# ! ! ! 1-800-Number Callers ! ! !



## Glorusty (Sep 26, 2006)

What can I do to stop 1-800 phone calls to my home phone? The same number continues to show up in my call display, at a wide variety of times of the day. When I answer this particular call, it always cuts off after I answer ! Who are these dastard companies? What is this all about ? I'd like to know who this is, so I can consider how to address it with "that company". 

The phone number that this comes from is 1-800-619-4113.


----------



## Paul O'Keefe (Jun 3, 2005)

Contact your phone company they can usually tell you how to ban harassing numbers.

Hey... do you think voice over internet (VOIP) will create a whole new level of automated spam... to our phones!


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Stop answering.

That's about all you can do. It's also the reason you pay for call display.

This particular number shows up nowhere. By the time you figure out who they are, they will have switched to another number.

The reason there is no one there when you do pick up is you are being assessed for the best time for phone machines or telemarketers to call you, at a later date, and no doubt from different 800 numbers, in order to sell you something of no doubt dubious merit.

Just don't answer. If you mistakenly answer, hang up right away.

You can change your number, but since these automated diallers just go through every number there is, the calls will come back. Unfortunately, that's the best advice. At least you don't have a number that recently belonged to a busy company or individual, and was published or widely circulated. That's probably a lot worse than the occasional 800 number call.

Anyone hear from *Boris *lately?


----------



## Glorusty (Sep 26, 2006)

*Those spamming telemarketers!*



Paul O'Keefe said:


> Contact your phone company they can usually tell you how to ban harassing numbers.
> 
> I took your advice. I called Telus and they advised me that "unfortunately, they cannot block this number". After awhile, she advised me, "Oh, they could block all 1-800 numbers." This seems unfair that this choice would also block others that I do business with. I do use 1-800 numbers that I can call out on and the party can also call me on.
> 
> ...


----------



## TrevX (May 10, 2005)

Why not call them? Find out who they are and asked (demand) to be removed from their call list.

Trev


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

For the same reason you don't respond to spam the same (or any other) way: confirming a real phone number, address or email address, valid, in use and "live" is an invitation for this information to be sold, traded or given away. Not good advice.



TrevX said:


> Why not call them? Find out who they are and asked (demand) to be removed from their call list.
> 
> Trev


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

Speaking of 1-800 numbers: I noticed that there is one (massive?) call centre that seems to have almost all the charities in their pocket--they call my employer at least once every other day with a different charity (sometimes once a week if it's slow, LOL). No matter how many times I've asked to be removed, they keep calling.

Finally I confronted one of them and asked them up front why they kept calling and the gist of it is this: although they can remove my (work's) number, it only applies to that particular charity; if they are hired by a different charity our number will be used until we ask to be removed (again), and so on...

Now call me crazy, but if I tell them (the tele-marketers specifically) to remove our number, shouldn't they do so? Or is this some loophole?


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Loophole in what? Their right to call you whenever they feel like it?





« MannyP Design » said:


> Now call me crazy, but if I tell them (the tele-marketers specifically) to remove our number, shouldn't they do so? Or is this some loophole?


----------



## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

HowEver said:


> Stop answering.
> 
> That's about all you can do. It's also the reason you pay for call display.


I have one telemarketter that is so desperate that he actually leaves messages on my answering machine, once or twice a month. Some sort of alarm company. Every time I see my messages light blink I know who it is now... he's a persistent little bugger. He's become our latest joke at home.


----------



## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

When I get one of those calls, I rapidly punch the # key about 20 times then hang up. Apparently this tells the caller computer that the line is not available. I have never got a 1-800 call from the same number since I began this tactic that I read in a news story many months ago, but I can't remember where to provide a link. Sorry.


----------



## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

When you pick up the phone and no-one is there, that's an autodialer at work. Once you pick up, a little light goes on in the telemarker's "boiler room" and the next free rep will hit that button and find themselves talking to you. Of course, there's a delay since no little light goes on until you say "Hello", and sometimes the reps are all busy when that happens.

