National Do Not Call List - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

azinn · #1 12-10-2004, 08:35 AM

Starting Jan 1, 2005, all cell phone numbers will be made public to
telemarketing firms. So this means as of Jan 1, your cell phone may start
ringing off the hook with telemarketers, but unlike your home phone, most of
you pay for your incoming calls. These telemarketers will eat up your free
minutes and end up costing you money in the long run.

According to the National Do Not Call List, you have until Dec 15th, 2004 to
get on the national "Do not call list" for cell phones. They said that you
need to call 1-888-382-1222 from the cell phone that you wish to have put on
the "do not call list" to be put on the list. They also said you can do it
online at www.donotcall.gov.

Registering only takes a minute, is in effect for 5 years and will possibly
save you money (definitely frustration). Make sure you register now!

GottaDiesel · #2 12-10-2004, 09:22 AM

I can't tell you how great this has worked for me in the past. I don't know who is responsible for it but all I can say is it really works!

Pete

boneheaddoctor · #3 12-10-2004, 09:41 AM

I held off with the Donnot call list.....but after it was enacted the BS calls went from 1 or 2 a night to 10 or more I got really PI$$ED off and signed up myself......

I started to get verbally abusive with them in the end....

Still get these damned mortgage calls, Told them when they can give me a 2% loan, 40 years fixed rate with no late penalties.........then call me, untill then dont F@#$ing call me again.

PHAEDRUS242 · #4 12-10-2004, 09:42 AM

Just called. Thanks for the info.

Bill Wood · #5 12-10-2004, 11:04 AM

Bogus e-mail worries users of cell phones

Messages warn that numbers will be given to telemarketers
By Caroline E. Mayer
Updated: 3:33 a.m. ET Dec. 10, 2004

WASHINGTON - The e-mails, often forwarded by friends, vary in wording, but the underlying message is always ominous: Soon, all cell phone numbers will be made public to telemarketing firms. That means, according to one version, that "your cell phone may start ringing off the hook with telemarketers" and your precious, limited cell phone minutes will be eaten up with calls you don't want.

It's not clear where the e-mails originated, but industry and government officials say they are an urban myth; they are not true. There is no list of cell phone numbers being turned over to telemarketers, and telemarketers are barred from calling cell phone numbers.

Even so, in the past two weeks, more than 3 million numbers have been added to the government's national do-not-call list, and government officials suspect that the unexpected increase is due to the e-mails that are being passed around like a national game of telephone.

"It's driving registration numbers big time," said Lois Greisman, the Federal Trade Commission official who oversees the anti-telemarketing registry. The list took effect in October 2003, and since the initial flood of registrations, about 200,000 numbers have been added to the list each week, she said. But two weeks ago, close to 1 million numbers were posted to the list; another 2 million were added last week, she said. Today, a total of 69 million phone numbers are on the registry. Telemarketers risk fines of up to $11,000 for every number they call on the list.

Greisman called the e-mails "very odd," adding, "It is not malicious because it's giving correct registration information. But it's causing anxiety, and there shouldn't be anxiety."

Cell phone companies' plan
The distress appears to stem from a plan, unveiled this fall, by several cell phone companies to set up national directory assistance, a 411 system, for cell phone numbers. Sprint Corp., Cingular Wireless, AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Nextel Communications Inc., Alltel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. have hired Qsent Inc. to develop the directory; Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless provider is not participating.

Next spring, each cell phone company will begin asking its customers if they want their numbers included in the wireless directory, according to Qsent spokesman Jeff Fishburn. Inclusion is free, but customers have to choose, or opt in, to have their number in the directory. The directory is not expected to be activated until next fall at the earliest.

"The wireless 411 service will not be made into a list that will be sold to third parties," Fishburn said. "It will not be made into a phone book and not be available online on the Internet. The only way for a consumer to get a wireless phone number in the future is to call 411 and ask for someone, and then they will be given the option of the landline or wireless number."

The cost to obtain a wireless number will be the same as that for a landline, ranging from 50 cents to $1.25, depending on the customer's telephone company and state. "It's too expensive for telemarketers," even if they were permitted to call cell phones, Fishburn said.

'Nothing will change'
Since the first telemarketing rules were adopted in 1991, the Federal Communications Commission has barred solicitors from using automated dialers to call cell phones, the predominant way telemarketers make their calls.

"Nothing will change for consumers, whether there is a directory or not," said FCC spokeswoman Rosemary Kimball.

Telemarketing officials say companies review their lists twice a month to eliminate any cell phone numbers, as FCC rules require. Even without such a rule, "we don't want to call people's cell phones," said Tim Searcy, head of the American Teleservices Association, which represents call centers. "We know it eats up their minutes, annoys them, and the likelihood of them buying anything is very low. It would be a waste of our time."

Yet the mere prospect was enough to get people to add their cell number to the national registry — as well as pass along the e-mail. Mallory Walker, head of the real estate lending firm Walker & Dunlop in Bethesda, signed up immediately after he received the disconcerting e-mail this week. Then, he forwarded the message to more than 100 other people, friends and employees. "I can't tell you how many people called me and thanked me," he said.

Some of the e-mails say that consumers have to sign up by Dec. 15 or forever lose the opportunity. That's wrong, said the FTC's Greisman. "There is no deadline; there never has been a deadline to register."

