Usually, the people who write to us are besieged with calls from telemarketers or companies they’ve done business with, and want us to help make it stop. Brett is on the other side of the phone line. He’s not the traditional telemarketer you might think of, calling ordinary citizens during dinner: his company is just business-to-business, and he was doing some cold calling to drum up business. The person who answered the phone was anything but businesslike. [More]
B2B Telemarketer Rage: A Perspective From The Other End Of The Phone Line
By January 29, 2013
If Your Company Runs The Do Not Call List, Make Sure The Telemarketing Department Checks It
By January 8, 2013
One might think that if you’re a company that runs both the Do Not Call registry for a country as well as a telemarketing division, the two departments might compare notes once in a while. Because how embarrassing would it be if the company’s telemarketers called people on that Do Not Call list? So embarrassing, and worth a $110,000 fine. [More]
These Workers Know Their Jobs Make The World A Worse Place But A Job Is A Job, Right?
By October 18, 2012
In these trying economic times, we’re not about to begrudge anyone a job. Heck, we’ve all got bills to pay. But some workers are willing to point the finger at themselves and admit that what they do for a living is maybe kind of sort of making the world a worse place. A new survey asked a variety of workers if their jobs do good things for the world, and plenty of those polled replied, “Nope.” [More]
Does Uptick In Telemarketing Complaints Mean "Do-Not-Call" Registry Isn't Really Working?
By September 17, 2012
Ah, the cherished dinner hour. Peace, quiet and if that stupid telemarketer doesn’t stop calling I am seriously going to throw my fork really violently at something. If that sounds like you, you aren’t alone. Even with the “Do Not Call” registry, there’s been a spike in complaints against telemarketers, especially those pre-recorded phone calls that always seem to come when you don’t want them to. Although, does anyone ever really welcome a telemarketer’s call? Doubt it. [More]
Telemarketer Just Cannot Handle Being Hung Up On Again, Calls Back With Bomb Threat
By September 4, 2012
We all likely know at least a few people who have endured being a telemarketer, and while it sounds like an awful, horrible no-good very bad gig, hey, it’s a job. But one telemarketer had simply had it up to here with people hanging up on him. And so he did something a bit extreme to express that frustration — he called back and told the homeowner there was a bomb in the house. [More]
FTC Charges Telemarketers With Scamming Elderly People Out Of At Least $10 Million
By June 20, 2012
In a day when the stock market is unpredictable and huge financial institutions sometimes appear to be built out of nothing but smoke and mirrors, it can be tempting to want to invest your nest egg in something more concrete, especially something like “precious metals,” a phrase that, to some, exudes wealth and security. [More]
How Did Telemarketers End Up With Number That Was Changed To Avoid Telemarketers?
By April 10, 2012
A man in California was so fed up with unwanted telemarketing calls (which may be a redundancy) that he finally gave in and changed his number to one that was completely unlisted. Little did he know his actions would only lead to end up on a list of newly changed numbers that was sold to telemarketers. [More]
You Can Get $500 If An Autodialer Calls Your Cellphone
By September 28, 2011
Your cellphone rings from a number you don’t recognize. You pick it up. At first there’s silence. Then the sound of a call center kicks in and a person asks, “Hello, can I speak to Karen?” It’s a telemarketer, or a debt collector, using an autodialer. And they just broke the law. And just for funsies, you can collect $500 or $1500 with just a few hours of work if you go after them. [More]
Telemarketing Firm Busted For Pretending To Sound Disabled
By May 26, 2011
A telemarketing firm that sold products put together by disabled persons has been busted. Police say they were making the people who worked the phone pretend to sound handicapped in order to get more money. “The telemarketers were acting pretty significantly disabled and using particular voice patterns and such that would make them sound disabled,” Riverside Police Det. Brian Money told KABC. The suspects were arrested for theft by false pretenses and false advertising. [More]
Telemarketer Won't Show "Do Not Call" Policy? You Can Sue For $500
By May 6, 2011
If you can’t get rid of annoying telemarketers, you can at least make a profit off them. Under Federal law, they have to give you a written copy of their “Do Not Call” policy for free if you ask them to. If they don’t, you can take them to court and sue them for a cool statutory $500. Here’s a sample script for doing this from a guy who has sued several telemarketers over this violation and won. [More]
Annoy Telemarketers Into Leaving You Alone
By April 15, 2011
Larry’s company was deluged with calls from this one telemarketing scam outfit. They tried everything to get rid of the buggers but they wouldn’t quit. So his company decided to annoy them. [More]
Comcast Rep Calls With Offer Too Good To Be True, Then I Find Out It Isn't True
By January 12, 2011
Reader T was pleased to answer a call from a Comcast rep who offered a deal that would give him more channels for less money. He eagerly accepted, only to receive a call from Comcast the next day that informed him there was a hold on his account and he should work to get it removed immediately. Confused, he called Comcast’s customer service and found reason to turn his smile upside down. [More]
Robocaller Tricks My Caller ID Into Thinking It's My Wife
By December 9, 2010
John picked up a phone call that seemed to be from his wife, but discovered it was someone even more adept at nagging and less affected by indifference — a robocaller. He says he was the victim of caller ID-manipulating trickery by credit card marketers. [More]
Time Warner Cable Keeps Bugging Me, Brags It's Immune To Do Not Call Registry
By December 8, 2010
Julius thought he was protected against telemarketers by signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry, but a gleefully irritating Time Warner Cable rep informed him that this isn’t so. Because he’s a subscriber, TWC is allowed to toss telephonic sales pitches his way. Businesses with an established relationship with customers can phone them up to 18 months after their last transaction. [More]
Q: "Currently Receiving The Washington Post?" A: "Currently, I'm Trying To Have My Supper"
By September 7, 2010
This is pretty much the perfect reply to an annoying telemarketer, and the perfect complaint letter to send when he cusses you out. [More]
Guess What? Your Roommate Called Us About A Potentially Embarrassing Product!
By August 5, 2010
Dawn tells Consumerist that she had a potentially embarrassing experience recently involving a phone call, a celebrity-endorsed beauty product, and a shared phone line. She called to ask some questions about Joan Rivers’ Great Hair Day, a special hair powder marketed to women with thinning hair. Much to her horror, even though she didn’t provide the company with her phone number, they called back within minutes to talk about the product, without even checking to see whether it was Dawn who answered the phone. Nice. [More]
No, The Right To Call And Sell You Stuff Is Not Transferable
By July 8, 2010
Russell wants to know: if a company cold-calls you to sell you things when you’re part of the federal Do Not Call registry, and insists that the call is totally legal because they’ve “partnered with” a company that you do business with, does that make it okay? No. No, it does not. [More]
How Do I Get Phone Scammers To Stop Hassling Granny?
By June 30, 2010
Cassandra is looking out for her fiance’s grandmother, who is savvy enough to know the people who call her and say she’s won a bunch money are liars. [More]
