Has anyone had problems with the no call list not being adhered to? I've had several calls and then several hangups from the same number who called. My mother-in-law is in hospice. My wife and I live with her to take care. There have been several calls from a certain number insisting on sales..... very insisting. I made a formal complaint online tonight along with a complaint to the number the calls came from with all the detail but have very little faith that something will be done.
Are there any similar circumstances that you have incurred? Is the complaint forum provided by the web worth the effort?
I refuse to turn off the ringer just to keep the telemarketers at bay. As soon as i do then a loved one will call and we will miss the op to explain her condition. This is a very very very frustrating event at a time where things are nearing an end.
Regardless of the circumstance or the final outcome, I would like to think that folks can share some common decency when asked not to try to sell things like native american artifacts, handicap accommodated bathroom fixtures (which she is already setup for and has been for the last 5 frickin years), Ziplock bags @ $172.00 for four boxes. I could go on but the real question is whether anyone has had any experience in getting rid of these type sales calls by filing an online complaint with the so called "No Call List".
Sorry for the rant (not really)....just frustrated.
Any thoughts?
I report them all the time at http://donotcall.gov but I've never gotten any kind of feedback as to whether or not they did anything.
I have a friend who can only hear because of a cochlear implant he has installed in his head. When he pickups a ringing phone he says,"Wait a minute." Then he does the hookup needed so he can hear the caller. I've often wondered how often he goes through this manuever to discover the caller is gone because it is a telemarketer or polltaker of some sort who can't waste time waiting. Even worse are the automated calls that hangup after a certain number of rings.
I have capitulated on controlling my telephone. At home, everything goes to the answering machine. If it is someone we want to talk to we will pickup.
The same thing goes for the business phone. All out of State calls to to the answering machine. Caller ID is great.
Check with your State Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division. I believe they are the ones that handle complaints of this nature. The "No Call" center basically just records the numbers. Enforcement of the regulations is a state level issue, I believe.
Here in Mississippi, there is a form that you can get from the AG's office that you fill out at the time of the call and them mail into the AG's office. They have been fining the heck out of several companis and have even revoked the business license of a few of the firms involved.
The no-call list has worked so well for me I am almost afraid to say it out loud, so I'm typing this...
No Call List
"There have been several calls from a certain number insisting on sales..... very insisting."
Sales people don't get a chance to "insist" on anything. Most never get beyond my realizing it's not someone I know or a client. Then......click.
Sorry for your family's painful vigil Craig.
No amount of pleading, reasoning, nor threats stop these sweat shops from calling. The no call list seems to work sometimes for a short while, then those people are back.
Our friends and family know to use the private email, and cells to contact us. The land line has been compromised for many years, and is relegated only for the store front.
The best response appears to be filing a consumer complaint with the state's attorney general's office. If they become flat out abusive, file a complaint with the police and prosecutor's office. There is no quick stop to the calls, and the phone company is useless against this. Like all of us, phone machines, and caller ID are our best defense. What legitimate call has an unknown source? All those filings take time and then even more time to get action and enforcement. Why the law doesn't protect us when and where it will do some good is always a mystery, and the need hits home with this issue.
prayers and all the best,
david
