Everyone hates unsolicited phone calls. Simply put, they are to the telephone as spam is to email. With upfront appologies to any readers who may be telemarketers, they are extremely annoying and a complete waste of time and besides that, who actually buys anything from an unsolicited call?
To combat the never ending barage of calls, we now have the National Do Not Call Registry (in the US at least). You probably already know about it, you submit your number it is off limits to telemarketers who are required by law to honor your request. The only thing is registration is not permanent, you have to re-register your number every year.
So this tip is just a reminder to resubscribe your number in the event your registration is expired. After all, you don’t want to start getting any more calls do you?
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Very useful information for those who have never registered but perhaps you should pay a visit to this web site. Right there in the top of the home page it says the following:
Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm.
Luis is right, it does not expire since the change in early 08.
Well, I guess I have been resubscribing for nothing… Thanks for the correction.
It takes so little time to do that I never bothered reading the ‘fine print’ after first signing up several years ago.
Just to say that if your phone numbers have been registered, they don’t have to be re-registered. The web site (https://www.donotcall.gov/) explains this. If you go to the site, you can check to see if your numbers are listed.
Dave, you might look at the https://www.donotcall.gov/ where it says:
“Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm.”
Best regards, Paul
We have an equivalent service in the UK; The telephone Preference Service (TPS). Registration does not have to be renewed annually. We also have an equivalent postal service, known as the mail Preference Service (MPS) for unsolicited mail. In both cases it does not stop calls or mail from firms with whom you have done business or otherwise indicated to them that you wish to receive their junk, but they are a great help in cutting down on unwanted calls or mail.
Our system in the UK does not work – I get just as much junk telemarketing stuff down my phone line as I did before I registered with the Telephone Preference Service. I think the law only can be enforced in the UK – so the telemarketers simply call from abroad – or use scam pre-recorded messages trying to get you to call back a number which charges you huge amounts per minute. This is a regular scam – I get maybe two of these per week.
Will Light
As it states in the link, yearly re-registration is not required. The Do Not Call List Improvement of 2007 made the change effective February 2008. However, this was a good tip. Thanks
Matt, you sound like a con artist. I never EVER speak to telemarketers, except to give them a piece of my mind. They are the scum of the earth when they interrupt me when I’m having dinner with offers of double-glazing, conservatories or the like. To those of like mind, if you get one that asks to speak to the property owner, just say “Hang on, I’ll go and get him”. Leave the phone off the hook and don’t come back. They’re paying, after all.
Speaking as a former telemarketer (for several different
companies), let me tell you that a considerable amount of
people will buy from an “unsolicited call”. People are impulse
buyers and if you can get someone excited & smiling over the
phone, you can easily make sales from an “unsolicited call”.
BTW, some telemarketing companies are smart marketers and
actually use targeted leads and/or former client lists. Some
people fill out post cards WANTING to get phone calls and/or
junk mail for this or that. That is why telemarketing still
works in spite of the “National Do Not Call Registry”.
To all the telemarketers out there. Keep up the good work
guys. Everyone has to earn a living somehow. I know it’s hard
being a telemarketer as most people act like they hate you.
But if you enjoy your job, keep it up. And try to always make
the person on the other end smile, even if they are mean to
you. You will see your sales volume go way up if you can make
them smile.
Peace!
Matt
I’m in the UK and we have a similar thing called the Telephone Preference Service:
http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/
However, it does’t seem to stop calls originating from outside of the country, some of which are pre-recorded sales pitches – mostly (dare I say) with American accents! Wonder where THEY come from?
I have to say that my phone goes straight down the second I hear an obvious recorded voice. I really don’t know why they bother. Does anybody actually buy anything from these infuriating intrusions? The old cliche here is cold-calling double-glazing salespeople. I knew someone who used to live on a moored river barge and regularly got calls like that from random dialling. He had great fun with them, asking whether they could install it on port-holes!
The National-Do-Not-Call registery site states that registration is permanent. Do not re-register.
Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm.
Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/04/dncfyi.shtm.
Hi Jason,
You ask : ‘…and besides that, who actually buys anything from an unsolicited call ?’
Come on man, you should know better than that. Who do you think pays for all those people envolved ? Get real.
Here is an idea – get magic jack. Better yet, pick a long distance number and nobody will ever call you unless they really need to get a hold of you. I’ve got it and it works like a charm!
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