If I am called 20 times by a company that does not even allow me the option of refusing their service, while I'm on the national do not call list. I have every right to get pissed off and want to sue them. The fact of the matter is there are not enough people informed enough to know how to deal with many of these.
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Thanks for the tip but I did not want to go the calling card route. As I stated in my original post, I am happy with my current long distance provider. What annoys me is Cox's bait and switch tactic. The bundles I did not want clearly stated that they included long distance. The one I did want made no mention of long distance. However Cox would not sell me a bundle without long distance. My current long distance service, without being a calling card, is so reasonable that I'm still better off with it than I would be with any Cox bundle. Frankly, Lingerie Wholesale I take with a grain of salt any promise/promotion that a large communications company offers.

I worked as a telemarketer, similar to "Sarah". I've done political ads, insurance of all kinds, consolidation loans, home appliances, warranty extensions, whatever you can think of, we probably sold it at some time. The fact of the matter is Sarah's intentions are noble, but what she's saying is somewhat inaccurate. Sarah may be able to word herself well and capable of thinking on her feet, most that do well in telemarketing are; but that's not the norm. MOST telemarketing firms have huge turnover rates and hire on a seasonal basis. In the company I worked for it was so they don't have to give benefits; they try to bump anyone who isn't selling well before they have to give benefits - it took 9 months to get anything beyond minimum wage and commission. Most telemarketers are NOT the most seasoned and definitely not the sharpest out there. Most DO read from a script, almost blindly, and don't have the first clue about what they are selling. In fact, they might not even have TIME to learn about it, most big firms rotate their selling programs within a few weeks. Catching someone on a "Maybe" works for most who are just reading the script.

However, "Sarah" does have a good point that taking their time doesn't really matter much, and doing so sure won't benefit YOU as the target buyer, since you are trying to get them to stop wasting your time. Often times you don't even have to write a letter. If you ask a grunt phone worker to add you to their Do Not Call list, you have a 50/50 chance that they'll hit the "cycle through system" key (and you'll get another call, probably in the same week if not hour) or they'll actually hit the "Remove from list" button.

What DOES work, is to let them read from their script, then kindly ask to talk to a supervisor. Maybe even "trick" them into it by saying you "might be interested, but I need to talk to a supervisor first". You might have to wait for a while, supervisors might be confirming sales (required in some companies and for certain programs); but the wait is worth it. First, as always, kindly ask who you are talking to. Get their first and last name, ask them to spell it if necessary. You don't even have to write it down (doing so helps, if you want to follow up later); this is to get their attention, to get them to sit up straight and listen to you. When you have their name, they know you mean business. Usually I ask for a direct-phone number - that is to say, a number I can call to talk to THEIR boss; then I tell them to add me to ALL of their Do Not Call Lists (companies many times keep one per program and do NOT keep a master list and will call you again for something else a week later). So far, that has worked EVERY time for me. I guess the rest of the steps about sending a letter and whatnot still applies, but I haven't had to go that far.

Above all else check and see what call-blocking features your phone company offers; see if they can block anonymous calls and if you can manually enter in numbers into a call screening list. Sometimes just doing that is enough to seriously limit the flood of telemarketers.

As far as Sarah's comments about telemarketing "being the only job" etc.: I dunno - I can't imagine a town where there's nothing but one giant telemarketing sweatshop surrounded by houses and apartments, I don't buy it. You CHOOSE to do the job. Sure, you're probably good at it; but from a former telemarketer to a current telemarketer who has moved on, you shouldn't get married to the idea of staying at the job. They don't appreciate you as much as you appreciate them; and there's far, far better out there for you if you are any good at sales. Not to be a jerk, but I can't stand getting sales calls, especially with so many scam artists out there. When I get home, that is MY time for me and my family. I don't care that this is how people make their bread and butter, this country is founded on Lockean ideas, and in taking my time a telemarketer is taking away part of my life; something that is unethical and unacceptable. Forceful selling of all kinds, including door-to-door and telemarketing, should be prohibited. Until then, I guess we'll have to do what we have to do, to keep our time OURS.

This is not simply about telemarketers, its about companies refusing to allow people to enjoy what's rightfully theirs. If I am called 20 times by a company that does not even allow me the option of refusing their service, while I'm on the national do not call list. I have every right to get pissed off and want to sue them. The fact of the matter is there are not enough people informed enough to know how to deal with many of these, and there is, in noway, enough force available to control every telemarketing firm. So quite often you guys do break the law, and many of you- not all- don't give a crap how annoying it can be. I don't have a problem with someone offering me a service for the first time, but calling about auto insurance 50 times, is just annoying and people need to deal with people who violate everyone's very own basic rights.

This concept seems to be based on part of a company called Context Connect. They provide a contextual name to get connected to individual's mobile phone number without the phone number being revealed.

I am a telemarketer. I would like to tell you that most of this article is false. We telemarketers actually don't mind long conversations with our customers. In fact, its what makes us get the most "sales". I do think its wrong for people to flat out try to take thousands of jobs away from people and communities just because they are annoyed. I get annoyed everyday from hearing about how awful telemarketers are and how everyone wants to sue them. Everyone that works with me needs their jobs to support their families. There are no other jobs available. Also, if you really want to sue a telemarketing place, the instructions given in this article will get you laughed at. That is not how you go about doing something like this. If you are intent upon suing any telemarketer, then call a lawyer and ask them. We are under strict rules and regulations, therefore it is hard for anyone to sue us...we do follow rules. Also, I've worked at many telemarketing places and mostly we do not follow an exact script. So anyone reading this person's article, but forewarned...he/she has NO IDEA what they are talking about. Thank you.