US Chiffsters, click on this link:
[u]http://www.donotcall.gov/[/u]
Takes all of ONE minute to get rid of junk callers. And the first period of registration ends this weekend.
I added my phone numbers to this list as soon as it came available. I’m very hopeful that it will eventually result in a decline in junk calls. Because, since I added my number, I’ve had an INCREASE in junk calls. Here’s my theory.
An exception is permitted for companies you are already dealing with. Since this donotcall.gov thing started, I think that there has been an increase in junk calls made by companies to people they have done business with before. I think they are trying to make up for not being able to cold-call strangers.
Of course, you can tell the callers to put you on THEIR no-call list. I had to do that with SPRINT, from whom I received calls pitching the same product on four consecutive nights.
We had a brand new (to me, anyway) type of junk call last week. My husband is looking for a new job, and to that end, I had posted his resume on a few websites (big mistake!). Anyway, last week we got a message on our answering machine that sounded like a prospective employer…it was “so and so from such and such insurance, and I’d like to speak with you about your resume.” Since we’ve sent out resumes to a variety of companies (most industries use computer programmers in some capacity) we didn’t think anything was strange about the call, and my hubby spend several days playing phone tag with this guy. When he finally connected with him it turned out that this insurance company browses the internet for job seekers in the hopes of turning them on to opening a branch of the company! Phone spam meets Internet spam!
Lesson learned…I won’t post resumes on the internet anymore! I just did it because it makes on-line applying a teeny bit more simple, but not so much so that it’s worth putting up with more junk phone calls!
Redwolf
Well, I hope this works. We are inundated with solicitor calls from about 5:30 on. The worst are these boiler-room calls from the Phillipines regarding time-share condo offers. I am ALWAYS winning a trip to some hotel somewhere I dont wanna go.
I’m considering going back to telemarketing…
We ALWAYS keep our answering machine on at home. Everyone that knows us knows that fact. We simply don’t answer the phone unless we hear a familiar voice beginning a message. It usually starts, “OK, you guys. Pick up the phone.” We get plenty of rings with no message left.
Now and again, one of the kids will pick up the phone and say, “Uh, Dad, it’s for you.” Who is it? “Who’s calling, please?” Whispers, “Sprint or whatever.” Loud enough for the caller to hear, “Tell them we’re not here.” “Uh, he’s not here.” (trying not to laugh on the phone). We’re laughing loud enough so they can hear.
Or, “Dad, will you just take the phone?” “No way, you answered it.” I really try to avoid overt rudeness as I think how my life would have to be hellishly desparate to take a calling job like that. Once, I listened politely, then said, “No thanks, I’m not interested.” They continued their rap and I interrupted, “What did I just say?” They hung up.
Tony
I think the list will help, though certainly not eliminate, the junk calls. Wisconsin has had its own do-not-call list for a little while now, and I have definitely noticed a decrease in the calls. I often don’t answer before 9 PM anyway, and screen my calls through my answering machine.
Beth
My daughter once answered the phone when I was trying to take a nap. The conversation went something like this:
“May I ask who’s calling please?”
“Which company was that again?”
“You’re a telemarketer, aren’t you?”
“I thought so. Good bye.”
Click
Got her well-trained, I have 
We get calls literally all day. I know because I’m home during the day…they start around 8:00 in the morning and don’t let up until 11:00 or so at night. It’s gotten better since we got a “Telezapper” (and I’ve got our number on the do not call list as well, so hopefully that will help).
Redwolf
NY State has had such a list for a while, which I signed up for at once. I still got quite a few junk calls. Then, whenever I got a solicitation call, I started telling the person that I was on the do not call list, and if they did not stop calling me, I would report them to the state Attourney General. That has helped a LOT-- I get very few unwanted calls now.
I have a question: If everyone hates telemarketers so much, and people hang up on them and/or don’t buy from them, how are these companies making enough money to stay in business? Are companies using this as a “loss” item for tax write-off purposes?
And in case you haven’t heard, apparently some companies are now starting to send out letters prior to calling you. This way they can say that they notified you that they’d be calling, which they say means that it’s no longer an unsolicited call. I’ve already received one such letter, and several subsequent calls which have gone unanswered. Other companies are asking a couple of marketing questions prior to their pitch, which allegedly qualifies the call as being a “survey”. 
I’ve been on the state Do Not Call list for a couple of years now, and it was wonderful! But now that there’s going to be a national list it seems these companies are getting pretty inventive!
The do-not-call list has worked only moderately for me. I finally invested a few dollars on one of those “Tel-Zappers”, and despite the misgivings I’ve heard, it works darn fine so far.
A good question is raised–Why do telemarketers stay in business? Answer, I think, by preying on people who lack the ability to think critically about what’s being offered. Also, I suspect it’s one of those things where it doesn’t take many "Yes"s to make it profitable.
The best thing to develop is that computerized dialing they do. Now I’ve learned that if you pick up and there’s that moment of silence before the telemarketer can get connected with you, you can hang up and they won’t call again.
That’s what I do when I get a call - I figure if I’m wrong and its someone I really want/need to talk to, they will call back. I haven’t been wrong yet. Besides, most people I want to talk to call me on my cell phone anyway.
Beth