If consumers are concerned, Greisman said they may register their cell phone numbers, either by signing up on the Internet, at www.donotcall.gov, or by calling 888-382-1222. Consumers signing up by phone need to call from the phone they want to add to the list.

rickg · #6 12-10-2004, 11:12 AM

Ahh...and another reason I'm glad I don't have a cell phone

Botnst · #7 06-25-2005, 08:24 PM

Where's Congress on this invasion of privacy?

http://news.com.com/Telemarketers+target+cell+phones/2100-1037_3-5754672.html?tag=nefd.lede

"The most immediate option for consumers is to sign on with the Do Not Call Registry on the Internet or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number to be registered."

dieseldiehard · #8 03-18-2017, 02:27 PM

just time to revisit this decade+ old thread.
Here's my solution to ending 99% of all nuisance calls: NOMOROBO
I was skeptical too, but after trying a call blocker with limited results and my fone was getting loaded with hang ups and calls from scammers pushing all sorts of agendas such as medical insurance (they always mention Obamacare), credit card offers, IRS settlements (I don't owe the IRS anything!), you name it I was getting it.
I saw a new scheme to deal with nuisance calls and signed up with NOMOROBO on my land line (well, cable fone service) and it was like a new day the moment it went active my fone was actually QUIET for days, weeks at a time. I told friends and they too now have found peace from 99% of the crap they were getting.
Note that htis is a free service for VOIP (cable phones service). Sorry but AT&T wants you to get all those scam callers on your copper POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) so if you have conventional twisted pair fone service you are going to have to deal with nuisance calls with a callblocker, either a separate hardware device you insert in the line or your service provider may have a limited blocking scheme. You can read more about it at the NOMOROBO website https://nomorobo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/205761775-What-Phone-Carriers-Are-Supported-

NOMOROBO charges $1.99 a month for cell fone blocking. And you have to decide if that is worth the resulting peace and quiet. To me the National Do Not Call thing was completely ineffective, these scammers use a random number generators or something to send out calls and a few are coming out of Canada, or show a spoofed number from somewhere they think is safe.
NOMOROBO lets a few charity calls through occasionally and I enter them their online system and add to the national database of calls to be blocked. Thats it!
DDH, having a nice quiet day! (and night)

https://www.nomorobo.com/

Mxfrank · #9 03-18-2017, 04:41 PM

NOMOBROBO also lets you add numbers to their block list. Depending on your network provider, it's not going to silence them completely. What happens is that incoming calls ring simultaneously on your phone and on the NOMOROBO computer. (simultaneous ring is a feature of IP telephony, and even then, many carriers don't offer it) If the computer recognizes the callerID as a spammer, it takes the call and essentially hangs up on them. Your phone will ring once, unless you are on a system that suppresses the first ring.

Because it's dependent on callerID, some spammers still get through by constantly changing numbers. But the annoyance factor will go way down.

The National Do Not Call is extremely effective at eliminating solicitation calls from legitimate companies. So it has some value. It won't stop political messages, community service messages, or certain types of opinion surveys. But it's the solicitation calls that are most annoying. The solicitations you get nowadays aren't legit...try asking what company they are with, what their address is, what their name is. They won't tell you, because what they are doing is illegal. If you could ever get their contact info, you can actually sue them in small claims court.

dieseldiehard · #10 03-18-2017, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mxfrank

NOMOBROBO also lets you add numbers to their block list. Depending on your network provider, it's not going to silence them completely. What happens is that incoming calls ring simultaneously on your phone and on the NOMOROBO computer. (simultaneous ring is a feature of IP telephony, and even then, many carriers don't offer it) If the computer recognizes the callerID as a spammer, it takes the call and essentially hangs up on them. Your phone will ring once, unless you are on a system that suppresses the first ring.

Because it's dependent on callerID, some spammers still get through by constantly changing numbers. But the annoyance factor will go way down.

The National Do Not Call is extremely effective at eliminating solicitation calls from legitimate companies. So it has some value. It won't stop political messages, community service messages, or certain types of opinion surveys. But it's the solicitation calls that are most annoying. The solicitations you get nowadays aren't legit...try asking what company they are with, what their address is, what their name is. They won't tell you, because what they are doing is illegal. If you could ever get their contact info, you can actually sue them in small claims court.

I never get a first ring. I have a callblocker that lights up if the call gets thru NOMOROBO and I can then hit block manually for a second level of defense.
I do note however that there have been a continuous number of calls from any number of variations on Breast Cancer. All get reported to NOMOROBO as soon as they come in.
I get calls from people who ask for me by my given name, not the name I use normally and I know they purchased a mailing list of names.
I questioned one outfit that called, saying up front they were a "contractor doing remodeling in the area" or something related. They said they got my name from City Hall. Damn City hall gives out your personal info! No need to report them to NOMOROBO as they are just a local call trying to get business (NOT MINE!)

And good luck suing any of these rat bastards in small claims court that is a great way to waste your time!

Mxfrank · #11 03-18-2017, 07:09 PM

If a business doesnt have a prior relationship with you, the mere act of calling gives you a statutatory right to sue. If you can get them into court, you will win. If that's not your cup of tea, there's an online form on the FTC website where you can report them.

dieseldiehard · #12 03-18-2017, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mxfrank

If a business doesnt have a prior relationship with you, the mere act of calling gives you a statutatory right to sue. If you can get them into court, you will win. If that's not your cup of tea, there's an online form on the FTC website where you can report them.

But if you win the judgement, how do you collect?? small claims are just impossible to collect. unless the 2 parties live in the same county and appear in front of the judge, even then how you get them to pay anything is very difficult.
If perhaps your uncle is a hotshot lawyer you might get something out of a large corp. but you have to know who to contact and in these scam callers you just don't know who it is when they spoof numbers like they do.

BTW, I was reporting calls to the FTC and nothing ever happened, then I heard some unscrupulous person may have obtained the FTC database and used that to contact people - against their wishes - basically churning the calls all over again!