YourCallerID’s Telemarketing Blog

If you are wanting to add your cell phone to the Do Not Call list, you may call 888 382 1222. You must call this number from the number you are wanting to be added to the Do Not Call list. You may also add your number to the Do Not Call list by visiting www.donotcall.gov.

 FAQ

Is There a Fee To Register with the National Do Not Call Registry?

• No. The service is free.

Can I Register More Than One Telephone Number? 

• Yes. There is no limit on the number of personal telephone numbers that you can register.  However, you may have to register more than once to cover all of your phone numbers. You can register up to three telephone numbers at one time if you register online at www.donotcall.gov.  If you have more than three personal telephone numbers, you will have to go through the online registration process more than once to register all of your numbers. If you register by telephone you can only register one telephone number  at a time.  This is  because you must call the registry from the phone number you wish to register.  But you can register multiple personal phone numbers by calling the registry from each of the numbers.  

Can I Register a Business Telephone Number?

• No.  The National Do Not Call Registry is only for home phone numbers.

Can I Register a Fax Number? 

• No.  Faxes are not covered by the National Do Not Call Registry.   

Can I Register a Cell Phone Number? 

• Yes, by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the cell phone or by logging onto www.donotcall.gov.

Will My Cell Phone Be Assaulted by Telemarketing Calls if I Don’t Register?

• No.  Because telemarketers are prohibited from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers, telemarketing calls to cell phone numbers are rare.  However, there’s no harm in registering your cell phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry.

Will I Receive Confirmation That I have Registered?

• If you register by phone, you will not receive confirmation.  However, you can verify your registration by calling 1-888-382-1222 or by logging onto www.donotcall.gov. If you register online, you will receive an email for each telephone number that you register.  You need to open each email and click on the link in the email within 72 hours to activate your registration.  If you don’t click on the link in the email, the number you tried to register will not be added to the registry.

Will My Registration Expire?

• Yes.  Your registration will expire five years from your registration date.  You can check your expiration date by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the number you wish to verify or by logging onto www.donotcall.gov. After your registration expires, you will have to re-register. The National Do Not Call Registry was created in 2003, so registrations will begin to expire in 2008.

What If I Get a New Telephone Number? 

• You will need to register the new number.

How Does the Registry Work?

• Telemarketers are required to search the registry every 31 days and delete from their call lists the phone numbers of consumers who have registered.

How Soon After I Register Will I Start Getting Fewer Calls? 

• Telemarketers have up to 31 days from the date you register to stop calling you.

Will Registration Stop All Telemarketing Calls? 

• No.  The National Do Not Call Registry does not apply to calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities and telephone surveyors.   The registry also does not apply to calls from companies with which you have an established business relationship (see below), or companies to whom you provided express written agreement to receive calls.

Can Some Companies Call Me After I Register?

• Yes.  If you bought, leased or rented something from a company (i.e., if you have an “established business relationship” with the company), the company can call you up to 18 months after the transaction - - even if your number is registered with the National Do Not Call Registry. In addition, if you submit an inquiry or application to a company, the company can call you for three months after the inquiry or application - - even if your number is registered with the National Do Not Call Registry.

Can I Stop These Companies From Calling Me Again?

• Yes.  If you receive a call from a company with which you have an established business relationship, don’t just hang up.  Instead, tell the caller that you wish to be put on the company’s “Do Not Call” list.   Companies must keep their own Do Not Call lists and are prohibited from calling anyone on their list for 10 years.

Can I Stop Charities From Calling Me? 

• Calls made by charities are not subject to the restrictions of the National Do Not Call Registry, and charities are not required to keep their own Do Not Call lists.  However, if a third-party telemarketer calls you on behalf of a charity, you can ask the telemarketer to not to call you again on behalf of that specific charity.

Are Telemarketing Calls from Overseas Covered by the National Do Not Call Registry?

• Yes. Any telemarketer calling a U.S. consumer must comply with the registry, regardless of where the call originates.

Can I Verify My Registration With the National Do Not Call Registry?

• Yes. You can verify your registration by calling 1-888-382-1222 or visiting www.donotcall.gov.

How Do I File a Complaint About a Violation of the National Do Not Call Registry? 

• If your number has been registered for at least 31 days and you receive a call from a telemarketer that you believe is covered by the registry, you can file a complaint  with the Federal Trade Commission online at www.donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222.

What Information Do I Need to File a Complaint?

• You need either the name or telephone number of the company that called you, and the date of the call. Federal law requires anyone making a telephone solicitation call to your home to provide his/her name, the name of the entity on whose behalf the call is being made, and a telephone number or address at which you may contact that entity.

