I want to throw my telephone and answering machine in the toilet! I keep getting telemarketing calls from Bell South. I never answer them anymore, but when they go to my answering machine, they leave this really high-pitched beeping/buzzing sound that last for several minutes. It's driving me crazy! They call every single day! And I'm on a no-call list, but since I use Bell South for phone service, they can still call me. :youcandothis:

Call, ask for a supervisor, and tell them you're going to switch to another company if they don't stop calling you. They will put a block on telemarketing.

Actually pick it up once and tell them to put you on their do not call list. This is different from the general no call list. request to be put on the company specific no call list. Or write to them requesting that or email or whatever. Every company has their own DNC list.

Once you tell a tellemarketer that they also have to stop selling you whatever it is they want to sell you because you can't take someone off the list and make a sale at the same time. They will then likely have to read off a paragraph at ya and 1800 number. Or you can hang up. Just state very clearly that you want to be put on their do not call list first.

I used to be a telemarketer. You wouldn't believe how mean/obscene/etc some people can be! Some people would ask me how I could do such a horrible job-- I told them the truth: it was the only job I could find where they let me keep my clothes on and I needed the money for school. A lot of times the reason they are so annoying and argue with you like three zillion times when you say no is because they are required to. We would have supervisors randomly listening in and if we didn't give the number of required rebuttals (arguments, etc) then you got fired. So try to remember your inner Ohm and think evil thoughts about the company and not the person on the other end unless of course they are rude.

I vet all my calls because of the telemarketers. I agree that they are annoying and up here in Canada we do not have the option of Do Not Call, alas! You tell 'em you are not interested thank you very much and they simply persist in trying to flog whatever it is that they are trying to sell. Have they never heard that No means No!?! Telemarketers! Ugh!!

I'm also in Canada and I don't get the calls. It took a little while, but here's how I did it:

I would answer the call and ask in surprise "How did you get my number?"

They would then tell me that they are just going down a numbers list.

At that point I tell them that I have an unlisted number precisely because I don't want to receive calls like this, and to please take my number off the list immediately.

It works. You don't even have to actually have an unlisted number to do it.

I live in Australia and I swear those telemarketers are driving me crazy. Most of our call centre's have been moved over seas to india so you end up with someone who dosn't understand the english language who you know is reading from a script. You say no thanks and they ignore you and keep reading. AHHHHHH

I've learn't to hang up whenever I get a 10 sec delay with that telltale international connecting call echo on the line.

Yes, if there's a delay I hang up. They've jsut bought out a covers all Do Not Call register in Australia but there's loopholes everywhere and they cant prevent all those calls from India.

Its not too bad in our house, Eliza is 4 and just loves talking on the telephone. She needs lots of practice. I just hand it over to her, she can talk to them for as long as she likes.

We even get them at work sometimes! I am on the do not call list, and when I get one I tell them I am on that list and they already know that they can get fined so they hang up right away! It has really cut down on the calls for me! Now, if I could only get rid of the calls that are for someone else I never heard of!

I am on the "do not call" list as well. But, has anyone else besides me and my hubby started getting telemarketers calling them on their cell phone? This just started happening to us in the past couple of months and it really annoys me when my precious minutes that I pay for are wasted by people trying to sell me crap I don't want, and if I did, then I am intelligent enough to know where to go to find it!

Kyethra is right, all telemarkting centers are required to maintain their own DNC list, and all it takes is a firm request to be put on it. It really does work.

We're on the state and national DNC registries, but any company that you contact on your own, or that you're in currently in business with, can still call you. There are also some other exceptions because we've gotten a LOT of calls from agencies wanting donations or to sell raffle tickets, etc.. surveys, what have you.

I had the absolute worst one the other day. A recording came on telling me that it was calling on behalf of a nonprofit organization I have supported in the past. But then it went on to say it was sorry that no one could come to the phone at the moment (!), it apologized for the inconvenience, and that it would try again later.

Lovely. A recording calling me that it would try again later because THEY were too busy? HOLY CRAP!!! It didn't even give the name of the organization so I could complain.

I HATE THAT, they call you and there is a answering machine that says, please hold for an important message.. AND THEN PUTS YOU ON HOLD!!!

WHY THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME FOR?????

I had the absolute worst one the other day. A recording came on telling me that it was calling on behalf of a nonprofit organization I have supported in the past. But then it went on to say it was sorry that no one could come to the phone at the moment (!), it apologized for the inconvenience, and that it would try again later.

Lovely. A recording calling me that it would try again later because THEY were too busy? HOLY CRAP!!! It didn't even give the name of the organization so I could complain.

I donate to a lot of charities, and sometimes feel like they could find a better way to show their gratitude than to call me and ask for more! This really pisses me off! Just send me something in the mail and I will most likely send you a check back. But you don't need to send me things....like return address labels with my name on them. Really, you don't. Just this past week I received a Rosary, a religious medal (St Anthony), a feathered thing (dream catcher?), and a nice doggy blanket (from the Humane Society). Oh....and a Mass card. Somebody at food for the Poor is saying Mass for me. How nice. I wonder if that's their job....saying Mass for all the people who donate money to FFTP.

Well, I sent Bellsouth's customer service an email, and they told me that they would put me on their DNC list. Hopefully, that will take care of it. They were REALLY irritating, because all they would leave as a message would be a really shrill beeping/buzzing tone that would last for about 5 minutes (making it impossible to ignore).

we have caller id that comes up on our tv. since it is ALWAYS on, if the phone rings, i look at the screen, and if i do not know the number i do not answer. if they call one of my many business lines i tell them they have contacted a business and that shuts them down.

the cell phone calls really tick me off. not because of minutes, because i have flat rate with no minute usage, but i just don't need it! i understand that the people who are calling are just doing their jobs, but i am vulgar to them. for most companies, i am taken off the list quickly.

Once when my aunt was staying with us she picked up the phone and pretended to be a lonely old lady whose husband had just died and needed someone to talk to. She kept the person on the phone for about 10 minutes while the rest of us were dying of laughter.