Basically, as a telemarketer you get taught that whoever answers the phone WILL buy your product, and you are meant to keep talking UNTIL they do. Even if they do it as a way to get rid of you LOL The funny thing is that it does work with a lot of people. I did it myself for two weeks (I couldn't handle it any longer :P) They also treat you like shit in places like that - or at least did where I was - so stay away ;)

My dad asks telemarketers to hold on, then puts down the phone and doesn't check again for 10 minutes or so. They're always gone when he checks back :P I get a ton of calls from bill collectors trying to contact people I've never heard of. I can't even tell them that the people don't live here because it's always a recording saying to call them back at a non toll-free number :K (not that I think I'd call them back even if it was free).

That Federal Do-not-call list program worked for me, for the most part. I still get calls now and then and I just tell them I'm on the Federal Do-not-call list and they get all apologetic and say they'll take me off their list. You still get the calls from credit companies trying to collect from random people, but for that I block their number (specific number blocking only costs a dollar a month and it's worth it!), which takes care of most of it. If you are REALLY annoyed by the calls, you can do what I used to do. I got a number from the phone company that only went to a voicemail, not into the house (all phone companies offer these, but they have different names for them). Anyway, use that number for EVERYTHING public, work related, credit related, any forms you fill out, school - everything. Only give your (unlisted) house number to your close friends and family. That way you never get ANY calls at all except from them. Anything else goes to a voicemail that doesn't ring inside your house. It really works! :) ~ Love books? Please visit my bookshop. :) http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=lolooma

[quote=Dmitri] Used to call 10 times a day until i logged into my old credit card account and changed the phone number on file to 555-F***-YOU (A) It stopped and it's peaceful :)[/quote] ---------- That, fine sir, is a great idea. My mom get's those calls eighty billion times a day, too. I should tell her about this. ^_^

My dad usually doesn't answer, or answers and immediately hangs up to stop the phone from ringing. We're on the federal do-not-call list nd when my mom answers...I feel bad for the person on the other end. They get cussed out and yelled at to take our number off their call list. Usually works too.

[quote=choochiegirl]The do not call thing in Canada doesn't work, as it only applies to Canadian companies, the real bad ones call from the US or India, so the calls don't stop at all. Working for a company that relied on telemarketing for some of it's business, the call restrictions have hurt us and caused us to lay off people and shut down some aspects of business, thus not helping the economy. Our company was very proper about calling, no meant no and don't call me was taken seriously.[/quote] I'm from Canada and it does work. The silence is golden. The only people who haven't stopped is BELL. We switched last year and they call 10 times a day even if you've already told them no. They actually call back again and stay silent to laugh at you when you start frothing at the mouth and screaming like a maniac. Then they call back again from a DIFFERENT number. When I'm bored I answer the phone and let them go through their lines and then say "yes I'd love to come back to BELL-when will they start paying me???" :D And yes the endless begging neomails drive me nuts too!

Though I'm in USA, my dad has the "No calls from other countries" thing enabled, so that's really nice that we don't blow our phone bill on calls from India. 00100100 00110001 00110000 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01100111 01101001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01101101 01100101 00101110

Though when we DO get a telemarketer call from the US, we have fun with it. Act as if we're interested, put them on mute so that for the next 5 minutes they're giving they're spcheel to noone, and not bothering another household. When they realize the line is still connected and nobody's on the other end, that company generally doesn't call us backXD 00100100 00110001 00110000 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01100111 01101001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01101101 01100101 00101110