Do Not Call

telemarketing (Photo credit: Stitch)

Do you remember the "Do Not Call" registry to stop unwanted telemarketing calls?  When that registry became active, I registered my phone number right away.  In fact, I just verified that my phone number was registered on the Do Not Call List on July 1, 2003.  It was so nice to have an end to unwanted telemarketers calling the house constantly.

Being on the list worked great for several years.  More and more, however, it just seems that companies are just ignoring the list and coming up with whatever technique they can to get around it.  I double checked the official Do Not Call website, and according to the site the only organizations that can call are charities, political organizations, and business that you have a business relationship.

I constantly am receiving calls from charitable organizations.  I do not mind that so much, and I know that they are just doing their job, but when I say that I am not in a position to make a charitable donation at this time, then that should end the call.  Now that we are in an election year, I imagine there will be a constant barrage of robocalls.  I know there were prior to the primary.

Unfortunately, I have been getting a lot of unwanted calls from businesses these days.  People calling me to tell me they will be in the neighborhood giving free estimates on new windows and wanting to stop by to give me an estimate.  No, I do not want you to come by and I am on the Do Not Call list.  If I wanted to get an estimate on windows I would have called you.  Leave me the hell alone.

Take tonight for instance.  I had a flat tire after work so I dropped my car off at NTB to get a couple new tires.  I was expecting their call, so when the phone rang, I answered.  It was not NTB.  The lady on the other end of the line proceeded to launch into a spiel about my electrical energy supply company.  The conversation went something like this:

Me: I am on the Do Not Call List

Her: I am not a solicitor.  I am a customer service representative

Me: Do I currently do business with you?

Her: I don't believe so.

Me: Then it sounds like you are trying to sell me on a new electrical supplier.  Good night. click


Yeah, I know I don't have to answer the phone when these idiots call.  But, like I said, I was expecting a phone call, and unfortunately, the caller ID isn't very clear on the phone where I was sitting so I had to answer this particular call.  Since I was already in a bad mood from changing a tire and needing two new tires, I was more than happy to treat the caller rudely.

Related articles

• FTC takes action to protect Do Not Call list numbers - will "Rachel" from cardholder services stop calling? (jennstrathman.com)
• FTC Action Puts Robocallers Out of the Telemarketing Business (ftc.gov)

Robocall Revenge

I hate phone calls that are not from family and friends. The only reason that I have a land line in my house is for those folks. I have thought about switching strictly to my cell phone, but frequently I do not get good coverage when in my house, so we keep our main phone line.

It is a real annoyance for me to have the phone ring and have it not be friend or family.  I am especially annoyed when I pick up the phone and there is a delay in the response from the caller, or worst yet, a robocall. I know I could just let it ring if I do not recognize the number on caller ID, but I just want to stop the ringing.  Besides, in the case of the robocall, I would then hear it when it went to voice mail.


Tuesday night, we had a small snow storm, and several of the local school districts had delayed openings.  The Prince Georges County school system has instituted a policy of robocalling parents to inform them of the delays.  Wednesday morning, some parents were awoken at 4:30 am robocall to inform them of the delay.


One parent, Aaron Titus, jumped out of bed to answer the call, thinking it was some sort of emergency, and wanting to make sure it did not wake up his young children.  He was unable to get back to sleep after receiving the call.  Needless to say, he was annoyed.  However, he decided to exact a bit of revenge by scheduling his own 4:30 am robocall to the school superintendent and other council members.


I particularly like this story and the man's resourcefulness.  PG County is the school district that we live in.  My wife and I have been stirred from our slumber by robocalls from the county, but not as early as 4:30am.  Still, when the phone rings at 5:30 in the morning, my immediate thought is "who the hell is calling this early in the morning, and what is wrong."

Even though my son is registered as a PG County student, since he attends school out of the county he is no longer subject to their delays.  We have since been able to get those early morning robocalls to stop.  If he were still in the county, I still would not want to get an early morning robocall informing me of a delay.  I usually get up early enough to turn on the news to get the info.  I would prefer to get the info I need that way rather than the shrill sound of an early morning phone call waking me earlier than I want. 

Related articles

• Robocall Victim Takes Robo-Revenge [Folk Heroes] (gawker.com)
• Man Gets Revenge On 4:30 AM Robocalls, Amuses Megyn Kelly (mediaite.com)
• Maryland dad revenge-robocalls school board at 4am (inquisitr.com)
• Washington Post: Robocall revenge and then some (seattlepi.com)