# Unwanted phone calls



## Snapple Quaffer (Sep 2, 2003)

Do you, in Canada, get plagued with cold-canvas type telemarketing calls just as you're settling down to dinner?

I know, I know … silly question.

Check this out. It's some poor call-centre drone getting stick from an irate callee.

WARNING: Contains language.


----------



## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Yeah, we do. A thread on the subject seems to pop up about once a year. I screen many calls but the odd time I'll just pick up. If I get dead air for even a second I just hang up. Most of the time that's just the interval of the autodialing software handing off to a real person in order to land the fish they've just hooked. I rarely have to apologize to a legit caller for having hung up on them without so much as saying 'hello'.

Although I did hang up on an old buddy the other day because the number displayed was the weirdest looking thing... turned out he was on a PC using Skype.


----------



## Snapple Quaffer (Sep 2, 2003)

Max, re your old buddy story, we've had friends cut up before just because they don't sound right.

While in the States staying with relatives some years ago, a friend from Scotland, who was also in the States at the time, called to speak to us. Unfortunately my ditzy-schitzy sister-in-law took the call and panicked thinking it was a crank call. I suppose a Scots accent can sound cranky to the untrained American ear. It took a bit of sorting out - much embarrassment all round.

Anyway, I thought I'd share the link with you all to show how these things can be handled without having to resort to civilised, patient, reasonable discourse.


----------



## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Hey Snapple, the odd time I've taken a call, especially on my cell from another cell caller with either a crappy cell or a crappy connection, and it's amazing how distorted an otherwise familiar voice can become. I've also been on the other end of things, insisting to someone that "hey, it's me - Max!" - before they clue in that I'm not some creep or random-dialing spammer.


----------



## RevMatt (Sep 10, 2005)

We are mostly plagued with calls for the former owner of the phone number. Many of them sound like collection agencies, which perhaps explains their persistence.


----------



## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Lately we've been getting a number of these calls in the early evening, especially during dinner. Very annoying. When I answer, if there's no one at the other end immediately, I hang up. If there is someone there, and it's a sales / telemarketing call, I slam the receiver down before they're finished reading the first line of their prepared text. A pox on them all.


----------



## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

am i the only one with an answering machine?
not to mention call display so I don't answer numbers that I don't recognize

bell call answer = $10 / mth
bell call display = $2 / mth
not being bothered by tele-martketers = priceless


----------



## Brainstrained (Jan 15, 2002)

Macspectrum, you must not have kids who believe that every call is for them (because at least eight out of two are) and hence must be answered.  

Rather than politely screen those few calls that aren't for them, they call mom or dad to stop whatever it is they're doing to get the opening spiel of a telemarketer.


----------



## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Not to mention that an answering machine takes all the fun out of it... it's a solution all right, but a sterile one as far as I'm concerned. It's small-minded but I often get a kick out of actively ending the connection before the pitch can begin.


----------



## overkill (May 15, 2005)

I try to be polite with the telemarketers that I do get a hold of, simply stating that I am not interested. If they dont listen to me the first time, I will simply state that I am hanging up. For a brief time I did their job for a business directory, although our calls were made during normal business hours, I try not to hold anything against the person who is calling at whatever time, because in most cases its their company which informs them to dial the specific list of numbers at certain times to guarentee someone picks up.

The only ones that I will always go through til the end with, are people doing surveys on the phone. Do not know why, but always make time to go through the entire survey with them and have fun doing it. Best one so far was an alcohol survey


----------



## Digital_Gary (Sep 18, 2003)

It is very annoying but you have to realize they are just doing their job. I usually politely say I'm not interested. If they persist, which they usually do, I again politely say no thanks. If they persist again, roughly 50% do, I interrupt them and tell them I am not going to say it nicely again. Most get the hint and thank me for my time. At that point I ask to be taken off their list. If, on the other hand, they still persist after my warning, I either hang up on them or if I am a bad mood, I give them a piece of my mind. Not quite as graphic as the called above though


----------



## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

Brainstrained said:


> Macspectrum, you must not have kids who believe that every call is for them (because at least eight out of two are) and hence must be answered.
> 
> Rather than politely screen those few calls that aren't for them, they call mom or dad to stop whatever it is they're doing to get the opening spiel of a telemarketer.


hmmmm, i know i've not been a child for quite a while (altho' many would argue otherwise), but I would think mom and dad outrank children


----------



## Jason H (Feb 1, 2004)

I just like to put my phone onto speakerphone and throw the handset down. Makes a lovely nice noise for the person at the other end. 

