Taylor - have you considered getting caller ID so you can know when to pick the phone up? I don't know if your telephone company provides privacy director (call rejecter). Having privacy director helps me a lot not getting any call from telemarketers and those choosing to conceal the phone numbers they're calling from.
Yes, I do have caller ID as well as our 'Call Intercept'. The problem is I'm still awakened when the phone rings, even if I can see who is calling. As for Call Intercept, the telemarketers are getting smarter with identifying their number so the Call Intercept doesn't stop it. I've resorted to manually blocking these numbers with another service from our phone company, but if the telemarketing company changes by one digit (in which they do) it allows the call to go through.
The company that ticks me off the most and I fight with frequently is a firm that collects money for our Sheriffs Department. I tell them I work in law enforcement and they are waking me up in MY nightime hours. And not to call again (in which they are supposed to do at my request). What screwed me was calling the number back that was on my caller ID. This, according to the ear on the other end, shows in their system that I called them. While I called them to tell them to leave me the hell alone, this shows that I was 'doing business' with them and allows them to keep me on the list. This company was responsible for the multiple of hang-ups that I was receiving.
Because our Sheriffs Department uses an outside marketing firm, I decided to call the Sheriff myself and voice my displeasure. I got the whole explanation about it being an outside organization and they are a non-profit blah, blah blah. I then wrote a letter to our local newspaper about it. Everytime this company called me, I immediately called the Sheriff. I explained that normally I would have been very happy to donate money but because of the tactics used, I decided to donate to the firefighters fund or another police fund. While their organization does a great job, I refuse to give them any money. All of this because the first time I spoke with a human when I was lucky enough to not be hung up on and requested to be removed from their list, the guy basically told me to shove and that there was nothing I could do. And they continued to call. I finally got pissed enough to go to the above extremes.
My letter to the newspaper was the first to be published about it, but other people starting writing letters with even worse stories. One writer said the person soliciting indicated there could be a delay in response should he call the police. The telemarketer meant to mean that if the police were underfunded, then there wouldn't be enough officers on the streets. The writer, however, took this as a direct threat that if he didn't donate, his calls for help the police would be delayed in being sent to his house.
Whats even stranger about this is that our police department handles calls for service..not the Sheriffs Department. Our Sheriffs Department handles a lot of warrant service and going after dead-beat parents. They do not respond to 911 calls for help. To bad the telemarketer had no idea of what he was actually soliciting money for.
I continued my mini cruisade until the end of their campaign but I'm sure I will get the calls next fall as this cycle has continued for the past several years.
