The Square Circuit

Academia, parenthood, living in a bankrupt city, and what I read in the process.

Friday, May 26, 2006

telemarketing

Is it just our house, or has telemarketing spiked notably over the last two weeks or so? We've gone from months of receiving at most a call a day to ten or more calls daily. (Yes, we're finally on both the federal and PA do-not-call lists, but those won't take effect for a while.) But it's become a spam-like plague at our number.

Here are the numbers that have come up when these people call. Anyone else getting repeated calls from these numbers?

480-350-3438

800-840-9202

813-470-7733

800-881-6980 (an educational loan consolidator)

800-616-8075

888-547-4762 (a recorded call from "Scott at Century Financial"; there's a discussion board on this one)

posted by mantooth @ 7:45 PM  

28 Comments:

  • At 1:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I get the 800-616-8075 several times a day, and there's never anyone there. Always a busy signal when you call back too. Argh!

     

  • At 10:16 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I get calls at least 5 times a day on my cell phone from this number. How can I get this to stop?

     

  • At 11:53 AM, Blogger SunGrooveTheory said…

    I am ::cries:: a telemarketer. I wish that more people would get on the do-not-call lists. I wish that I was allowed to tell them how over the phone. I'm not really sure how to get on the lists, but I can tell you this.

    I work for a telemarketing company. They are contracted by larger companies to do telemarketing. First of all, it does not matter if you are on the national or state do not call lists, the company is allowed to call you if you are a member of the larger company who is contracting them.
    For instance, Say you have a credit card with the ficticious credit card company, BlankBank Intl. Now, when you sign up for that credit card, because of legislation in the U.S., you have to opt out of telephone or other solicitation. It used to be that you had to opt in, but somewhere in the late 90's the laws changed, so now you have to specifically opt out of BlankBank Intl.' s solicitation programs.
    So, say you didn't realize that, and consequentially did not opt out. BlankBank Intl comes to the telemarketing company and says, we want to market blah-blah-blah. Now, when we call your house, and you say, "I want to be taken off your list." Whose list do you think you get taken off of?
    Surprisingly enough, you are taken off of BlankBank Intl's Calling list, and in some instances you are only taken off the list for that specific campaign.
    You are not taken off the telemarketing company's list, nor are you taken off of BlankBank Intl's mailing list or other types of solicitation...
    Furthermore, the telemarketers do not have the power to take you off of the company list, or put you onto state or national do not call lists.
    Trust me, it's not the best job ever, and I don't want to talk to people any more than they do not want to talk to me. I'm currently trying to get into my company's in-bound call program, where I'd be able to handle customer service with people who actually want to talk to me. But until then, this is my job...
    Best of luck in your venture to not receive any calls!!! ! !!
    -sgTheory

     

  • At 9:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Anonymous-
    Ditto on the 800-616-8075! I just posted about that on my weblog.

     

  • At 8:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I just received a call from 813-470-7733. We are on the do not call lists. I must get 5-6 calls today.

    I try to fight back, time is money, I let the electonic connection connect, then a human comes on. Before they can say much, I say hold on, their is something on the stove. I come back several minutes later and tell him/her their call is important to me, hold on the kids need help, etc etc. They eventually get the message.

    One time I got four-five harassing calls back from the number, I called the number, got the supervisor and quoted the case where direct tv had to pay a megafine for repeatedly calling someone who was on the list.

    If you dont want to talk to them, put the phone off the hook and tie up their line when they try to connect.

    I also ask for their home number so I can call them back with my order but I never get it.

    If you cant tell these people are my pet peeve.

     

  • At 1:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I also have been receiving the phone calls and got fed up so I started calling all the numbers back. I was able to get through and tell them to take my name and number off their list. I called back again to verify that I was off the list but the same guy answered and I hung up. Here is the number I called 813-470-7724.

     

  • At 10:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    http://whocalled.us/

     

  • At 12:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    727-538-2200 is a fraud scam. These people have obtained the last 4 digits of your credit or debit card number, your address and phone number. They need the full 16 digits and expiration date to create a counterfeit card or use your card number for Internet purchases. The caller promises to send you coupons to local retailers or offers a service to prevent fraud. When you agree they ask for your full card number and expiration. That's all they need to begin using your money.

     

  • At 12:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    727-541-0001 also appears to be a scam. They had the last 4 digits of my cc number and claimed that they wanted to give me a $1000 shopping spree. I assumed they needed the rest of the cc number or my cv2 code, but I didn't stay on the line long enough to find out ;) Now I get a call from that number every day, and there's never anyone there...

     

  • At 10:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I too get about 5 phone calls a day from 480-350-3438, but the person there is really creepy. He will stay on the line and use my name and say it over and over again saying that he can here me.

     

  • At 1:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This 727-541-7017 number is starting to get on my nerves!!! First of all the nuber doesn't exist.
    90% of the time it is hang-ups, 10% is either some timeshare/vacation promotion.
    Call the number back and you'll figure out yourself it doesn't exist.
    The few times that I had an opportunity to get someone on the phone, they refused to give me a valid phone number, or take me off any list.
    I am at the point where I am going to nail these guys, with whatever I can. And promise, it will happen!!!

     

  • At 10:26 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    i receive a call every day start from 9am and so 20 times of a day sometimes it realy piss me off however i am trying to stop this dumb people calling me.