I've had rogers call me about once a day for the last 3 days trying to sell me cable. I have highspeed and that is it. Today I was finally here when they called, and told them to remove me from their list. They even offered the number for the canadian marketing association. I did have to speak to the supervisor though.


----------



## MLeh (Dec 23, 2005)

Macspectrum: the problem comes when the kids get into the habit of answering the phone, because it's always for them, and then the telemarketer asks for <insert name from phone book here>. Until the children learn what's actually happening, you get "mum, the phone's for you", pick up the extension and start getting the spiel. They eventually learn.

The response telephone solicitors get, from anyone in our family, is: "I'm sorry. We don't listen to telephone solicitations." and hang up. No arguing. Just 'sorry' *click*


----------



## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

once again; "call display"

"Kids, don't answer the phone during dinner if you don't recognize the number"

too Accom's Razor?


----------



## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

MACSPECTRUM said:


> am i the only one with an answering machine?
> not to mention call display so I don't answer numbers that I don't recognize


No you're not the only one. The only problem is, since my mom came to live with me, she can't stop answering the phone. Both me and her will be busy and she insists on answering the phone. Then of course she tells me it's for me... arrrgggghhh.


----------



## MLeh (Dec 23, 2005)

MACSPECTRUM said:


> once again; "call display"
> 
> "Kids, don't answer the phone during dinner if you don't recognize the number"


Actually, the rule in our house is 'The phone doesn't get answered (period) when we're at the dinner table'.


----------



## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

The Doug said:


> Lately we've been getting a number of these calls in the early evening, especially during dinner. Very annoying. When I answer, if there's no one at the other end immediately, I hang up. If there is someone there, and it's a sales / telemarketing call, I slam the receiver down before they're finished reading the first line of their prepared text. A pox on them all.


I understand the impulse to slam down the receiver, but it's ineffective: you're still getting the calls. It's worth it to take a moment to ask them to take you off their list. Asking for a name and number can also be helpful, because then they know they'd damn well better take you off the list or you'll be ratting on them. Yes, this is slower than slamming the receiver, but after a while the calls will stop entirely. 

Then there's the issue of companies you already have a relationship with. Back when I still received noticeable numbers of marketing calls (I get maybe one per month now), many of them came from my bank. Since the bank might have legitimate reasons to phone me, I asked them never to call me for purely marketing purposes. Problem solved.


----------



## overkill (May 15, 2005)

MLeh said:


> Actually, the rule in our house is 'The phone doesn't get answered (period) when we're at the dinner table'.


This is a good rule to have, my family has used it and it works to not disrupt the family atmosphere that is created when having dinner together.


----------



## Jeepdude (Mar 3, 2005)

I listed my number under my mother's maiden name, instead of my last name. That way, if someone calls for Mr. or Mrs. (not me) I know right away what the call is all about. I then respond...appropriately. 

I generally am polite but firm in getting off the phone, howeer what makes me really upset is when they call right back. It's happened several times.


----------



## Jeepdude (Mar 3, 2005)

overkill said:


> This is a good rule to have, my family has used it and it works to not disrupt the family atmosphere that is created when having dinner together.


Sure it's good for the family atmosphere...but hey, above all else...FOOD COMES FIRST! :heybaby:


----------



## JAGflyer (Jan 10, 2005)

We also had a very famous telemarketer called "Best Price Movers". Everyone in Toronto knew of them. I even called a few times just for fun. The people who answered the phone were two stoned/drunk kids asking if I wanted to ship any "drugs". Just search "Best Price Movers" on google and you'll see how many people know and hate them. I dont even think they are a real company but rather just a few people with no education or jobs who have a phone and want to annoy all of the 905 and 416 region for the fun of it.

We don't answer telemarketing calls (UNKNOWN NAME and an 800 number or anything that says something like WINDOWS or DUCT). Even worse is my mom's friend that calls at the worst times. 8am on the weekend or 6pm in the evening. To make it worse if we don't answer she calls my mom's cell phone in a search to talk to her. She lives in the same time zone so she should have some respect for those us when we are eating dinner. One of these days I will tell her to not call during dinner since my mom doesn't have the guts to do it!


