Hate Telemarketers?/National "Do Not Call" Registry Coming

c.i.- The website that you gave is for Arkansas. The national "do not call" website is:

www.donotcall.gov

Phoenix32890
I logged onto that web sight the other day and following the instructions registered.
I was told that a E-mail verifying registration would follow and I needed to acknowledge inorder to complete registration. I am still waiting.
Note; If not verified in 72 hrs. it would not take effect.
Guess will have to try again..

au- Try to register again. I got my E Mail almost immediately. If you did not type your E Mail address correctly, you'll never get it.

Phoenix, I used the web site to register from California, and it worked. Even got the 'verification' email. c.i.

When I tried to register I gave them my Ev1 address. I tried several times, but I was refused my registration. Finally, I switched it to Outlook Express and had no further difficulty.

I heard a comment from someone from the telemarketing industry complaining about the loss of "free speech." As a consumer I like the idea of not being interrupted while we are having supper.
.
But I'm also a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. I can't quite articulate my concern about this, so please be gentle. I'm a bit uncomfortable with the notion of the Federal government getting involved here.

I enjoy funning with the telemarketers if I have the time, or I quickly hang up if I don't.

I'm going to stop there.
Any thoughts?

rjb, The telephone is a privately paid service. We shouldn't have to be exposed to unnecessary telemarketing calls - period. There are plenty of other forms of advertising that they can use, but I resent getting calls during any time of the day. We have a unlisted number for a reason; it's for use by family and friends only. c.i.

realjohnboy- Remember, it is the individual's choice. You are not obligated to take yourself off the list. It so happens that the Direct Marketing Association has had a "Do not call" list for years. I have given out their website on many a thread. If you want to remain on the telemarketers list, by all means don't opt out.

The state of Florida has had a "do not call" list, which I have been on for years. It is similar to the new one, in that it is an offense to call someone after they have requested no calls.

You haven't lived, 'til you have been harrassed 5-6 times a night by telemarketers. They probably figure that the retired folk in Florida have money, and are easier to con. When I first moved to Florida, I nearly went bananas from all the calls.

Personally, I think that telemarketers have increased to the point where they are serious public nuisances. Now if they could only get rid of the spam!

I believe both California and the federal government are 'looking' into a "DoNotSpam" legislation. c.i.

Such calls are also a major time-waster when you work from a home office. I run a business here, so I can't have an unlisted number. However, since I signed up for the "Privacy Manager" feature from the phone company, the number of telemarketing calls has been drastically reduced. Caller ID helps, too.

I don't know how spammers make money. 40 jillion people flooding your email with identical services or products.

Edgarblythe- I can't give you any figures, but I have read a number of articles which contend that the reason that spam has proliferated, is precisely because it is a money maker.

I was nosing around the internet. I found something that you all might find amusing:

http://www.ezdiscountstore.com/spambook.html

Yep; they are so persistant that some of them must be making it. Don't know why, though.

gov
C.I., I registered yesterday via www.donotcall.gov. The service should begin around Octorber. Yeah, spammers are the real problem. I leave my PC for a week and they overload the system.

I just find this very funny !!

What I cannot understand for the life of me is why there is so much hatred against the telemarketers ? They are just trying to do a job - it is *just* a marketing channel - which does work in generating revenue for their company.

A polite but a firm "I am not interested" works in most of the cases. Even when you have a very "aggressive" guy/gal. If he refuses to hang up, then giving 2 mins of yr time wouldnt harm you - you can continue doing whatever you were, and after he has finished his pitch you can just go "my answer is still no" !!

Ahh well, I guess as a marketing guy, I have a different perspective on things.....

Gautam- I consider telemarketers a gross invasion of my privacy. Actually, I don't like pushy sales people, any place. If a sales person hovers over me in a store, even if he/she attempts to be helpful, I will leave the store, without buying.



I don't want to give a telemarketer ONE SECOND of my time!

LOL Phoneix !! I do understand yr point abt invasion of Privacy. But then how do u differentiate between someone trying to sell you something over phone from a TV advert ? Or a pop up on an internet site ?

Gautam- My firewall has a pop-up stopper. When an advertisement comes up on TV, I either change the station, or mute the sound.

Maybe this anecdote will help you understand my attitude, without going into boring details. When I was quite young, I was snookered into buying something that I didn't need, that cost a lot of money, by a gorgeous, charming salesman. It was the best money that I have ever spent. It taught me that I DON'T have to listen to every salesman's pitch.

Actually, for sales people, I am a very EASY sale. When I go into a store, I know what I want, and I buy quickly.

Precisly !! But you don't hate the people who made the ads or broadcasted it ? Right ? When junk mail comes through yr post box, you look at it and throw it away - u don't hate the postman for delivering it ?

It is the same principal - a telemarketer is an ad. A low cost solution to reach as many people as possible to sell. Just another marketing channel. You don't have to listen to them, you don't have to buy from them. But pls don't hate them They are just doing a job !

First, I have been on the "no junk mail" list for a long time. I get very little.

Telemarketing is NOT the same as junk mail, which you can choose not to read and throw away. If I am in the shower, stirring a hot liquid on the stove, or having a heart to heart talk with my husband, I don't want my time disturbed by a salesman.

You might say that I could choose not to answer the phone. But what if it is an important call?

For many years, my attitude has been that if I am not actively looking for a service or a product, I don't want it.