What a Crook Piece Of Legislation.

[maverick]

Hi All,

I am all for creating a do not disturb registered to stop those annoying telemarketers calling all the time but todays passing of the legislation is a total cop out. It still allows a whole bunch of organisations to pester you whenever they like. Here is the link to the story in the Australian newspaper:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19552047-1702,00.html

From the article this is the part that shows how the bill has been watered down:

"But households won't be protected from all those unwanted calls that always seem to come as the kids are running riot and dinner's boiling over.

Charities, government, religious and education organisations – and politicians – will still be able to call."

[*My Lil Blondie*]

since starting maternity leave i have been surprised at the amount of phone calls we get from telemarketers! i swear if i get one more person trying to sell me a holiday im gunna scream! :banghead:
this is one thing that really ****es me off, and i tell every single one of them not to call again but they still do the next day! :mad:

[jaimie]

They all get the same reply from me..
**** OFF!...
i cant help it!! they always call late at night when jazz has just gone to sleep....

[Ana Gram]

I love my answering machine.

[Elfin]

Lol chelle. I love my silent number:smiliedance:

[sopolicha]

Charities, government, religious and education organisations – and politicians – will still be able to call."

Good to see they kept the ones you really don't want to ring you.

Private numbers stop them as well.

[Seekrit]

since starting maternity leave i have been surprised at the amount of phone calls we get from telemarketers! i swear if i get one more person trying to sell me a holiday im gunna scream! :banghead:
this is one thing that really ****es me off, and i tell every single one of them not to call again but they still do the next day! :mad:
You see I'm disappointed because my phone doesn't ring all day :( LOL I finally got one tele call me but that was a weekend, my husband thought I was silly because I was grinning like an idiot asking the indian guy for his name (John, apparently) and then rejecting him while smiling.
When I babysat the other day and got more phone calls...

[Nickster]

Charities, government, religious and education organisations – and politicians – will still be able to call."

And I will still be able to hang up on them without saying a word. Which I do.

[mumtok&z]

I get heaps of the foreign calls and because of them i am rude to everyone else who calls and when i find out that it is a charity i feel bad and end up buying tickets or whatever! It just the foreign calls that i have a problem with because they don't take no for an answer and suggest that i haven't heard them correctly etc. They are pretty annoying.:mad:

[maverick]

I just hope that by placing yourself on this "Do not call" list that it is not then going to be used by those that can still call you as a quick reference list of people to call.

[PhAnToM]

Lol chelle. I love my silent number:smiliedance:

me toooo... :smiliedance: :smiliedance:

[Miaow]

Yep silent lines are good :)

Doesnt really stop some calls though - i remeber quite a few years ago was at a persons place and someone rang for a marketing call and it was a silent line - they admited they were just going through a series of numbers to get the calls.

[CarolineF]

Ours is a silent number but we still get the calls for the people that lived here before us!!!!:mad: When you say they have moved on they just refocus on you being the new victim. Its darn annoying and I am just way too polite to tell them to go forth and multiply!!!!!!:thumbsdown:

[Tam-I-Am]

I love my silent number too. I don't think I've ever gotten a telemarketing call!

[SamanthaJane]

OMG:banghead: I cant stand them!!! We get so many of them!!! heres some advice:


Top 12 Ways to
Get Rid of Telemarketers

1. If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for Bankruptcy and you could sure use some money.

2. If they start out with, "How are you today?" say, "Why do you want to know?" Or you can say, "I'm so glad you asked, because no one seems to care these days and I have all these problems, my sciatica is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died..." When they try to get back to the sell, just continue your problems.

3. If they say they're Joe Doe from the XYZ Company, Ask them to spell their name, then ask them to spell the company name, then ask them where it located. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for as long as necessary.

4. This one works better if you are male: Telemarketer: "Hi, my name is Judy and I'm with Canter and Siegel services.... You: "Hang on a second." (Few seconds pause) "Okay, (in a really husky voice) what are you wearing?"

5. Crying out, in well-simulated tones of pleasure and surprise, "Judy!! Is this really you? Oh, my God! Judy, how have you BEEN?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of terror as she tries to figure out where on earth she could know you from.

6. Say, "No", repeatedly. Be sure to vary the sound of each no, and keep an even tempo even as they're trying to speak. This is the most fun if you can keep going until they hang up.

7. If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up with their Family and Friends plan, reply, in as sinister a voice as you can muster, "I don't have any friends...would you be my friend?"