What are the Penalties for Violating the National Do Not Call Registry?

• Violators can receive a civil penalty of up to $11,000 per call.

 Are There Restrictions on When a Telemarketer Can Call? 

• Even if a call is not prohibited by the National Do Not Call Registry, telemarketers are limited to calling you between the hours of 8 A.M. and 9 P.M.

 How Else Can I Limit Telemarketing Calls?

• Consider getting Caller ID on your home phone.  Telemarketers are prohibited from using devices to block information from appearing on a consumer’s Caller ID box. Consider having your name unlisted or unpublished in the local telephone directory.  Telemarketers often get their lists from this source. Have your name and phone number deleted from consumer credit lists that are provided to telemarketers by the major credit reporting agencies.  You can do so by phone by calling 1-888-5OPT-OUT or online at www.optoutprescreen.com.

Have a script
Because prospects have much less patience over the phone than in person, you need to have a script for telemarketing. Every telemarketer needs specific instructions on how to begin, conduct, and end each call. Try different scripts. Measure which script works best, then make sure that the telemarketers stick to it.

Get to the point
The most important part of the call is the beginning. You need to create some interest in the prospect’s mind and assure him or her that you are not going to take up a lot of time. You also need to qualify your prospect and determine whether or not he or she is someone you should spend time with. This is why it is so important to have a script and to carefully evaluate its effectiveness.

Keep it sounding natural
Ironically, while it is important to have a script, it is just as important for callers to sound like they aren’t reading from one. Prospects are less likely to have patience or engage in conversations with callers that sound as though they are delivering “canned” presentations.

Keys to making a script sound natural are

* Don’t read too fast
* Use natural and appropriate emphasis on key words
* Avoid speaking in a monotone
* Pause slightly at the end of each sentence
* Sound genuinely interested in the prospect’s questions, concerns, or objections

Make lots of calls
Even more so than in-person selling, telemarketing is a numbers game. No matter how good you are on each call, you’re not going to sell to everyone. How many calls you make will make a big difference in your success. A super-aggressive telemarketer may reach as many as 150 decision makers in a single day. A less aggressive telemarketer may only reach 20. Which one do you think will make more sales?

Keep it short
While you should encourage your telemarketers to build a rapport with their targets, this shouldn’t take all day. Track the phone calls your telemarketers make to determine what length of time per phone call, on average, is ideal for qualifying, presenting, and closing a sale with a customer. Have your telemarketers try to stick to this ideal time frame.

It’s been an overwhelming success and touted as a model for Canada. In the months after the American Federal Trade Commission established its do not call registry in October 2003, 60 million people signed up, eager to prevent most telemarketers from contacting them at home.

By Sept. 30, 2006, that list had grown to 132,219,163 telephone numbers — landline and cellphone — according to the latest FTC annual report to Congress on the registry.

The program was designed to block about 80 per cent of telemarketing calls. Consumers register the numbers they want protected.

The concept is simple: if you do not want to receive calls from telemarketers, you fill out a form, call a toll-free number or register online.

Under the legislation, companies cannot call people who have signed up unless:

• The company has done business with them within the last 1½ years or fielded an inquiry or application from them within three months.
• The person being contacted gave them signed, written consent.
• The caller has a personal relationship with the person he or she is phoning.
• The company is among certain exempted groups such as charities, polling companies and political campaigners. These groups can ring numbers on the list unless they’re asked not to call again.

Telemarketers must check the registry every 90 days and scrub names from their own lists. If they contact those numbers anyway, they can be fined up to $11,000 US per call or face jail terms

The federal regulator said it received between 10,000 and 12,000 consumer complaints alleging violations of the list in the program’s first 11 months. As of Sept. 30, 2006, the FTC had filed charges in 28 of the cases and had reached settlements in 21. Courts ordered fines of almost $16 million in those cases.

One of the cases the FTC began pursuing in 2006 involved John Raymond Salvator Bezeredi, a Vancouver-based telemarketer who targeted elderly Americans by trying to sell them non-existent bonds. They were told that after buying the bonds, they would be entered into monthly drawings that would likely lead to regular cash payments or substantial winnings. Bezeredi did business as Dominion Investments, Eurobond Fidelity Ltd. and Imperial Investments. On April 9, 2007, he was ordered to pay back $4.75 million to his victims.

Other companies have settled without going to court after the FTC said they broke the rules. Among them, AT&T Corp. shelled out $490,000 in fines in July 2004 and Primus Telecommunications Group Inc. agreed to pay $400,000 two months later.