It's against regulations to make you wait a long time. Record the time, date, incoming number if possible, and how long you waited before someone picked up on the other end. 5 seconds is getting to the "too long" point, so you can now fire off an eMail to your phone company and the CRTC. Don't expect miracles, because one incident is nothing, but a pattern or large number of complaints gets the telemarketer in doo-doo.


" ... Finally I confronted one of them and asked them up front why they kept calling and the gist of it is this: although they can remove my (work's) number, it only applies to that particular charity; if they are hired by a different charity our number will be used until we ask to be removed (again), and so on... "

That is not true. If you request to be removed, that particular telemarketer may not call you on behalf of <i>any and all</i> clients if you request that it be so.

The CRTC tightened up the rules in October 2004. A pdf summary from the law offices of Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt -Toronto spells it out.

However, these new rules were suspended in September of that same year. (Apparently identifying themselves at the beginning resulted in, I dunno, 100% hangups).

The short answer: say the magic words:

"Who is your contact person for telemarketing?"

They must give you a name and a local or toll-free phone number of a person who is available during business hours and is responsible for taking you off the call list for that telemarketer, not just one client.

If they don't comply, contact your phone company and next, the CRTC.

Refer to the CRTC regulations for clarity.


----------



## RevMatt (Sep 10, 2005)

HowEver said:


> Loophole in what? Their right to call you whenever they feel like it?


The law is quite clear that for a marketer, that is a priviledge, not a right.


----------



## Glorusty (Sep 26, 2006)

*I Don't Know Who They Are*



TrevX said:


> Why not call them? Find out who they are and asked (demand) to be removed from their call list.
> 
> Trev


This number ends up being a number that I can't get through to!


----------



## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

HowEver said:


> Loophole in what? Their right to call you whenever they feel like it?


So what about my rights?

I was under the impression that if I ask for them to remove from all future phone calls it was well within my right. Their constant calling is annoying at best--last month I logged approximately 12 calls from them alone. Each time I asked them to stop calling.


----------



## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

Glorusty: They will call you from a number that doesn't accept incoming calls. You need to ask them for the number to get off the list, and they have to give it to you. If they don't, record the time of the call and any other details, and complain to your Phone Company (you must go there first).

If that doesn't satisfy you, complain to the CRTC. But, remember the CRTC won't take a complaint unless you've gone to the phone company first.


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

If there was a law that could help you, by the time you figured out how to complain and who to complain to, someone entirely different will be calling you; another incorporated part of the same company, or an entirely different company. But the law won't help you. The CRTC has very little weight and doesn't enforce rules that it recommends be enacted. They'll thank you for your time though.




« MannyP Design » said:


> So what about my rights?
> 
> I was under the impression that if I ask for them to remove from all future phone calls it was well within my right. Their constant calling is annoying at best--last month I logged approximately 12 calls from them alone. Each time I asked them to stop calling.


----------



## TrevX (May 10, 2005)

HowEver said:


> For the same reason you don't respond to spam the same (or any other) way: confirming a real phone number, address or email address, valid, in use and "live" is an invitation for this information to be sold, traded or given away. Not good advice.


They keep dialing his number regardless, so why not call and try and get connected to someone and have them remove him from their list? If his phone rings they know its a valid number, so...

Anyway, as he said in an earlier message, he can't get connected to anyone dialing it himself, so he's SOL anyway.

Trev


----------



## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

" ... For the same reason you don't respond to spam the same (or any other) way: confirming a real phone number, address or email address, valid, in use and "live" is an invitation for this information to be sold, traded or given away. Not good advice. ..."

Phone numbers are not eMail addresses; they are public information, as is your home address and name. Privacy Laws in Canada allow their use and publication; even an unlisted number can be published; they carry no special legal exemption.

Not only that, but if Spammers could be held accountable by law, it would be easy to stop them. Telemarketers are accountable by law. Now, that may change; the 5 cent phone call from afar is upon us now, but I have a nice trick for the long-distance caller no matter how cheap the per-minute cost is: if you don't hang up you can tie the caller's phone up and more importantly, the long distance charges keep ticking (for a while, anyway).

