Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

AT&T Long Distance LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

In the past 1 week I have received 4 calls from AT&T Long Distance trying to push their long distance package on me. 3 of these calls came within 24 hours of each other and I received the 4th today. I've already filed a complain with the BBB about this but obviously nothing has happened.

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You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Them Twin Cities
Posts: 1758

Telemarketers:

1: wait for the marketer. I know you can usu. tell that its them because of the computer pause, but it's worth it.

2: determine who they are and if they have called you recently. If they are a problem company, politely ask "hey, what state are you calling me from?"

3: before they go into their spiel (interrupt them if necessary), say politely: "I want you to put me on your do not call/do not send list."
If they

1. say "ok, but it will take 90 days." say ok and hang up. If they call again, say "I asked you to place me on the do not call list. I know this takes some time. Put a note on my account/listing that I am not to be called pending being placed on the dnc list."
   
2. say "we can't do that" (or some variation), remind them they they have just broken federal law. Suggest they find a way or you will be forced to cantact the local BBB and state attorney's general. Do so if necessary
   
3. hang up, wait for the next call, collect what info you can, and start bugging the bbb and state attourney general...
   

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

After the second call I requested to be placed on their do not call list. Obviously they didn't do so since within an hour I received another call this time from the same telemarketer as the first call. It's getting very annoying and I will use your suggestions with them.

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Inglewood, CA, USA
Posts: 390

Re: AT&T Long Distance LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

quote:

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Originally posted by ashmed
In the past 1 week I have received 4 calls from AT&T Long Distance trying to push their long distance package on me.

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"Attitudes are contagious... Is YOURS worth catching?"

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 1062

Re: Re: AT&T Long Distance LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

quote:

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Originally posted by narnia_77
I politely asked the 5th caller, "Is it nessessary for me to cuss you out before you stop calling me?" They hung up, and I haven't heard from them since.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

Re: Re: AT&T Long Distance LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

quote:

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Originally posted by narnia_77
AT&T did the same thing to me almost a year ago. After the 4th call of me telling them "No thank you", I politely asked the 5th caller, "Is it nessessary for me to cuss you out before you stop calling me?" They hung up, and I haven't heard from them since.

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

Once you ask a telemarketer to place you on the no-call list, by law, they are not supposed to call you. If they do, you are allowed to take them to small claims court and I believe you can collect a settlement of a few hundred dollars.

The key is to document as much info as you can.

There is also a device out on the market that automatically detects if it is an auto-dialer calling. If it detects an autodialer, it creates an audio 'this number has been disconnected' signal which tells the autodialer to automatically remove this number. It's a pretty interesting device. Don't remember the link, though.

My favorite story is when I received a brochure from my phone company the same day as a phone call to sell me their software that will tell you if you someone is trying to call you while you are online.

I politely asked the operator a few questions:

1) I am your customer. Why don't you know that I have DSL and have no need for this software.

2) I am your customer. Why don't you know that I have a macintosh and that there is no point in calling me as your software is mac only.

3) In your brochure for Windows-only software, why are the ONLY computers that are shown Macintoshes?

I despise my phone company. They are evil evil evil. Not only that, they waste a crapload of money. I'm not a CEO, but it seems to me that there are some very obvious ways that they could be saving money without having to resort to hiring unskilled labor and telemarketers.

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

My favorite thing is when companies call me, especially long distance companies.

I have a home phone and a cell phone. I make all long distance calls through the cell. As such, I only have basic service on my home phone. When long distance companies ask me who I use, I tell them "I don't know." They usually interpret this to mean that I am not the one who handles the phone bill. When they ask me who that person is, I say it's me.

That's when they get confused. I tell them I make all long distance calls from my cell phone. Then they launch into this spiel about how I'm wasting money because the long distance company is charging me money if I DON'T use the service and blah blah. I thank them politely and hang up.