The Canadian registry

The success of the American registry renewed calls for a similar registry in Canada. The federal government passed legislation in November 2005 that cleared the way for a Canadian registry modelled on the American one. The legislation provides for fines of $1,500 per person and $15,000 per business for each infraction.

Canada’s largest marketing association welcomed the legislation. The Canadian Marketing Association had been calling for clear rules on telemarketing for years. It has maintained a voluntary do not call list since 1988. It was set up to cut down not just on phone calls from telemarketers — but also on junk mail and faxes from marketers.

But it has serious limitations. It only applies to companies that are members of the Canadian Marketing Association. There’s little the CMA can do to punish violators, except kick them out of the CMA.

“Without reasonable laws regulating organizations that use the telephone to market their goods and services, the industry risks losing its right to use this valuable marketing channel to acquire new customers,” John Gustavson, president of the CMA said in a statement.

Gustavson notes that the telemarketing industry employs 270,000 Canadians and generates more than $16 billion in sales a year.

On July 3, 2007, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), established rules to govern the National Do Not Call List. To get your number on the list, you will have to call a toll-free number or register online. Your registration will last for three years. After that time, you will be dropped from the list. It’s up to you to get your number back on. You won’t be notified when the three years are up. Registration is free.

It’s the same for the American registry. It turns three years old in 2008 and in the spring, the FTC will conduct a consumer education campaign to tell people how to get their numbers back on the list.

The CRTC says the registry will reduce the number of unwanted calls you receive. But it may not happen right away. Telemarketers will be allowed 31 days to update their telemarketing lists.

And there are exemptions to the legislation. They include:

• Registered charities (calls made by them or on their behalf).
• Political parties.
• Calls made for the purpose of public opinion surveys.
• Newspapers of general circulation (for subscription solicitation).
• Businesses with whom you have an existing business relationship (e.g.; businesses from which you have purchased goods or services within last 18 months).

If you don’t want to receive calls from organizations exempted from the national list, you will have to contact them to tell them to take you off their list. You can also tell them should they contact you.

If you want to file a complaint, you’ll have to do it within 14 days of receiving a call.

The system should be up and running before the end of 2007. The CRTC is still going through the process of finding an operator to manage the registry.

Everyone has gotten a call from a Telemarketer. Previously when the phone rang, you always wondered if it was someone you knew, or another schmuck with something to sell. Well, the time has come to turn the tables. We need to take control of our own phones. We need to take the “market” out of Telemarketing.

SO..next time when a telemarketer piss you off do something from this list:

1. Tell them that you are busy “right now”. and should call later in 10 minutes. Tell him the same thing next time he calls for 20 times in a row. If he is persistent and calls again the 21st time tell him you are busy becouse you are dead and go kill himself to join you.

2. Prepare a recording with a child voice screaming…HELP HEEEEELP…leave me my money! and tell the telemarketer to hold the line. After 15 minutes if he is still there, hang up.

3. Tell the telemarketer that the person he is looking for is in the shower and put on hold as long as you can

4. Tell the telemarketer : “common man, i’m in the middle of a robbery here. Don’t waste my time”

5. If the telemarketer is a male ask him if he enjoy playing sexual games with old ladies. If she is a lady tell her you are a virgin and need help.

6. Tell long stories about your dog and how beautiful is his skin. Everytime the telemarketer tries to speak from the script say: “just a second..just a second this story is amazing”

7. When you realize the voice on the phone is a telemarketer’s ..start laughing and laughing land laughing like this guy here then after 5 minutes if he is still there, suddenly ask seriously: “Can i help you?”

8. Act like this guy. Guaranteed results.

9. Pretend to be someone else and say “God, i’m too fat” every five words.

10. Tell the telemarketer you are alone and you need a hug. Then start crying : “Maaaamaaaaa”

11. Ask the telemarkter if he/she is “gay”. Please be gay. You can be Gay. My dog is gay.

12. Ask who is looking for, then say the person was killed in a homicide and you are a policeman investigating the case. This example made me fart

13. Act like a fool.

14. Answer to his questions using a soundboard. Like Al Pacino in Scarface?

15. Beware of testimonials that you have no way of verifying. Say George Bush is your uncle.

16. Register your number in Do-not-call registry

17. Keep him on the line as long as possible. If he speaks about mortgages ask him about a lot of detalis such as: mortgage refinance, what is the adjustable mortgage rate if he knows anything about mortgage taxes and so on.

18. You answer the phone normally, and upon hearing it’s a telemarketer, you ask them to hold for a second while you put “Albert” on. Albert is your automated attendant.