8. If they clean rugs: "Can you get blood out, you can? Well, how about goat blood or HUMAN blood.

9. Let the person go through their spiel, providing minimal but necessary feedback in the form of an occasional "Uh-huh, really, or "That's fascinating." Finally, when they ask you to buy, ask them to marry you.

10. Tell them you work for the same company they work for. Example: Telemarketer: "This is Bill from Mantermills." You: "Mantermills!! Hey I work for them too. Where are you calling from?" Telemarketer: "Uh, Dallas, Texas." You: "Great, they have a group there too? How's business/the weather? Too bad the company has a policy against selling to employees! Oh well, see ya."

11. Answer the phone. As soon as you realize it is a Telemarketer, set the receiver down, shout or scream, "Oh, my God!!!" and then hang up.

12. Say to the Telemarketer, "Sorry, I can't talk right now but if you'd just give me your home phone number I'll call you when I'm not as busy. When they say in a flustered way that they can't give out their home number say, "Oh, I see...you don't want strangers calling you at your home! Now you know how I feel."



My brother starts talking in jibberish whenever they call, they get quite annoyed and hang up themselves.

My mum says "hold on one moment please" then leaves and continues doing housework or cooking and what not, after a few minutes they've hung up;)

[Roxy]

Silent numbers are good - as long as they are using up to date contact lists. Our number has been silent now for nearly a year, but we still get calls. When I tell them that it is a silent number and ask how they got the number, I am regularly told its because their call lists are 3+ years old!

I actually had one from a major phone co hang up on me today - got to love screaming kids at times! :yelclap:

[~Emmylou~]

They all get the same reply from me..
**** OFF!...
i cant help it!! they always call late at night when jazz has just gone to sleep....


Same. I used to be patient but not anymore.
If you will be so rude to call me in the middle of dinner time, or late at night, I owe you no courtesy AT ALL.
This absolutely drives me insane. And then THEY get indignant when they get abused. WTF do they expect? :banghead:

[Shananaaah]

I didn't change my surname when we got married, so whenever they call and say "good evening, is that Mrs Jones?"......

I can honestly say "NO! It isn't" and end the call lol!! I love it. They get so confused...

I feel like I somehow beat the system every time! (note the "every time" - we still get called, but hey, it gives me a laugh!)

[OneBabyBoy]

Same. I used to be patient but not anymore.
If you will be so rude to call me in the middle of dinner time, or late at night, I owe you no courtesy AT ALL.
This absolutely drives me insane. And then THEY get indignant when they get abused. WTF do they expect? :banghead:


I'm sure they expect to be treated like people which is what they are.

There are plenty of options other than abuse. As someone said before, just hang up on them. You do not need to abuse anyone.

This is sometimes the only job people can get, or maybe in between other jobs and just trying to earn enough money to feed themselves and their families. Next time before you get abusive have a quick thought about their families who depend on them. Or how you would feel if you hit hard times and it was the only job you could get at the time? They are people too.

Would you prefer they sat at home on the dole? If it bothers you that much get a silent number - It costs basically nothing. I've got one and I've never had a telemarketing call.

[cwsmum]

I didn't change my surname when we got married, so whenever they call and say "good evening, is that Mrs Jones?"......

I can honestly say "NO! It isn't" and end the call lol!!

Similar thing happens at our house. The phone is in my name, not DH's name, so when he answers and they say 'Good evening Mr S*******, DH says, sorry that would be my FIL then he hangs up LOL
I also get calls for the last people who had our number (we moved suburb/phone area over 2yrs ago) they call and ask for Mrs Jones, I sya wrong number and they try to talk to me...I gave the phone to DS once when he was about 2 :D

[PointyHair]

Lol chelle. I love my silent number:smiliedance:

I love saying "Just a second" and putting them on hold then coming back when I remember about it. I've often wondered exactly how long they wait before realising no-ones coming back.

[PointyHair]

Silent numbers are not always the way.

Yep, once the number is on a marketting list you're doomed. That and you'll cope the odd auto dialler which just goes 9829 0001, 9829 0002 et cetera.

[Foxymoron]

Depending on what kind of mood we're in and how busy we are, my hubby and I let them think they've made a sale. Then when they ask for your name etc, the penny drops... I give the name Jessica Rabbit, address, 123 lollypop lane, peppermint bay... lala land. We were in fits of laughter the other night because the operator, obviously with english as a second language, couldn't understand the name DH was giving him. "Canny Sith" he kept saying, DH was saying noooo Danny Smith :laughing:
:devil6: We like to give something back... waste our time, and we'll waste yours. If I'm busy I just hang up. I have a sign on my front door too, warning sales people and religious groups not to knock on my door.... That's something that really peeves me!