In the old days with analog lines, if you did that even on a local call the calling party could not make another call 'till you hung up. I used to answer the phone, and if it was from a telemarketer, I would just carry the phone, which had a long cord, to the oven for a few hours (no, the oven wasn't on; just so they could not hear anything). They had to call the phone company's service line to release the line, which took a couple of hours. They quit calling me.

I don't have much trouble today either. It takes me about two weeks to silence a phone. After that, not a single telemarketing call from anyone, for 3 years. When they start again, they end just as fast for another 3 years.

I've silenced phones for friends and relatives many times as well. It's not hard at all.

When I have a problem account (only 1 so far), I eMailed the company the telemarketer represents, outlining the steps I have taken so far without results and I noted prominently on the eMail that a Blind Carbon Copy has gone to:
the telemarketing firm;
my phone company;
the telemarketer's phone company;
and the CRTC.

The calls ended. Quickly, I might add.


----------



## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

> It's also the reason you pay for call display.


exactly !!

oh look, HOWEVER and I agreed on something


----------



## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

« MannyP Design » said:


> So what about my rights?
> 
> I was under the impression that if I ask for them to remove from all future phone calls it was well within my right. Their constant calling is annoying at best--last month I logged approximately 12 calls from them alone. Each time I asked them to stop calling.


Quite simply, we in Canada have no effective laws to govern junk fax or telemarketing abuse. 

The regulations that the CRTC puts out are governed by the individual telcos, and as you have found out, there's sweet boom-all that they are willing and able to do about it. They can't threaten the caller if they are not a customer of that specific telco. SO - all the telemarketers have to do is call BC from a Quebec location and call Quebec from a BC location and they are immune to retaliation.

By making a formal complaint through the CRTC, then your telco has to do a follow up report and a bunch of regulatory paperwork. If they have to do that too much, maybe it'll dawn on them that it would be cheaper to give the consumer real tools for blocking annoyance calls. "Block all 800" or "Block all unlisted number" as the only option is useless. 

There are regulations about what hours telemarketers can call, what information they are required to give you (including company name and contact info), whether automatic message machines (recorded advertising messages) are permitted, how quickly the caller must vacate the line after you hang up, and what must be on an advertising fax (unsubscribe number, company name and address). 

One pet peeve is that there is no restriction on voicemail advertising; where the advertiser directly puts the message into your voicemailbox. The CRTC in their wisdom ruled that since a 'call' (that is a ringing phone that is answered) was not made, there is no interruption to the recipient, and therefore direct mailbox 'spam' cannot be regulated the same way as 'calls'.

The dirty part of this is that the telcos profit from these calls. They are either renting the marketer the phone line, or charging for voicemailbox access, or they are sharing in the long distance revenue though reciprocal agreements with the other telco.


----------



## Brian Scully (Jan 23, 2001)

*How about this ?*

Hi mr obnoxius person what is your actual address and then jump into your car and go there.

Knock knock on the door and when he answeres then pull out the Glock and pump three slugs thru his forehead 

End of problem ....Just kidding folks but dont' you wish


----------



## iGeeK (Jan 27, 2003)

*"you pay for call display."*

Caller ID display is ceasing to be an effective filter, because many of these annoying varmints are now using:

a) private numbers
b) blocked numbers

Because of the proliferation of VoIP, cheap prepaid cellphones & all kinds of freaky stuff based on reselling cellphone airtime, many *legitimate* calls come through as "Unknown name", "Private number" etc.

About 40% of phone calls I get from people using cellphones do not display the name or number. Therefore it is becoming difficult to establish if a call is from some annoying sphincter from a "Market research company" (at freakin' 11 PM on a weekend) or from a friend who just got a newer, slimmer, "gadgietier than thou" cellphone.

It's not only 1-800 callers who are being pestiferous pricks... 

