When I opened my account several months ago, I specifically told the guy that my phone number was to be used to contact me for emergencies only. He said that he would note that and that was the end of it.

Within three weeks the calls started. First one, then a couple of weeks later, another.

Now I'm getting upwards of three telemarketing calls all from BOA telemarketers pushing identity theft service, home loans, refinancing, you name it.

Tomorrow I am calling the intial branch that I opened the account at, and after that I am calling BOA corporate. The "banker" who opened this account mislead us on a large number of things including placing holds on our paycheck deposits for seven business days.

This organization tries to hide its executives and it's decision makers but the SEC requires that information to be disclosed so guess who's public record that I'm going to be looking up on Hoovers?

unclescrooge

7livesleft

greebs

econobiker

synergy

majortom1981

For example send in a claim for some marlboro miles and youve probably setup a relationship with Nabisco...

Red_Eye

reykjavik

I think the difference in some cases is that they are identifiably working for a large company with a reputation to worry about -- e.g. cold callers working for a chain of carpet cleaners don't much care, but if they've contracted to your bank, they may be instructed not to piss off the bank's customers -- so in that case they might be more likely to respond courteously and provide the information you request.

Dish was always notorious -- I don't know if they encouraged such action, but the local contractors / installers did a lot of cold call solicitation, seeming to represent themselves as Dish. Dish disclaimed any knowledge of their activities, but never tried to discourage them or sanction them in any way. (DirecTV may have been guilty of the same thing, but if so I think to a lesser extent.)

jbl-az

wiretapstudios

FeralKoala

textilesdiva

FYI, I called the Georgia DNC list people months ago to ask why I was still getting calls even though Ive been on the list since its inception. I was told that if I am a customer of theirs or have ever been a customer of theirs it is not considered a "cold" call and IS allowed by DNC list guidelines.

I was not happy with that response but looks like the telemarketers have found a loopholed.

Rahnee

G-Dog

The whistle also came in handy once when a fax machine called my number repeatedly for months. Eventually someone heard the whistle on their end while the machine was trying to handshake, and they stopped calling.

ptkdude

@bohemian: If you want a GC invite, e-mail me (my username here, at wyvern dot org), and be sure to include what e-mail address you want me to send it to. I only have one left, and you can have it..

rbcat

Why not use this same technique against telemarketers?

emax4

The phone rings, and I answer it. A recordings says something like, "want to make you manhood the awe of the neighborhood? If so, press 1 now to connect to one of our representatives! Press 1 now!" after a second, it repeats, ad nauseum until I hang up. They aren't transmitting any caller ID and the recording has no information about who they are, or even where they are. I can get that info only if I "Press 1 now". But, then, that qualifies as an established business relationship, right?

Andrew

Papa Midnight

I just choose not to have a land line.

BoraBora

The first thing I always do is ask the sales rep that calls for his name and the company they work for. This is key, because they will tell you who they represent, save that info but also ask what company pays them. They HAVE to tall you this.

Second, Tell a "Supervisor" that you want taken off of the call list for the company they represent and (this is key) ALL of the call lists for the call center. Since most call for numerous companies, you can kill many birds with one stone. They may say it takes up to two weeks and you may receive more calls, let them know that each call will be a violation of federal law.

Third, keep a record of all the info you get. Even some of the comments that may have been said. This may come in handy.

Now if you get another another call from that call center no matter from what company, you can file a lawsuit in small claims court against that telemarketing firm (or if you feel lucky the credit card company that they are calling on behalf of.)

And since they called your house, you can file in your own county court. Why, because they are conducting business in your county. Even if they are from thousands of miles away.

You can win up to $2000 big ones per claim. Just a small way to get back at them for the dinners wasted!

frogman31680

WV.Hillbilly

timmus

SEMMEagent

bohemian

a_m_m_b

Not long ago, I was receiving constant calls from some insurance company. When I would answer, they would actually hang up. I found out the company name by looking up the phone number on the internet. The first time I called them and told them to stop calling me, the guy I talked to actually told me that I needed to buy one of their policies to stop the calls! I called back later and told them that they were calling a cell phone, and that they were violating federal law if they were using an auto-dialer, and that if I got one more call I would report them. I never got another call from them.

LittleBit12

On a side note, I used to work for Sitel in Omaha. I worked on an answering service for an insurance company (I didn't do outbound stuff, so I never called you). Our "trainer" was noted for mispronouncing words. We were constantly chided for not providing good customer "satisfacation" (yes, sa - tis - fa -KAY - shun).

I'm surprised they gave you the information on where they worked. We were strictly instructed to insist we were employees of the contractor (we were techincally contracted employees) and not Sitel.

Also, remember the do-not-call-list does not apply to companies you do business with, or the third parties with whom they share your information. Make sure to opt-out of everything.

Or get GrandCentral and block 'em yourself.

Xerloq

ElPresidente408

Another thing they do is give you the information about a rival telemarketing company to get them in trouble.

You can make any legit company stop calling you by going to the police and having them enforce the cease and desist. The illegitimate ones are a hassle and half to make stop calling you. Unfortunately there are many, many telemarketing companies trained in getting what they want, without giving you a shred of information.

ThyGuy

PTWhipplebang