FTC nor FCC can make a do not call list. The judge claims it violate the telemarketers free speech. This ones going to go to teh supreme court it looks like. Hopefullly they will have a clue and let the list go on.

The 2nd idiot judge: Edward Nottingham

303-844-5018 (His secretary's phone number.)

303-335-2155 (Fax)

nottingham_chambers@cod.uscourts.gov

Have at it my good friends!
*** This post was edited by wahoo skipper 9/26/2003 10:11:07 AM ***

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coasterqueenTRN said:
I don't need a bill to tell me it's OK to hang up on a telemarketer. ;-)

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Tina, it's OK to hang up on a telemarketer....oh, wait....wrong Bill....nevermind...;)
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We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon, but there ain't no whales so we tell tall tales and sing a whaling tune...

Let's all call the judge who tried to put a stop to the do not call list and interrupt his dinner.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Yes, telemarketing is annoying. But it just wastes time. Junk mail is MUCH more offensive. It wastes precious resources (trees) and takes much more time to sort through than simply saying no to a phone call.

This bill was struck down yesterday because it discriminates. Political parties are still free to call who the want. Of course our self-serving politicians are not going to apply the laws they make to themselves.

With this country in the worst economic condition it has had in a decade, now is not the time to pass legistation that will cause FURTHER unemployment. Our politicians would be better off spending their time productively trying to create new jobs than eliminate current jobs.

My phone number is unlisted, and i do not give out my phone number on forms unless necessary. I hardly ever get a telemarketing call. If i do, i politely say no, realizing that the person speaking is just trying to earn a living.

It's amazing that our country can allow the porn industry to flourish. Internet scams are all over the place. Illegal drug dealing is a huge industry. But yet, they waste public resources on this bill.

Just another step by the Bush administration to further its own interests. Just like Iraq, which is getting ready to blow up in his face.

*** This post was edited by super7 9/26/2003 11:43:05 AM ***

How much do you want to bet that judge has an unlisted number and caller ID?

I have both. Fortunately, I don't have relatives or friends who live in other countries who call me, so we pretty much ignore the unknown caller calls.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm

Sorry, but I have to agree with the court's ruling. It isn't right that the government can say it's OK for The American Cancer society to call you but not a discount mortgage company. That's certainly an issue of controlling free speech, regardless of if we like it or not.

I just assume require everyone to use the list and therefore remove the constitutional question. I don't want the calls either way.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Blogs, photo albums - CampusFish
What time does the water show start?

I don't know ... I think my right to privacy supersedes an organization's right to commercial or non-commercial speech. A do not call list does not outlaw an organization's speech. Now, if congress were to pass a law making telemarketing illegal, that might be a different story.

The DMA already has a do not call list (which, ironically, must not violate the right to free speech). Why are they opposed to this one? Afraid it might be more effective?

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Walt Schmidt - Virtual Midway

First off, most pornographers only deal with those people who are interested in porn; many illegal drugs should not be illegal in the first place (IMO), and congressionl hearings have been and will continue to be held to discuss the best way to deal with the Internet. Turn on C-SPAN once in a while and you'd see a lot more going on than just the Do Not Call list. Perhaps being a Washingtonian now I am more aware of what goes on, but I believe C-SPAN is available in every state. Check it out. You'll get your congressional coverage unfiltered.

BTW: I worked for a Radio market research company, and though we didnt sell anything, I ws still consider a "scumbag telemarketer". I was assaulted by every known (and some unknown) insult regarding myself, my ancestry, and my progenies (of which I actually have none :)). That experience taught me to be more sympathetic to the "grunt" manning the phones.

HOWEVER, I would like to point out that it completely soured me on telephone solicitations. I still will entertain the occasional survey, because I like my opinions to be known, but the ideas of unlisted numbers and the like are practially worthless. Our company had an "autodialer" that would call *every* number in a prefix with the sole purpose of determining if that number was in use or not. If the call was answered, then that number was fair game to call. Sometimes we got businesses, other times, fax machines/computers. But the most interesting calls were the ones we got to people with unlisted numbers. This one particular old codger from the New York area really read me the riot act. He actually got me mad...so mad all I could do was laugh, especially since he failed to direct me not to call the number again.

The point is, there are several of these type of companies around the country. We were located in Chicago, but called Nationwide. Having a list of numbers rejecting solicitations centrallized is good for both business and personal interests. Those that dont want to be called are not bothered and the businesses dont waste resources that have no prospect of being profitable.

What the businesses are saying (the meaning beneath the words) is that while some people would sign up for the Do Not Call list, a significant portion of that group would not be able to tell a live person no/dont call.

lata, jeremy
--who notes that every poll you see is not a reflection of the people, but rather a reflection of the people who respond to surveys!

But Jeff, there is a difference between the charity and the mortgage broker. It's a difference that is actually well accepted by the current society. That much is refected by the difference in tax status granted to the two entities. At least in the case of the charitable organizations there can be made the argument that there is a compelling interest to the state to allow their work to go forward. Entities that address such social problems as homelessness, disease, etc are, arguably, taking on tasks that benefit society as a whole and thus should be afforded special stature, which, I believe, is the whole basis for the "Tax-exempt Status" that currently exists.

So, I can perfectly see how you can let the ACS call but not a discount mortgage broker.

lata, jeremy

--sorry for posting twice in a row