<p>Finally- some hope that robocalls will stop! Dont forget to register all your phone numbers-including cell #'s - with the Do Not Call Registry. </p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) The federal government is cracking down on “robocalls,” those automated phone calls with the tendency to interrupt Sunday dinners and otherwise annoy consumers.</p>
<p>The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that it will now require telemarketers to obtain written consent from people before placing a robocall. Written does not mean handwritten, though electronic forms are OK.</p>
<p>The new rules also eliminate a loophole that allowed telemarketers to place robocalls if they had an “established business relationship” with the consumer. Now, they will have to obtain consent even if they had previously done business with the person they want to call.</p>
<p>For some reason, even though we’re on do not call, we still get loads of calls from carpet cleaning companies and companies trying to sell us solar panels. There’s no way to get back at them to stop it. I hope this works!</p>
<p>The remaining telemarketers will ignore the rules anyway, just as they have been doing. The “do not call” list and other rules eliminated most telemarketers who followed the rules, leaving only those who disobey the rules (calling the “do not call list”, calling cell phones, pre-recorded message telemarketing) in the business.</p>
<p>We get so many calls that I’m seriously thinking of getting rid of the landline. Of course only a matter of time until they start calling our cells. Do you get these on your cell phones? How come we don’t if they use wardialers?</p>
<p>Rachel from cardholder services is the worst! At our old office, I kept getting refinancing calls, even though it was to an office number and even though I kept hitting the number to be removed from the calling list. I’m pretty pessimistic about it working though–there’s no way to find out who is actually doing this.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus is correct - while you can go ahead and list your cell phone with DNC if you like, chances are it won’t do much. The great majority of telemarketer calls that do get through are in defiance of FCC regulations, which already prohibit them from calling cell phones. Listing with Do Not Call won’t stop those kind of operators.</p>
<p>How do you block calls from telemarketers from overseas? We get a bunch peddling companies like Vonage and politeness, rudeness, threats, you name it, nothing works. </p>
<p>The most innovative telemarketer I had was one who said he could put me on an “international” do-not-call list and to register, I someone would call me with a code, and I would have to give the code to him. Since I was at the computer I googled this scenario and found that this was to procure a verified craigslist phone # which apparently can be sold for a few bucks.</p>
<p>I’m just waiting for some smart programer or Apple to come up with an app that recognizes and blocs robo calls, or asks you if you wish to answer a call before letting it ring and blocks calls from that number from then on. Something like that.</p>
<p>I put pictures of people or businesses in my address book. If someone I know calls me, then I see the picture and answer the call. If not, then I look at the number to see if I want to answer it. If I don’t recognize it, then I look it up later.</p>
<p>At home, I usually just ask them to add me to their do not call list. In some cases, especially, if they don’t shut up, I just hang up. We also have an answering machine and sometimes I will just let the call there. I generally give out my Google Phone number which blocks spam. I can’t block spam calls or texts on my cell phone though - I can only screen there.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this new rule will not help at all. The “Rachels” of the world will not stop, not matter what. There’s no way to turn them in. I have tried politely reasoning with them, asking them to take me off the list, etc. and they hang up on me. I have pretended that they have erroneously dialed 911, but my most personally satisfying thing to do is to shriek at the top of my lungs in the ear of the person who responds.</p>
<p>I did once blow a referee’s whistle into the phone. It was someone/something that had called over and over again. I had asked them to stop calling so many times. The whistle might have helped. Or maybe not.</p>
<p>Another group kept calling my cell and asking for the same guy by name. Over and over. I kept telling them this was not x’s phone number. After about a month, when I got a call asking for him, I said I couldn’t talk long because I was in jail for the murder of x and the theft of his cell phone. This stopped the calls for weeks. (Although that may have been a coincidence.)</p>
<p>Probably a debt collector. They probably did not believe you when you said that it is not X’s phone number, since that is likely a common lie by genuine deadbeats.</p>
<p>For robocalls/sales calls to my cell phone, I downloaded a “silent” ringtone. I created a Contact called “Spam” and every time I get one of those, I add it to the Spam contact. Now if that same number dials me again (and it has happened), I don’t even know it unless I check my Missed Calls.</p>
<p>Here in Canada we have legislation in place to attempt to reign in robo-calls, but now most of the calls we get appear to be coming from US numbers (most likely not the real location of the calls, of course). </p>
<p>What I do not understand about these calls (or spam for that matter) is this: If it’s possible to actually BUY goods or services from them, why can’t the authorities find the source?</p>
<p>We are also on the Do Not Call list. I get at LEAST one robocall per day about my mortgage, and credit card debt (none are eligible for any refinancing and none are very high balances). I also get daily calls from the folks who want me to change electric generation providers. It’s the one down side to being home…I answer the phone (no caller ID).</p>