----------



## FeXL (Jan 2, 2004)

Digital_Gary said:


> At that point I ask to be taken off their list.


Good luck.

There's a certain credit card company (slogan: what's in your wallet?) who started sending us preapproved credit apps in the mail about a year ago. No biggie, from the mailbox straight to the garbage. Started getting telephone calls from the same company about 6 months ago, no biggie, a polite "No, thx" always worked. 

After about 4 or 5 of these calls (they were calling around twice a month) I started getting short with them, asked to be taken off the list (3x), etc. No luck. Call rate actually accelerated, to almost weekly.

Arrived home one day last month, checked the mail, two envelopes, one for me _and_ one for my bride. At that time, the phone rang, guess who?

I came unglued. Made the Brit sound like a little school girl. Won't go into the details, but suffice it to say I bet the person quit on the spot after I hung up. 

Then, I looked for a contact number on the app. I wanted some butt. Nothing. Hit their website, got a customer service #, started dialing. Who I really wanted to talk to was the lovely credit manager who seemed to know me on a first name basis, but, it was after hours. Got someone from Canada who said they couldn't take me off the contact list becuase it was US generated. Transferred me stateside, she told me they couldn't take me off because I'm in Canada.

Choked, I hung up, redialled the Canada #, tried again on the new answerer, same BS story, transferred stateside once again. I'm long past seeing red at this point, I've gone to purple and colours beyond. Finally reached someone who knew WTF was going on. 

To her credit, this lady was all-pro. She diffused the situation, said she'd take us off of the mailing & call list, gave me her number in case it ever happened again.

Thus far, it's worked. But, I ain't holding my breath.

The good news is, I received a credit app from yet another international financial institution last week. They've now a branch in Lethbridge. I've not only got an address, but (oh, joy) a _name!_

Time to roll the Hawg out, put on my leathers and a maniacal look and go for a visit. 'Course, this'll have to be after about a week without bathing or teeth brushing and a nice evening ride along some bug infested stretch of highway...


----------



## Max (Sep 26, 2002)

Ahh, yes... Best Price Movers. With the worse fake accents I've ever heard on a telespammer call. Bad limey, bad Eastern European, bad everything... incredible. I always wondered what those guys were on. Haven't received a call from them in over a year now... knock on wood.


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Brainstrained said:


> Macspectrum, you must not have kids who believe that every call is for them (because* at least eight out of two* are) and hence must be answered.



Eight out of two?


----------



## MLeh (Dec 23, 2005)

overkill said:


> This is a good rule to have, my family has used it and it works to not disrupt the family atmosphere that is created when having dinner together.


We promote the attitude that the telephone is there for OUR convenience, not the caller's. If we're busy, eating dinner, or just have company, we'll let the phone ring through to the machine. A lot of people, when visiting, are astounded that I can just totally ignore a ringing telephone. The standard acknowledgement is to look at the phone and say "I don't think so." If it's THAT important, they'll leave a message. Same thing with cell phones - I've got voice mail - use it.


----------



## Beej (Sep 10, 2005)

I got rid of my home phone and just generally ignore or turn off my cell phone. When I did have a base phone, my roommate was sort of surprised that I could ignore it if I was doing something. I'm surprised at how many people will interrupt pretty much anything they're doing (I mean ANYTHING) just to find out who's calling. The odds are it's not important and, if it is important, odds are you can't do anything about it (unless you're a doctor) but curiosity is a powerful thing I guess.


----------



## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

MLeh said:


> Actually, the rule in our house is 'The phone doesn't get answered (period) when we're at the dinner table'.


finally, some logic


----------



## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

MLeh said:


> We promote the attitude that the telephone is there for OUR convenience, not the caller's. If we're busy, eating dinner, or just have company, we'll let the phone ring through to the machine. A lot of people, when visiting, are astounded that I can just totally ignore a ringing telephone. The standard acknowledgement is to look at the phone and say "I don't think so." If it's THAT important, they'll leave a message. Same thing with cell phones - I've got voice mail - use it.


Yeah that sounds about thte same as my attitude toward the phone, now I just have to train my mom.