The thing that really annoys me is when they have people that can't even speak the language. How much sense does it make to hire someone in a communications position if they have such a thick accent that they cannot be understood. No offense to you if you're from a foreign country.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 441

I'm in the same boat as you Creole. I use my cell phone for long distance calls and have the basic service on my regular phone it's really insulting to me to have them repeat to me multiple times about how i'm being charged all this money for not having long distance. I tell them I'm fine with that. Last year when i lived in a dorm I told them that the amount I was paying for my phone was fine, I had a cell phone for long distance and I didn't need an EXTRA charge on my phone bill for something I wouldn't use. For some reason he didn't understand. I had to pretty much spell out for them that I was a college student and couldn't afford a frivelous expediature on something like long distance which I already had. And they kept blabbing on and on and on about their service (which had a monthly fee by the way). Very annoying.

__________________
You know it's bad when your Calculus Professor uses the word "Unpossible"

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say, It's a long, long way from paradise to where I am today." -Switchfoot, Home

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Them Twin Cities
Posts: 1758

Don't let them get started on their scripts. The key to dealing with telemarketers is to separate yourself from the pack. Take it from a former telemarketer (calls for charity donations and health surveys), the only way to get them to pay attention is to get them to interact with you as a human being and not a mark. Remember, you're sitting in your house like a normal human being, they're in a cubet (about 1/4 - 1/3 the size of a normal cube) looking at a computer screen. They're in a dehumanizing situation.

If you can connect with the telemarketer as a person, you can get them out of their groove and into yours--you can get them to do things that their training taught them not to, ex. put you on the dnc list and put dnc comments in your notes field.

Get this: the people who have dealt best with me have been Hawaiians.. they're somehow more engaging and laid back... Don Ho Syndrom, I guess.

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Registered: May 2001
Location: NY metro area
Posts: 219

For those who live here in NYS there is a state-wide and state-run Do Not Call Registry .

For those of you elsewhere check to see if your state or locality has the same thing, if not get politically involved and get your government to start one. Ever since I registered with them I have received ZERO (that's right ZERO) telemarketing calls where I used to receive at least 10 - 15 per week.

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Jonathan

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 284

Re: Re: Re: AT&T Long Distance LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

quote:

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Originally posted by mensachicken

In my experience, Telemarketers will only stop calling if you're rude to them.

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I've never had that problem. In fact, every time I've been rude, I've always gotten more calls. Whenever I was polite but firm, the calls always ended after the first one.

I remember one particular call I got from a company trying to sell me vinyl windows. I didn't want them and told the telemarketer so, but I politely listened while the telemarketer went through her spiel anyway (she wasn't going to give up easily). When she got to the "Can we send someone over to measure your house?" part, I responded "Sure!"

After a couple of seconds of silence, I got a "Really?"

"Yeah," I said, "but it's probably not going to change my mind."

"Why's that?"

"Because I live in a mobile home."

She saw the humour in the whole thing, and I never heard from the company again.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

I just ask why they'd ever want to be in telemarketing. Maybe start a discussion about Jesus or various venereal disease symptoms. Singing to them or mimicking the sound(s) of self-love is rather amusing as well - you may have to be careful if the telemarketer is of the opposite sex (though I can't imagine too many male telemarketers having a problem). Like dietrichbohn said, they're stuck in a cubicle - why not add some amusement to their life?

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Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

I've been getting calls for the previous owner of my current phone number. (even after having had this number for 1.5 yrs now.) I politely tell them that the number no longer belongs to that name and they immediately try to sell me whatever they were going to try to sell them. Once they did this when I was in a very bad mood anyway and I ripped the person a new one but usually when this happens I say "not interested" and get off the phone quickly.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

quote:

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Originally posted by Yorick
I've been getting calls for the previous owner of my current phone number.

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This happened to me about 8 years ago. I just moved into a new apartment (with a roommate who had already been there). The first three weeks I got TONS of phone calls from collection agencies. I told them all it was the wrong number.

A few days later I'm in my room and my new roommate comes to the door and tells me the police are here for me. I go to the front and they ask me a bunch of questions. Apparently, someone had been doing a lot of credit card fraud and they were using my phone number for the applications.

It was very creepy and I'm sure my new roommate was wondering what the hell was going on. Who had she let into her home, etc.

Eventually, I got to the bottom of it. When Bell had given me my new number, it had only been an old number for a week (they're supposed to wait 3 months). I was of course furious. Not only had I had business cards printed up with the new number, but the police had come to my door! Ugh.

One of the many reasons I hate Bell and left the monopoly in the dust the first chance I got.

mc