I finally figured it out. FINALLY.
Hoh hoh, you read those simple words and have NO IDEA the weeks of toil, frustration, and rage that goes behind them.
Joe may love his telemarketing calls, but me– I HATE THEM. I hate them with a white hot, liquid-lava, seething boils of bubbling rage. And I can’t stand them, either. I have things to do! Important people call me! I DO NOT appreciate running over to the phone TEN, TWELVE times a day only to hear a telemarketer’s schpiel! To hear that phone ring AGAIN and AGAIN… GAHHHHHHH!
I screen all my calls with my answering machine. I guess a lot of people do that, because the stinkin’ telemarketers have come up with new, inventive ways to bother us. They will allow the answering machine message to roll, and then when the tape starts recording, they either say “Hello? Hello”? and hang up, or… ooo feel the blood rise….. they hang up their phone and allow the dial tone to record. And because my answering machine *thinks* the BEEP BEEP BEEP is a viable sound, it keeeeeeeps on recording, until all the recording space is used up! Which means that any REAL call I get, I miss, because my REAL caller has no space to leave a REAL message. And it happens ALL DAY LONG. ALL DAY LONG!!!! Who would do such a thing? WHO in their right mind would terrorize my family from 9am to 10pm with “Hello? Hello?” and then hang up!?!?!?!
*snap*
*throws chair through the window*
So… it happened again today. I had a long day, was tired and was on my way upstairs to lay down for a little rest before I have to burn cook tonight’s dinner. Lo and behold, the phone rang, and it was them!!! “Hello? Hello?” I ran to my machine and hit the “stop” button to hang up on them. I think I was too late– they hung up first– but I was seething mad. I snatched up the phone and hit the *69, which gives me the number of the caller. I half expected it to be an “unavilable” number, since telemarketers often cloak their numbers. Imagine my surprise and delight when the number was given back to me. I hurriedly went to my computer to look up the number, expecting some car warranty scam or a new diet pill that I had to order.
Holy cow, it’s the ACLJ calling me. The American Center for Liberty and Justice. *groan*
I like the ACLJ, because I just hate the ACLU. But at least the ACLU leaves me alone.
But GOOD GOD, there’s a whole Hate Fest brewing over the ACLJ’s telemarketing calls. Apparently, lots and lots of people are getting these “Hello? Hello?” calls, and are angry. I was floored– Are the people at ACLJ INSANE?!?! Do they really think that folks are going to donate to the ACLJ cause and support their efforts if they nastily harrass people and assault answering machines?! They must be INSANE, absolutely insane!!!!!
The forum I found (where the Hate Fest is meeting) has a telephone number that you can call to get off their Harrass List. Oh my word, there are dozens, perhaps hunderds and thousands of people all seeing red, like me! All have been getting the stupid “Hello? Hello?” and going ballistic, like me. And I was ready to pay my phone company to change my telephone number, it was so bad. I am glad I finally figured this out! I called the Do Not Call Number, and the person I spoke with seemed verrry experienced with such a request. They took my number with an “ah yes” and that was that.
I will say that I do donate to charities. I like the mission of the ACLJ. I don’t know how they got my telephone number… I can’t remember ever giving money to them, unless Mr. Crabby did something dumb (unlikely). But the ACLJ had better stop doing this real quick-like, or they are going to find a LOT of very unhappy people who will NEVER give a cent. Like me, now. Forgetttttt itttttt!
And I don’t want to hear from any of you smart alecs, leaving comments and bad-mouthing the ACLJ, because you smart alecs think you’re atheistic and humanist ways are so much better. Balderdash. Despite me hating the telemarketing calls, AT LEAST the ACLJ ASKS for money. The ACLU TAKES money, from us taxpayers. So there. :-p
UPDATE: a mere TWENTY minutes after I posted this, I got ANOTHER telemarketing call!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GAHHHHHHHHHHHH! Not from the ACLJ, but from another stinkin’ *&@$# company! The number: 305-728-0130. Am I ever going to get any rest?!?!?!
June 8th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I totally feel for you! We get tons of those too, the ones that drive me nuts are the recorded messages that say “please hold”. Ummmm hello, you called me!!! @@ I have heard of a fix for some of the calls though, if you get a recording and hit the * key repeatedly before you hang up it deletes your phone number from their computer system so they can’t call you any more. I’ve done that and it does help some.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Turning the phone off is out of the question?
June 8th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
It’s odd that you get so many. We get a few but definitely not as many as you. Even businesses that we do like and are customers of tick me off when they call. A certain political party, of which I normally vote, gets my ire when they call. I am almost always rude.
Hubby has finally trained me to NOT answer the phone every single time. If I don’t recognize the number it isn’t a requirement that I answer. It took me a long time to figure that out. :
June 9th, 2009 at 9:17 am
I’m with you on the telemarketer calls, I just look at the caller ID and if it’s an 800 or blocked number pick up the phone and immediately hang it up. That way I don’t have to listen to it ring or the answering machine pick up.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I had this same problem myself and readers suggested I contact http://www.donotcall.gov, which I did. It was very easy to register online. This was a few weeks ago. It’s supposed to take a month to be totally removed from the lists. I believe I have noticed a bit of a decline in the number of calls I’ve received, but I’d like to see them END totally. I never have my answering machine on when I’m home; I always answer, so I don’t have your problem. Typically, I just hang up. My major gripe is that most calls are RECORDED so I don’t even get the joy of hanging up in someone’s ear with those!
June 9th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I wish you could forward them to me. I had one today who told me the service was free except for 3 bucks. That led to about 10 minutes of fun for me.
May 22nd, 2010 at 1:49 am
Its not really difficult to get off of any telemarketing call list. Its quite simple actually. Let them introduce themselves and who they represent, identify that you are the person they are trying to reach, and ask to be removed from the calling list. There are very strict rules set forth at people who do these jobs and they have to be followed for legal purposes. So follow those three steps and you will not have any further problems with myself or co-workers. haha.