Another helpful hint from Maynard
Probably most of you are already familiar with the National Do Not Call Registry, which allows you to block telemarketers from soliciting on phone numbers you specify. Unfortunately, surveyors and politicians are not required to respect the list, but commercial sales calls may be penalized for ignoring it.
If you get an unwanted call, the best magic words are, “Please put this number on your do not call list.” They may say they can’t do it, but they know what you want, and you’ve made the point necessary to end the conversation without argument. It’s a mechanical way of taking the initiative without getting unpleasant.
A couple of handy web resources for ascertaining information about unwanted calls are the 800notes and Who Called Us sites. (In spite of the name, “800notes” is not limited to 800 numbers.) Both allow you to enter the number from your caller ID and view comments by other people who have received solicitations from this same number. You can also anonymously enter your own tale.
Finally, Google also serves as a reverse phonebook. If you enter a phone number in standard format (e.g., “(626) 555-1212”), if that number appears in a phonebook, then the entry will be displayed at the head of the list.
Me thinks Maynard has been getting some calls 🙂 Actually, what’s driving me nuts are the spam faxes I get. That number is also on the Do Not Call Registry but the faxes are from fly-by-night places. Thanks for the advice Maynard. 🙂
Here here Tammy! I get more telemarketing faxes than phone calls. Drives me nuts because it eats up paper and toner. Plus, when I hear the fax I think it’s something important, only to be pissed discovering it’s junk. I’ve tried stopping unwanted faxes but my machine won’t let me, grrr!
I put our phone number on the list at DoNotCall.gov several years ago, but still get frequent calls from Terminix (never a relationship!).I’ve FILED a COMPLAINT about them on that site (as invited) around SIX TIMES — supposedly at a fine rate of $1500/incident. I’ve grown terribly sceptical of the system!