Phone harassment

[saberstar]

So I have been receiving harassing telemarketing phone calls from the same company for the past 5 months. I had enough when I told the person on the phone to stop calling me that they were harassing me. She laughed and said that she would call me back in 5 minutes (when she did that I got pissed).

I am on the national no call list.

Today I called my phone carrier and they said since it is a blocked number they have no way to get the number.

I called the FCC- They said there is nothing they can do and that they do not help individual complaints.

I don't know what to do. Just seems to me to be a big pile of B.S.

Anyone know who else to call?

 

[shibumiseeker]

Next time play along like you are interested in their product, get their company information and THEN file your complaint. Take it to the State Att. General if you are also on Indiana's Do Not Call list.

 

[mom45]

Don't answer the phone. You can file a complaint with the State Attorney General, but that is what they will advise.

You can get REALLY rude with them if you want and sometimes that makes them stop calling, but not always. I like to put them "on hold" and set the phone on the counter for however long it takes for them to hang up. I had one that kept calling wanting to speak to the person in charge of my NIPSCO gas bill. I explained to them I was not a NIPSCO customer and after about the fourth time I went through that routine, I gave up and told them they need to hold for Mattie. Mattie happens to be my cat. I set the phone on the counter and when I went back 10 to 15 minutes later, they were still holding. I informed them she was still licking her butt but they were welcome to continue holding if they wanted to, but they hung up on me and never called back.

My husband likes to have fun with them and ask them where they are, how the weather is, if they would like to meet for lunch since he will be visiting their area on business next week, etc. If it is a woman calling, he tells them how sexy they sound and asks what they are wearing...they hang up on him too.

Instead of letting them stress me out, I just play with them now and they soon take us off the list of people to call. Many of those companies time them on how long they are on the phone so if you keep them on the phone for a while without them making a sale, etc. it counts against them.

 

[BiscuitNaBasket]

Last week I received 20 phone calls from different numbers all saying that I called them. I never did call them. After the 2nd call I stopped answering, but some people left some nasty voicemails. I called sprint and they said "you can change your number. Nothing else we can do."

 

[jkaetz]

Don't answer the phone. You can file a complaint with the State Attorney General, but that is what they will advise.

You can get REALLY rude with them if you want and sometimes that makes them stop calling, but not always. I like to put them "on hold" and set the phone on the counter for however long it takes for them to hang up. I had one that kept calling wanting to speak to the person in charge of my NIPSCO gas bill. I explained to them I was not a NIPSCO customer and after about the fourth time I went through that routine, I gave up and told them they need to hold for Mattie. Mattie happens to be my cat. I set the phone on the counter and when I went back 10 to 15 minutes later, they were still holding. I informed them she was still licking her butt but they were welcome to continue holding if they wanted to, but they hung up on me and never called back.

My husband likes to have fun with them and ask them where they are, how the weather is, if they would like to meet for lunch since he will be visiting their area on business next week, etc. If it is a woman calling, he tells them how sexy they sound and asks what they are wearing...they hang up on him too.

Instead of letting them stress me out, I just play with them now and they soon take us off the list of people to call. Many of those companies time them on how long they are on the phone so if you keep them on the phone for a while without them making a sale, etc. it counts against them.

This, waste as much of their time as possible. They'll figure it out. I'm sure you can get plenty creative. Maybe the sounds of a toilet flushing and some other sounds that will sear an image into their mind.

You might also see if you can get a higher level person from your telco. The "We can't do anything if it's a blocked number." line is BS. They have to know where the call originated but I'm sure that requires higher level people than what you get on the phone normally.

I had a guy call four or five times in a row a week or so ago. I kept sending it to VM because I was in the car and didn't recognize the number. He finally left a voice mail asking me to stop calling him. Needless to say I respected his voice mail. Too bad I wasn't the one calling him in the first place.

 

[spec4]

If we don't recognize the number, we don't pick up. I figure if it's legit they will leave a message.

 

[saberstar]

I think now its just more of a revenge thing for me. I want them to be punished.

 

[looney2ns]

If we don't recognize the number, we don't pick up. I figure if it's legit they will leave a message.

This^^

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

I always ask them the name of the company they work for. If they ask why, I tell them the IN AG wants to know. That gets a hang up and I never hear from them again.

 

[Dead Duck]

 

[mrjarrell]

I'm on the national do not call and Indiana's do not call lists and I rarely get a call. Then again, I use a cell phone as my primary and don't have an antique land line, either. Maybe that makes a difference. When I do get a call that I answer I just block it and they can't call back.

 

[churchmouse]

So I have been receiving harassing telemarketing phone calls from the same company for the past 5 months. I had enough when I told the person on the phone to stop calling me that they were harassing me. She laughed and said that she would call me back in 5 minutes (when she did that I got pissed).

I am on the national no call list.

Today I called my phone carrier and they said since it is a blocked number they have no way to get the number.

I called the FCC- They said there is nothing they can do and that they do not help individual complaints.

I don't know what to do. Just seems to me to be a big pile of B.S.

Anyone know who else to call?

Seriously....hit the ignore button. You are not going to stop them as long as you keep answering the darn phone. If I see a private or blocked number I just hit ignore. If they know me it is a given. If they really need you a voice-mail will be coming directly.

 

[pearlman1966]

This is what I use.
There is a scammer with Card Member Services who may be deaf now.

 

[mrjarrell]

I'm a Telemarketer. Here's How to Get Rid of Me

 

[mom45]

This is what I use.
There is a scammer with Card Member Services who may be deaf now.

Card member services just called here and I simply picked up the phone and dropped it back down...disconnected.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Seriously....hit the ignore button. You are not going to stop them as long as you keep answering the darn phone. If I see a private or blocked number I just hit ignore. If they know me it is a given. If they really need you a voice-mail will be coming directly.

It's nice to have that luxury, but not all of us have it. Because of my involvement with Search and Rescue, I pretty much always answer the phone regardless of the number because I get calls from all over the country, and often times people calling in a stress situation won't leave a message. I despise telemarketers with a passion as a result, though since the DNC lists the number I get has gone down dramatically except for my business phone line.

 

[boogieman]

What I do is once I know who it is I just answer the phone and set it down. Let them sit there as long as they want. I never say a word. They give up eventually

 

[kalboy]

I always ask them the name of the company they work for. If they ask why, I tell them the IN AG wants to know. That gets a hang up and I never hear from them again.

Also helps to ask for the personal info of the person calling, take some time ,try to make it sound legit that you are involved in gathering phone harassment info for the IN AG and you really need their personal info, including SSN.
Word must get around, did this two or three times and I have an antique land line, am on zero no call lists but rarely get phone solicitation calls.

 

[Scutter01]

The places that call over and over, hiding their CID and refusing to identify, will not be deterred by silly little things like "no call lists" or threats of legal action. These people are scammers and, by definition, criminals, and we all know how good criminals are at following the law.

If you are or know a phone guy, you may be able to obtain the ANI number (which cannot be forged), and that can be used to trace them down. Alternatively, obtain a cheap fax machine and have the fax machine answer the phone when the number is either blocked or suspicious-looking. Even the scammers tend to take your name off the list when a fax answers, unless of course you've let them know what you're up to.

 

[dcat91]

Ugh I have this same issue except with bill collectors. Sorry, I'm not Sally! Seriously atleast 3 times a day I get calls for her. We also shop at the same places a lot, cause whenever they ask for a number I get called sally.