19. You’re listening intently to the telemarketer’s scripted speech and apologize as you are performing an important surgical procedure

20. Try putting this on the robot. If you want to spend some money for more samples..visit A.T.A.K

21. Give the telemarketer your “bad-times e-mail adress” and after receiving his email spam back.

22. Suddenly speak in another language when you realize you speak with a telemarketer.

23. Ask the telemarketer when he/she is born, then read their horoscope from

24. if they ask you if you’d like a new free credit card, say, “I’m sorry, My mommy won’t let me have a Credit Card.” or “Can I use the card to pay my crack dealer?”

25. When the telemarketer says they’re from an insurance company respond that you have many death threats against you and you wish to take out their highest paying insurance policy, immediately.

26. Say in perfect English, “I don’t speak English, sorry”

27. Say “Want to hear a cool noise?” … then hang up.

28. Tell them to please hold while you do your buisness. Then making farting sounds in the phone and after 30sec come back breathing hard.

29. When they start talking, begin to listen. Then, in the middle of their speech, moan and say “(name of same gender), Stop it! I’m on the phone!” Apologize to the telemarketer and let them continue to talk. Moan sensually again, and say any of the fun phrases you can think of. Example: “Oh honey don’t stop it feels so GOOD!”

30. When the telemarketer calls, act very interested. Say you’ll order the product, and then when they ask for your address say “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC”

31. This is good: say “Oh they moved, and give them the number of someone you hate.”

32. Question the legality of every statement they make, ex. “Are you sure vacuum’s are legal in my state?” … “Are you sure I can travel without being arested?”

33. If they tell you you have won a prize (these always fake), tell them that when you entered you decided that you like the prize so much you already went out and bought it. If they ask you which model/type, tell them that you couldn’t decide and bought them all.

34. Simply say “no thank you” and then smoothly offer to sell your 1988 ford f150.

35. When a telemarketer calls say: “Hey, I am on the fifth level of (game name here) and if you could just wait on hold for 5 minutes that would be great!”

36. If it is a travel agency say that you are a pothead and you want to go to Columbia. Keep asking him how much he pays for weed in Columbia, until he hangs up

37. Sing in a Mentally Insane Voice at every question they ask: “I’ll never tell…I’ll Never Tell, I’LL NEVER TELL!”

38. If the telemarketer asks if your parents are there, act like you get them, and then start swearing at the kid for giving the phone because it was a telemarketer.

39. Talk to them as is you are interested, then put the phone close to the toilet and simply flush.

40. Pretend to be an old man who can’t hear well and speaks with a heavy accent. This gets the telemarketer yelling and repeating themselves. Every time they start to hang up begin saying how much you like the product to keep them on.

41. When the telemarketer starts talking, interupt by saying: “Wanna play the Penis game?” Then without wating for a response say: “I’ll start” and scream “PENIS” as loud as you can.

42. Tell them it is dinner time, BUT ask if they would please hold. Put them on speaker phone while you continue to eat at your leisure. Smack your food loudly and continue with your dinner conversation.

43. When they attempt to sell you a product, tell them you’re sorry, but you’re going to jail the following day. If they wanted to call back in 4 years, you’d be happy to talk business with them.

44. If they say they’re John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is located, how long it has been in business, how many people work there, how they got into this line of work if they are married, how many kids they have, etc. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for as long as necessary.

45. Tell them you are hard of hearing and that they need to speak up . . . louder . . . louder

46. Tell them to talk very slowly, because you want to write every word down.

47. Play the Telemarketer Fun Game

48. When they ask you how was your day. Explain in much detail every event and thought of your day. Example: Well my alarm went off this morning at 6:00 and I really didn’t feel like getting up but I had to…Then, I stumbled into the shower…

49. It doesn’t matter what they say, but after they say it. Say something funny like “I see black dots”

50. Ask what company they represent, then say “Oh I’m sorry, that must be a horible place to work!

51. Every time they say something bang something against the phone and wait a few seconds and say “oops I dropped the phone”. Then talk to them a few seconds then do it again. When they’re done ask them repeat the whole thing because you fell asleep.

52. Wait for the telemarketer to go half way through his discription and say: “I lowered my cholesterol!”

53. Cry out in surprise, “Bob, IS that you? Oh my God Bob, how have you been?” Hopefully this will give Bob a few brief moments of terror as he tries to figure out where the heck he could know you from.

54. When they’re done explaining what they have to say, loudly yell into the phone “ahhh I just got hit in the balls, let me go check if they’re all there!” whisper in to the pone just loud enough so they can hear”1…2…3…4…5″ then yell “Alright! they’re all there!!!”

