Telemarketers, What a bunch of idiots

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

The other day I received a call at a quarter to nine AM from Bank of America. This was the day after I just returned from the Cayman's late at night, When I heard it was Bank of America trying to give me a free Platinum card I went off and told them they had some nerve calling at that hour more so since I am on a do not call list. I told her do not ever call here again. Well just now 4 days later They call at 10:30 am and interrupted my Call with Tony G. I was polite and told the guy that I was bothered early in the morning the other day and I told the woman we are on a do not call list and never to call here again. So what should be the next thing that the rep should say. This moron say sorry now tries to get me to sign up for the card. I tell him did you hear what I just told you? He starts again trying to get me to sign up. That did it I went totally off on this guy cursed him out called him a f'in idiot and after that he came back and still tried to get me to sign up. Now I am really steamed so I asked to speak to his supervisor. I was in shock that he put me through. We will now see if the calls stop. if they do not What is the phone # to call to report them?

[kbletzer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbletzer]

National Do-Not-Call Registry

How to Complain



Filing a Do-Not-Call Complaint

In addition to complaints alleging violations of the national do-not-call list, you may also file a complaint against a telemarketer who is calling for a commercial purpose (e.g., not charitable organizations) IF:

The telemarketer calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM; OR


The telemarketer leaves a message, but fails to leave a phone number that you can call to sign up for their company specific do-not-call list; OR


You receive a telemarketing call from a company that you have previously requested not call you; OR


The telemarketing firm fails to identify itself; OR


You receive a pre-recorded commercial message from someone with whom you do not have an established business relationship and to whom you have not given permission to call you.


How to File a Complaint

You can file a complaint by e-mail (fccinfo@fcc.gov), telephone 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY, by fax to 1-866-418-0232, via our electronic complaint form at Filing a Complaint, or mail. For the FCC to process your complaint you must either fill in the electronic form completely or otherwise indicate:

your name and address;


the home phone number where you received the solicitation;


identification of the individual or company whose products or services were being advertised or sold, and any phone numbers included in the call;


a description of the call;


any phone number provided to allow you to “opt-out” of future calls;


whether you or anyone else in your household gave the caller express prior permission to call;


whether you have an EBR with the caller (specifically, whether you or anyone else in your household made any purchases of property, goods, or services from the company that called, or made any inquiry or filed an application with the company prior to receiving the call).

If mailing a complaint, send it to:

Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

Consumer Private Right of Action

In addition to filing a complaint with the FCC, consumers may explore the possibility of filing an action in a state court.

For general information, you may contact the FCC’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau in the following ways:

Via Internet at Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB)
Consumer Center, Voice: 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) and
TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322)

For this or any other consumer publication in an alternative format (electronic ASCII text, Braille, large print, or audio) please write or call us at the address or phone number below, or send an e-mail to FCC504@fcc.gov.

Looking For More Information?



Kathleen

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

National Do-Not-Call Registry

How to Complain



Filing a Do-Not-Call Complaint

In addition to complaints alleging violations of the national do-not-call list, you may also file a complaint against a telemarketer who is calling for a commercial purpose (e.g., not charitable organizations) IF:

The telemarketer calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM; OR


The telemarketer leaves a message, but fails to leave a phone number that you can call to sign up for their company specific do-not-call list; OR


You receive a telemarketing call from a company that you have previously requested not call you; OR


The telemarketing firm fails to identify itself; OR


You receive a pre-recorded commercial message from someone with whom you do not have an established business relationship and to whom you have not given permission to call you.


How to File a Complaint

You can file a complaint by e-mail (fccinfo@fcc.gov), telephone 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY, by fax to 1-866-418-0232, via our electronic complaint form at Filing a Complaint, or mail. For the FCC to process your complaint you must either fill in the electronic form completely or otherwise indicate:

your name and address;


the home phone number where you received the solicitation;


identification of the individual or company whose products or services were being advertised or sold, and any phone numbers included in the call;


a description of the call;


any phone number provided to allow you to “opt-out” of future calls;


whether you or anyone else in your household gave the caller express prior permission to call;


whether you have an EBR with the caller (specifically, whether you or anyone else in your household made any purchases of property, goods, or services from the company that called, or made any inquiry or filed an application with the company prior to receiving the call).

If mailing a complaint, send it to:

Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

Consumer Private Right of Action

In addition to filing a complaint with the FCC, consumers may explore the possibility of filing an action in a state court.

For general information, you may contact the FCC’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau in the following ways:

Via Internet at Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB)
Consumer Center, Voice: 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) and
TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322)

For this or any other consumer publication in an alternative format (electronic ASCII text, Braille, large print, or audio) please write or call us at the address or phone number below, or send an e-mail to FCC504@fcc.gov.

Looking For More Information?



Kathleen

Thank you for posting, I filed a complaint online.

[kbletzer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbletzer]

Thank you for posting, I filed a complaint online.

You are welcome!

