Telephones – be it landlines or mobile phones – are a great convenience as it allows us to talk to our families and friends and conduct business even when we are not physically there.
But even the greatest conveniences can become annoying when unscrupulous people take advantage of it. Case in point, telemarketers, bill collectors or those companies that tell you they want to conduct a survey. These are calls you really don’t want to take but always pick up because we just don’t know who’s calling when that phone rings. Wouldn’t it be nice if all the calls that you get are just from the people you want to talk to and not some stranger trying to sell you something? It’s a good thing that there are some things that you can actually do to prevent these unwanted phone calls.
Contact the National Do Not Call Registry
The best way to prevent unwanted phone calls, specifically those of a telemarketing nature, is to contact the National Do Not Call Registry. This national registry is run by the Federal Trade Commission itself so it has a lot of teeth. By registering your home number and your mobile phone number on the registry’s opt out list you will effectively lessen the number of telemarketing calls to any of your numbers. According to the FTC, the National Do Not Call Registry’s opt out list is so effective that you can expect telemarketing calls to lessen by a very significant 80 percent. You can register in the opt out list by either contacting the FTC through its toll-free number 888-382-1222(TTY: 866-290-4236) or by going online and registering at donotcall.gov.
Write the collection company
Telemarketing calls are very annoying, but nothing can be more annoying than collection agents who call you to remind you of unpaid bills. The worst though are the agents that resort to threats and harassment if you have not yet paid your bills or debt. Fortunately, you have some power to stop this. You can write the collection agency and politely ask them to stop calling you. If the calls persist then you can decide to hire the services of a lawyer or even call the FTC to complain about these calls.
Dealing with harassing calls
Calls where the other party harass you can be quite frightening and you should do something about it immediately. Phone companies have different policies in dealing with these kinds of calls. There are those who will ask you to report the incident to the police first before they take any kind of action. Other companies on the other hand will direct you to their department that specifically handles these incidents for immediate action.
If ever you receive these calls, especially if starts to involve threats to your life or your property then you should immediately contact the police and file a report at the station. Try to get as much information about the caller as you can and record all of the threatening things the caller told you over the phone. Determine the caller’s gender, where he possibly calls, and look for nuances that would help identify him – like his accent, if he has any.
Ask for an unlisted number
Getting an unlisted number is an effective way of drastically lessening, if not totally eliminating, annoying calls. Ask your phone company for an unlisted number and caller ID. You can even take it a step further by asking if the company provides a call blocking service. If they do, provide them with the phone numbers that you want to block.
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