     

  • At 5:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I am getting calls from 480-350-3438. At first avoided answering. But I swear I get this call about 20 times a day so finally I called them back and found out it is for The Higher education Resource.org. I need to get off their list. This is getting old. Makes me not even want a home phone. They call from 8 in the morning to beyond 8:30 at night.

     

  • At 10:44 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I received several calls from 727-538-2200 over the last day. I finally answered one this morning. The caller tries to sell you a Gas card for $25. He was able to verify my name, home address & mobile number. He told me the last 4 digits of my bank card. When I asked to speak to a supervisor he hung up. Beware!!

     

  • At 11:07 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    When they call you and ask for your address give them this one 445 SW 12th Street,
    Washington, DC 20554. It's the address to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Also tell them that your home phone number changed and give them a phone number from this list http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/findpeople.pl?person=a this is a list of the phone numbers for all the people who work for the FCC. If the FCC gets enough calls from these people they will be shut down for sure. I even went so far as to give them a fake credit card number but I was sure to keep the last four digits the same so they didn't catch on. This is a classic move for any obnoxious telemarketer. I also like to have them explain alot of things and just sit the phone down and walk away as they are talking. This wastes alot of their time and leaves them less time to call the next poor bastard on their list. If we all work together we'll nail these bastards Good Luck

     

  • At 8:13 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I just signed up for Lingo VOIP service and they have a feature where you can forward calls based on their phone number. So... as I get telemarketing calls, I forward them to my ex's phone. Now when they call my number, I'm not bothered with a ringing phone, she is!!

     

  • At 7:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    1 480 350 3438 keeps calling me... they just called 5minutes ago and called around 8am today... i didnt know who it was so i dont answer... I shows the number but blocks the name... so just now i serched the number and came across this site... sort of glad im not the only one whos gettin this number. Next time they call im going to tell them to shove it lol STOP CALLING ME!

     

  • At 6:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    727-541-0001

    This number keeps calling me. They say they're with Visa and they're calling with "Special Offers." I tell them I'm not interested and to not call again. Before I can even finish they hang up. And get this. THEY'RE STILL CALLING ME!

     

  • At 11:28 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    727-541-0001 has been calling me at least twice a day for the past week or so. I call back and I just get the operator saying that this number is not in service! Annoying more than anything, but also a little creepy.

     

  • At 3:30 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yeah. I'm getting TONS of calls from these numbers too. Like others on here, I found this site when I searched the number that was coming up in my caller ID. I have been getting calls from these numbers, at least 20 times a day:

    800-963-6230
    727-538-2200
    602-713-4343

    I've never picked up on any of them. I have tried to call some back but it just rings and rings and rings. I am VERY uncomfortable knowing that my info is out there and these people have it!!!!!!! Even if it is only in part!

    One thing I DO know, however, is that ALL of us on this site did SOMETHING to breach or information. Maybe clicked on a link, mailed in an offer, ordered something, I don't know. But somehow we were all picked from somewhere!

     

  • At 2:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I seriously cannot take this anymore. All day long my phone rings from these bastards. I'll be waiting for my girlfriend to call or something and when the phone rings its always them. Its driving me insane, there has to be a law or restrictions about this. Next time they call tell them to get a job and do something with their life. I have been receiving the numbers

    800-963-6230

    727-538-2200

    If you have been getting calls from these numbers, dont for one second think its a telemarketer, it is someone who wants your information to steal your money. Pathetic wastes of life are what they are.

     

  • At 4:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    i received several calls in a row from 727-538-2200, so i finally answered on 1/4/07 and he said he was calling from Glenn Assoc. an actual collection agency and stated they had a bill from a college i attended 10 years ago which was all true. i dont know what to do but since i looked up this number and all this info came up and i am not doing anything with it. i will wait to see if anything happens.

     

  • At 3:49 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I would ask them to send you information in writing. If it is an old bill then they should already know your address.. If you are in doubt always ask for a letter. I have been getting tons of calls from 727-538-2200 also. I told them to write me or leave me alone..

     

  • At 6:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wow this is crazy that number 727-538-2200 has been calling me for the last 2 days and I decided to google it. This was the first page that came up. I have gotten a call from one of these numbers before and it was a scam and I ended up losing about 80 bucks. I dont fall for these type of things but Ill explain loosely how this scam works. They call and they have most of your credit/debit card information already. You have to agree to receiving some gas vouchers and some trial subscriptions from 3 companies. They send you these things in the mail but only give you one cancellation number. So I called and cancelled thinking i was in the clear but I was billed by another 2 of the companies. I called and they said they would agree to refund my money but that has yet to happen and I know it never will. So I will have to try to talk to my bank. Basically if it sounds to good to be true it is. Stay away from any of these unknown numbers that call frequently. Dont be a fool like me

     

  • At 7:13 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I've just gotten a call from the 727-538-2200 number, came up as GRP 1 NETWORKS. Called Vonage and said they couldn't block numbers and to register my phone (which is unlisted) on the do not call list.

    Called back and there's a message to leave your number to get taken off the list. Then it says the mailbox is full.

    There's only one credit card that has this number, and we specifically asked not to be solicited. But I filed a complaint against them, so I wonder if they sold our number just out of spite?

    I'll just change the number. I'm not dealing with it.

     

  • At 10:13 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Here's a link to the FCC complaint form...

    http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm

    If several thousand of us file one, maybe they'll get the idea

     

  • At 9:24 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Like the blog. I have my own company and telemarketers helped a lot.

     

  • At 9:25 AM, Anonymous Alexander said…

    I like the blog. I have my own company and telemarketers helped a lot.

     

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