Hello Ladies,
There was a time when blocking solicitation phone calls, poll phone calls, junk phone calls, random nonsense phone calls was possible. It appears that that time has passed. I am even getting repeated, duplicate, some might even say harassing calls on my cell number. I am more than willing to deal with the world when I am IN the world but when I am at home with my boys...my home is sacrosanct and these calls are at least disruptive and border on intolerable. I know that most companies are getting around the "do not call" list by using off shore resources. Does anyone have any ideas of how to stop the inundation of calls from getting through? I know that if this is the worst I have to deal with then I am truly blessed but I would really like some ideas or thoughts on how to eliminate this from our home and our day to day experience.
Off shoring does not have anything to do with solicitation calls as the calls are routed through US switches. If you're now getting calls, it's very possible that you've timed out of the do not call lists. You only stay on them for a certain number of years. Find the website again and re-sign up.
(I work for a major call center company so we hear about this stuff on a fairly regular basis)
Can you set different ring tones? I have a ringtone for my husband so I know I want to answer it. You can set numerous ring tones for family and friends. Everything else can have a standard ring and that way you'll know it's no one important.
Register here. You can do 3 phone numbers with one email. I do this every so often now to be sure all 3 of our cell phones are registered.
Thanks for the reminder as my 18 yr old daughter has been getting some calls recently so ours must have expired. I know in the past when I thought to make sure it was in place, it would tell me they were already registered, but did it just now and it went thru, so our time must have run out on the previous registration.
If I get a call from someone I don't know, I just don't answer it..... on my cell, I just push the volume control toggle on the side and silence it.... I'll check vm later and see if it was important, and then I decide whether or not to call back.
Unknowns and 800's are automatic no-answer..... Some,, if I get repeated calls from a particular number, my hubby found an app to block some calls..... so I just add it to that list.
I'm getting them on both my land line and cell phone.
I despise robo calls!
All my numbers are registered on the Do Not Call list but they are not enforcing it very well anymore.
I'm thinking of getting one of these:
http://hqtelecom.com/products/incoming-call-block-803/
Verizon has a way to block calls from my cell phone but I wish there was a way to maintain a block list on the phone.
Additional:
According to the Do Not Call Registry site:
"Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm."
Is it possible for you to ignore the call if it's not from a number you know?
The only time I feel pressure to answer the phone is when I'm at work. Even then, it's at my discretion. I don't answer calls from numbers that I don't recognize. There's a number that keeps calling me at work that has an automated female voice asking about my insurance coverage. I was talking with one of my doctors the other day and got a call. I picked up the phone and just put it back down. On my cell, if I recognize the number as a regular harasser, I label it "Do not answer" or something else that prompts me to let it go to voicemail. I can also set numbers to go straight to voicemail and never ring at all.
I am SO glad you posted this!! We rarely get calls on our home line any longer so I recently eliminated the second line that was dedicated to the internet. Now that it is combined, every time someone calls on our landline, we are kicked off the internet! SO ANNOYING! I'm renewing all my do not calls, thanks for the reminder :)
Turn off the cell phone while home---screen the land line calls....that's my solution. At home we have used a telezaper to get the telemarketing calls to stop. Its annoying and you have to remember to remind people when they call, to wait a second the line isn't disconnected, especially Dr. offices and schools. ...But really I haven't heard of a way to stopping calls going through the cell, have you called your provider to see if they have anything to offer?
I like to answer marketing research and poll calls, because I like to share my opinions, so I have never tried the no call list. (I get to participate in paid focus groups because I do market research and political surveys.) For all the others I just hang up on automated message calls, and I have become very good at saying "Sorry, I'm not interested." Click.
Ways we deal with it in my house:
* "I'm sorry, we're eating dinner right now, but if you give me YOUR home phone number I'd be happy to call you back tomorrow."
* Give the phone to my 3 yr old and tell him they want to talk to him
* "Sorry, he passed away"
* Caller: "Salam Alaikum" Me: "Um, hello? I don't speak Arabic." Caller: Click
For numbers that continue to call, my provider (Comcast) lets us add numbers to our blocked list. Omaha Steaks was added a LONG time ago--they don't give up easily!
You have to say to them "Remove me from the list." If you do not say this to them, they will continue to call. My brother in law works for a mortgage firm and he told me that if you do not request to be removed, they will continue to harass you. Even if you tell them the person died, they keep calling. Every single time someone calls me, the first thing I say is remove me from your list and they say ok and I hang up. I don't know of any other way to stop them from calling in the first place besides the "donotcall.com" thing.
Just get caller ID and don't pick up. Our phone announces who is calling and it's always easy to tell the marketing calls.
It's also great for "screening". In our home the phrase "don't answer it!" is heard on occasion from each member of the family depending on the circumstances.
We only have our cell phones only - no land line. I get ZERO solicitation calls! It's great! Plus you have one less bill a month.
I screen. Just dont anwser calls from anyone you dont know. Or let your kids anwser, that might be funny. Or pick up, say hello one time, if there is a long pause, hang up. I have found if I never anwser, they eventually stop calling.
if you have a home phone turn your cell phone off at home. also you have to re register on the do not call list.
I ask them is this a solicitation call? They have to answer and I tell them I am on the Do NOT call list. IF they call again they will be reported. THen hang up.
If you are already on the do not call list, you can file a complaint if it meets certain requirements. If it's an organization that you have done business with recently, then you will have to ask them to remove you. If it's a recorded message and not a real person, then you may still be able to file a complaint.
See here for details: https://complaints.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck...
I screen all my calls and rarely end up answering the land line. I have also handed the phone to my little kids and let them talk. Before I had caller ID, I would sometimes just leave the phone on the table, go about my business, and see how long it took the person to realize that I wasn't there.
Who is your carrier? We have Verizon and I asked them to block unknown numbers for me.. I have very few, solicitation calls, if ever..
Omaha Steak company was calling a lot, so the last time they called, I whispered to them I was in an important meeting, to not call me again to please just email me their specials.. I was not actually in a meeting..
login to your cell phone account and block the numbers you want blocked
Re-register on the National Do Not Call list https://www.donotcall.gov/
Some states have their own list as well. Your state says is MI - they use the Federal list.
There are exceptions to the DNC - anyone you've had business with in the past, political calls, charity calls, public safety announcements. For the businesses and charities, you have to ask them individually to not call.
