What to do about intrusive phone calls?

I’m sure you don’t want to hear this, but I think your only option is to get a new number. A bit of a pain but better than having your BP spike every time you get one of these calls or even just thinking about the next call.

I often wonder why telemarketers continue to use this method of selling, it surely does not work? I know you said you are not getting calls from them, but in a way charities are. You can simply hang up. Or switch off your phone at certain times, like when you are sleeping. Not sure how practical that is for you though. Or like @Pachyderm_In_The_Room said change your number.

Not sure about in the US but if charities or political parties call people who are on the Do Not Call list, they can be fined. You have to gather certain info when they call.

the name of the company that called or faxed you (and its contact details)
what products and/or services were offered in the call/fax
whether any Calling Line Identification was displayed on your phone
the relationship you have with the company that called or faxed you (if any)
the time and date of the call or fax
the number on which the call or fax was received
your phone service provider
your personal details
your e-mail address or a phone number we can contact you on

Why not check what the situation is in the US? Then try to get this info and put in a complaint.

@Bellatrix In the US, non-porfits an all you. And most of them are robo-calls so there is no way to \ask to be off the list.

First you should try and get the address of the company calling. Then you should send them a nicely worded letter to stop calling you and to put you on their no call list. By law I think they have to obey you if you write to them. If that doesn’t work you could always threaten legal action against them. Just a threat should be enough to scare them. My ex bf has done it a few times and it worked.

@Bellatrix In the US sales people cannot call people on the do not call list, but politicians and people running surveys can.

@janbb There are phones or electronic devices for phones where you can program a different ring for unidentified calls, or you could make a special ring for people you want to hear from. Possibly you can even block calls that you don’t want to receive. I would talk to someone at Radio Shack maybe? Or, similar.

I used to polite because I couldn’t force myself to just hang up. At some point I also became multiple calls per day and I finally managed to just hang up. Recently German laws were change putting more restrictions on telemarketing and risks for them of being sued. Since then there are fewer calls. The law really helps.

@mattbrowne It was helping and now not so much because these are “non-profit calls.

I do have Caller ID from a mother situation so I often don’t answer but I do still get the calls.

I don’t have a land line. What a waste of money. Only when Superstorm Sandy took out cell and cable service did I need it – but we just got in the car and drive 5 miles up the road until we got a signal. I put all our cell numbers on the Do Not Call registry. The problem is that for a while, Apps would access your Contacts list and then sold the data. This was discovered a little over a year ago, and apps now need to ask your permission to access your contacts – and I nearly always decline.

On my iPhone, I do not answer any unrecognized number. If you click the lock button once, it silences ring/vibrate, but the call still goes through its regular process of 4 rings, then to voicemail, which some of the robocalls are programmed for. If you click the lock button twice, or tap the Decline button, it goes straight to voicemail, and the savvy caller knows that you are on the other end.

If no voicemail message is left, I search the phone number on the web, or use the Number Guru App, which people contribute their knowledge of certain numbers. If I confirm that the number is a spammer, I assign it to the SPAM identity in my contacts list. This way, if they call again, there will be no vibration and I have a separate ringtone (although the ringer is usually off). I also put spam texts in there – although I haven’t gotten any of those in a while – and again, any texts from numbers on that list do not make any sound or vibration.

Do you have Caller ID? I just don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t recognize.

Yes – as I explained above. But you still have to get up and they keep on calling.

I had my landline disconnected, and I do not answer withheld or numbers I don no know on my mobile. We also have a sign on our front telling sales people or just wanted people to not bother knocking because we won’t answer the door.

All good advice except as I said, I am not ready to disconnect my landline. And my son’s come in on the Caller ID as “Unavailable.” So I guess I am stuck for now. It is just an unusually high amount of calls lately.

@janbb – it’s election season in NJ! Not only do we have the gubernatorial election in November, we now have the “special” primary and then the official election to replace Senator Lautenberg… I hate to tell you, but it’s only going to get worse.

@hearkat Too bloody true!

I guess this is my “first world” problem.

I hate the automated messages but I am always nice to real people. They are just doing their job and telemarketing does pay handsomely and it IS a viable profession. Not anymore intrusive than TV commercials. Marketing is marketing.

If you are that upset yes, seek out a do not call registry but don’t expect the telemarketers to know how to comply with your wishes. I did telemarketing waaay back when I was a teen and I was actually very good at it. Of course I am charming lol I sold coupon books for family entertainment and made tons of sales. I have always felt the need to respect what they are doing, which is honest work and a viable way to make money even if the interuptions can be bothersome at times.

Now the robocallers…just horrible.
Good luck in your quest to unsolicit yourself.

1. If there isn’t an immediate response when you say hello, hang up. Phone banks seem to be on some kind of system where there is a pause between hello and their response.
2. If it’s an automated call, hang up.
3. If it’s really irritating call, have a whistle handy to blow into the phone.
4. If you want to be nasty, leave the phone off the hook until they hang up. The “if you wish to make a call, hang up and dial again” signal will tell you when to hang up the phone. Meanwhile the caller won’t be able to call out again until the disconnect.

Can you put an answering machine on the line. That way, if it’s your sons or someone you want to speak to you can pick up, otherwise, you ignore them?

My phone rings about twice before the stupid automated answering thing cuts in. My kids know to ring back after a minute or so because I will have found the phone by then. So you could also train people you know to call back if you don’t pick up. If you still don’t pick up, you’re out.

@Bellatrix That’s a possibility if this barrage continues.