55. Tell them you have to translate for the person they asked for because they don’t speak English. Continue to “translate” by saying gobble-de-gook in the background, then scream “WE DONT WANT ANY”

56. When they ask you to buy something, say “Fine, but only if you buy my little brother. How’s two dollars sound?”

57. When they start talking say something like, “Hello? Hello! Is anyone there? I can’t hear you! What? I’m sorry, what was that? The signal isn’t going through! I don’t understand you sir? Hello? Are you there?” And then hang up.

58. Tell the telemarketer you have someone on the other line and to hold on a second, press a button on the phone and say “Hey Susan, I’ll have to call you back I have one of those stupid telemarketers on the other line” press a button again and say, “Now what was it you wanted?”

59. Respond “Shhhh!!! (name they ask for) is sleeping, your too loud please be quiet” After they quiet down, say again “You’re still too loud!” do this until they get to a very quiet whisper and then scream “IM SORRY I CANT HEAR YOU, YOUR TOO QUIET!!!”

60. During their speech ask “Why?” after every sentence they speak.

61. Repeat what they say. Keep repeating them until they ask you to stop, when they ask why. Reply that you are training to be a telemarketer.

62. Say “yo momma” after everything they say.

63. After every question they ask, say “maybe”

64. Say in a whisper loud enough to be heard “do you have the weed?” If the telemarketer says he’s calling the police offer him some for free.

65. Say, “Hold on one second” find a large metal object and slam in on the ground as hard as you can, after doing so, yell “MY LEG” as loud as possible. Keep screaming until they hang up

66. When a telemarketer calls say : “OH, CRAP I LEFT MY BABY BROTHER ON THE MICROWAVE AGAIN” and hang up.

67. When telemarketer asks you how you are say “not so good, I just found out I have cancer, my dog got hit by a car, and my friend hung himself.” Then ask “How are you?”

68. When the telemarketer calls say, “I didn’t kill him, it was accident, what do you want from me?” Keep screaming the same response until they hang up.

69. Hello, you have reached the Public Safety Department, We specialize in the termination of Telemarketers. This is (your name), How may I help you today ?

70. When you answer the phone, say hello in a really low voice like the volume on your phone is down…and keep saying hello in a low voice until they hang up.

71. If you discover you are speaking with a telemarketer say : I’m sorry the number you are trying to reach is out of service, please hang up and DON’T try again.

Yahoo agreed to alter the way it markets to its customers as part of a settlement with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Under the agreement, Yahoo will not phone people who have opted out of receiving telemarketing calls. However, the agreement does not bar the company from calling those who do choose to receive calls.

“If you previously elected not to receive information from Yahoo, you will not receive telephone communications from Yahoo,” said Belinda Johnson, deputy general counsel for Yahoo.

The company agreed to pay $75,000 to cover all investigation expenses.

Yahoo also agreed to provide 30 days’ notice to its registered customers before making additional changes to its marketing policies. The notices must include a “clear and conspicuous” hyperlink to a page on which consumers can make changes to how they receive marketing pitches. The page must include an option to opt out of any marketing initiatives entirely.

The investigation followed Yahoo’s decision in March 2002 to revise its marketing and privacy policies. The changes required registered Yahoo users to manually opt out of receiving e-mails that promote Yahoo-branded Web services, a move that outraged many consumers who immediately labeled the new policy as an excuse to spam customers.

The new preferences were also set as a default for people to receive telemarketing calls from Yahoo about products and services.

Brad Maione, a spokesman for Spitzer’s office, said the settlement was not based on a lawsuit that was filed against Yahoo. He said Spitzer was concerned that Yahoo’s business policies were potentially deceptive but added that the company did not violate any laws.

“We had some concerns. They came to the table, and we negotiated a settlement,” Maione said.

Yahoo last year initially gave customers 60 days’ notice to set their marketing preferences. This settlement will require Yahoo to inform people again at the 30-day mark before implementing any changes.

By Jim Hu
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Published: October 1, 2003, 11:54 AM PDT

Associated Press - October 30, 2007 8:23 PM ET

CAPITOL HILL (AP) - Congress is moving quickly to make the national Do Not Call list permanent.

Committees in the House and Senate passed such bills today, and sent them on to each body.

When the Do Not Call list began in 2003, it was only for five years. Currently, people who don’t re-register next year could be open again to telemarketers.

Some 145 million phone numbers are on the list. Polls show consumers have been getting far fewer unwanted phone calls.

Since the list began, the government has filed cases against about 30 companies for violating it. It’s resulted in $8.8 million in civil penalties, and $8.6 million in redress to consumers and forfeitures.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.