K

[Hoc Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Hoc]

Just to let you know, if you have a Bank of America account, or any kind of existing relationship with BofA (loan, mortgage, etc.), they have the right to call you with telemarketing even if you are on the do-not-call list. Most companies have the ability for you to opt out of marketing calls, even if you do have an existing relationship with them.

In addition, a lot of companies that engage in telemarketing subcontract out their telemarketing to call centers in Canada who do not bother to comply with their obligations under the do not call regulations.

P.S. -- BofA stands for "Bunch of A--holes."

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

In addition, a lot of companies that engage in telemarketing subcontract out their telemarketing to call centers in Canada who do not bother to comply with their obligations under the do not call regulations.

Wow, talk about the law of unintended consequences. The U.S. enacts a law to protect the privacy of it's citizens and telemarketing companies just take their jobs to foreign countries where enforcement of that law might be next to impossible. So we lose jobs and tax dollars but still get the annoying phone calls.

[bevvy5 Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bevvy5]

Or you could try the Tom Mabe approach.

Murder Scene - Tom Mabe

Heard this on the radio the other day - I almost drove off the road I was laughing so hard.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

Wow, talk about the law of unintended consequences. The U.S. enacts a law to protect the privacy of it's citizens and telemarketing companies just take their jobs to foreign countries where enforcement of that law might be next to impossible. So we lose jobs and tax dollars but still get the annoying phone calls.

It's not a question of "enforcement of that law might be next to impossible". US law is not relevant in another country any more than UK law could be enforced in the US, for example.
I don't dispute that it is annoying when companies move call centres out of the country specifically to avoid the laws. It happens in the UK too. I simply tell them to **** off and hang up. That does seem to eventually filter down through their systems.

[bevvy5 Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bevvy5]

I agree they're annoying, however, as a parent of two kids who did a stint in that job while in school, I'm polite until they simply won't take no for an answer. Then I just hang up.

Mind you, I never swear at people, no matter what the circumstances.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Well if they have to call from Canada then the best thing to do is keep them on the phone as long as you can cause there paying for the call.

[Hoc Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Hoc]

Well if they have to call from Canada then the best thing to do is keep them on the phone as long as you can cause there paying for the call.

With VOIP and other similar phone technologies, there is no longer a charge for long distance calling within the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Most of those companies use such technologies.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

With VOIP and other similar phone technologies, there is no longer a charge for long distance calling within the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Most of those companies use such technologies.

So basically there is no legislation that can stop the calls......only eliminate the jobs for U.S. citizens.

I've found the best, simplest and least frustrating way to deal with unwanted calls is to hang up as soon as they start talking. At first it was a little odd since my parents tried to raise me to be polite but, once you've done it a couple of times you get over any guilty feeling you might have. After all, it's an unwanted call that has intrupted whatever you might have been doing at the time. So who's really being rude?

[mike130 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mike130]

Well if they have to call from Canada then the best thing to do is keep them on the phone as long as you can cause there paying for the call.

I ask them if they could hold on for a second, I put the phone down and wait till they hang up.

Mike

[kbletzer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbletzer]

So basically there is no legislation that can stop the calls......only eliminate the jobs for U.S. citizens.

I've found the best, simplest and least frustrating way to deal with unwanted calls is to hang up as soon as they start talking. At first it was a little odd since my parents tried to raise me to be polite but, once you've done it a couple of times you get over any guilty feeling you might have. After all, it's an unwanted call that has intrupted whatever you might have been doing at the time. So who's really being rude?

I find this is the best course of action. I usually do not get repeat phone calls if I hang up and it is a pretty liberating feeling.

K

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I find this is the best course of action. I usually do not get repeat phone calls if I hang up and it is a pretty liberating feeling.

K

Having worked for a telemarketing company several years back I can tell you that this really doesn't cut down on the number of calls. Most large telemarketing firms have a computer that generates the calls and the only way to get out of that computer is to tell the telemarketer to put you on their do-not-call list. That puts an entery into the system to remove you phone number.

Of course, three months later it might magically reappear on a new list if you're number is on one of those lists that get's sold to such firms.

Personally I have two things working for me that seem to have cut the number of calls down. One is being on the do-not-call list. The other was a technology called tele-zapper. In my case it's in the phone I purchased but you use to be able to purchase it as something to add to your phone line.

Most computers the auto dial numbers have a system the recognizes the distinct tones the phone company generates when a phone number has been disconnected or is no longer in service. Many of them recognize just the first of the three tones. When the computer hears that first tone it automatically hangs up and puts that number into the do-not-call registery so that it doesn't waste time on bad numbers.

I put this phone in service before the do-not-call list went into effect. The first couple of months we would get phone calls where no one was on the line. That would be the sound of a call that got "zapped." the biggest problem is you have to pick up the phone for it to work.

We still get calls but they're mostly from boiler room operations where people still hand dial the numbers. Mostly charities and political call centers that don't run all year round.


Of course it's been 16 years since I worked as a telemarketer. Things could have changed. I wasn't suppose to put someone on the do-not-call list unless they told me to do so. If someone hung up on me, I'd add their name to the list until one of the floor supervisors would catch me.