How about Rogers Cable?
"We are calling to check on your customer satisfaction..."
Translation: "We want you to buy more stuff from us, whether you need it or not."
My reply: "Stop calling me, and I will be totally satisfied."

How about one's bank? 
"This is a courtesy call, bla, bla, bla..."
Translation: "We don't think you have enough debt, so we would like to offer a brand spankin' new line of credit, increase the credit limit on the card you have, and howzabout some life insurance, eh?"
My reply: "Please do me the courtesy of not calling again."

I've told Rogers and CIBC sales reps many times not to call.

Even talked to shift supervisors, specifically mentioning that I do not wish to receive sales calls disguised as "courtesy". Did this ever bring a result? No.

I'm particularly ticked off with the bank repeatedly ramming their life insurance stuff both trough the mail and the phone. How many times does one have to say "I'm not interested. Don't call me, I will call you."?

Telecom legislation in Canada really *needs to change* in regard to this.

The onus should not be on an individual to protect themselves from such aggressive telemarketing.

Technology is not the answer in this case, the law is.

íGeeK

P.S. Oh, yeah... Last two calls from a "Market research company", caller ID displayed *Unknown Name/000-000-0000*


----------



## Glorusty (Sep 26, 2006)

*Yes, I am venting, and after all, I do feel better, thanks.*

I called the 1800-619-4113 and heard a recording about their phone number belonging to Magic N Miracles, wanting a donation, and directing me to another phone number to call for support for issues call 1800-793-1204. 
After the recorded dialogue, it offers a "free do not call" option. Selecting this option, confirms your phone number and that it will be added to all non-prospecting lists and you will be removed from this telemarketers calling list.
HOWEver, it also tells you that this does not affect agencies you have prior relationship with, and you will need to call each one of them.

Previously, I have made requests to be removed from mailing lists and telephone lists, including Magic N Miracles. Where possible, when I make a donation or purchase something I request this to be one time and do not add me to lists. To no avail.

Telemarketer company name: XENTEL
Telephone number on my call display: 1800-619-4113
Contact person for telemarketing: ROB or WILL
Office call center: Edmonton
Charity: Magic of Miracles

Rather than transferring me to ROB or WILL or giving me the phone number, my call was handed to Andrew, the telephone supervisor. 

Andrew freely picked up the thread that they are "Not Responsible", since I had made a prior donation. The nature of the boast here, seems to clash with any notion of having pride in ones daily job. These are not ethics I would like to reinforce on a daily basis in myself. I suppose Andrew could always offset the effect such a statement would have in his personal life, with the personal empowering affirmation "I am responsible".

So, ignorance was a disadvantage that exceeded the disadvantage of compassion. Compassion, yes, but contribute to charities some other way than through telemarketers. I believe the first time I responded to donate to Magic N Miracles was through a telemarketer, several years ago. 
And Yes, I Am Responsible, and so should everyone else be.


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Brian Scully said:


> Hi mr obnoxius person what is your actual address and then jump into your car and go there.
> 
> Knock knock on the door and when he answeres then pull out the Glock and pump three slugs thru his forehead
> 
> End of problem ....Just kidding folks but dont' you wish


Don't need to wish for it. Just move to the U.S.A.!


----------



## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

Not only do I use call display, but we screen all calls coming to our house.

Telemarketers rarely leave messages, although a few leave recorded sales pitches. I figure that if someone calls me and whatever they are calling about isn't important enough to leave a message then too bad for them.

If someone I want to talk to has their name appear on my call display, I pick up or if I hear the beginning of their message I pick up. All of our friends know that when they call their calls are screened. I only speak with those I choose to, when I choose to. Some people think there is something not quite right about screening calls, but I don't have a problem with it. I wish I could screen my front door too against salespeople and Christian proselytizers.

Something I'd like to set up when I have the time is a system where the call display info is spoken by computer, so I don't have to go to the phone to see the name and number if I'm in the middle of something. I understand there are a few ways to do this.

With all the universal condemnation of telephone spam you would think some bright political party would put in ironclad effective laws around this into their platform. A guaranteed vote getter, I imagine.


----------