----------



## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

then of course with voice mail you have the geniuses that leave such informative messages as; "hi, it's me"


----------



## RevMatt (Sep 10, 2005)

Yeah, no phone during meals was the rule when I was growing up, and it is still. If it's important, they'll leave a message or call back. And I have had to get call display, too, as a way of keeping my job from crowding my little time off. Although I still have to check the message immediately in case it is a true emergency, I can at least skip over the calls that are only emergencies in the mind of the caller 

I will be eternally greatful to have this census contract over with, however, as it keeps our phones ringing almost constantly.


----------



## Agnes (Oct 15, 2007)

*Do Not Call list!!*

Register yourself for free to stop unwanted calls and mail!

https://cornerstonewebmedia.com/cma/submit.asp

The legislation is more recent than the law in the U.S., but it's been around since 2005. Took some doing, but I found the form; most search results pointed to the older and better known UK and US versions.

Note: It won't stop all unwanted solicitations, but it will make a difference.

P.S.
I registered to this forum just to post this message.

---------
---------
"The history of modern history predates modern history."
-Agnes Maria Sroczynski, January 2005

DEATH BEFORE DISHONOUR


----------



## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

C'mon people, all together now . . .

*SPAM!*


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


----------



## Demosthenes X (Sep 23, 2004)

Disgusting! All of the links actually go to the Canadian Marketing Association, and the page is obviously made up to look like one, but that page is hosted at CornerStoneMedia.com. Scum.

I recently got a telemarketing call on my cell phone. Boy was I pissed - not only are you wasting my time, but now you're wasting the airtime I pay for?


----------



## Agnes (Oct 15, 2007)

OK whatever. Screw you people. Bunch of little children running around pretending to be adults, pretending to know something. I submitted my post in good faith. I genuinely feel that the Do Not Call service is for real. It's law. You don't have to use it. I receive endless telemarketing calls, most of them totally "deaf" call (probably an auto-dialer searching for a fax number). I spend hours looking for an opt-out service, which I know is available, and I came across this thread on this forum in that process. I thought I would do everyone a favour and post the fact that Canada now also has this service. Don't use it if you don't trust it. I don't know if it's real. My real name is Agnes. But I hate you all to hell, because you made me feel terrible. Good Day!


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Agnes said:


> OK whatever. Screw you people. Bunch of little children running around pretending to be adults, pretending to know something. I submitted my post in good faith. I genuinely feel that the Do Not Call service is for real. It's law. You don't have to use it. I receive endless telemarketing calls, most of them totally "deaf" call (probably an auto-dialer searching for a fax number). I spend hours looking for an opt-out service, which I know is available, and I came across this thread on this forum in that process. I thought I would do everyone a favour and post the fact that Canada now also has this service. Don't use it if you don't trust it. I don't know if it's real. My real name is Agnes. But I hate you all to hell, because you made me feel terrible. Good Day!


Agnes, you're mistaken. You may not realize it, but the 'service' you linked to is actually a marketing company that uses your personal information for their own financial gain. Submitting information to them will not only not prevent advertisers and scammers from phoning you, it has made you a target for identity theft and many more phone calls, email messages, voice spam and more.

As a first time poster on a public but anonymous forum, your having presented this unfortunate information uncritically has made you appear as part of the problem, if not the actual problem at hand. And your unfortunate response above completely ignores the information provided in the posts that follow yours. I hope this helps you understand what has happened, and what cornerstonewebmedia is going to be doing with your information if you submitted it to them.




Agnes said:


> Register yourself for free to stop unwanted calls and mail!
> 
> https://cornerstonewebmedia.com/cma/submit.asp
> 
> ...


----------



## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

> DEATH BEFORE DISHONOUR


seems "Agnes" chose the former


----------



## kspile (Nov 15, 2007)

Demosthenes X said:


> Disgusting! All of the links actually go to the Canadian Marketing Association, and the page is obviously made up to look like one, but that page is hosted at CornerStoneMedia.com. Scum.
> 
> I recently got a telemarketing call on my cell phone. Boy was I pissed - not only are you wasting my time, but now you're wasting the airtime I pay for?


Except that the Canadian Marketing Assocation webpage has a link BACK to the one that Agnus posted, CornerStoneMedia.com...

Take a look:

http://www.the-cma.org/public.asp?WCE=C=47|K=224217

Click "registration instructions".


----------

