Let me be clear – I don’t hate all Telemarketers. Many forms of Telemarketing are perfectly valid, and benefit business and consumers alike. But that’s not the whole story. There are many Telemarketers that operate in violation of the laws, large numbers of complaints across forums and social media, and ever increasing numbers of complaints to the FTC. It’s obvious that Telemarketing is still a problem. So let’s take action against the problem ones, and take the profit out of them.
Just because they are operating unethically, if not outright illegally, doesn’t mean Tormenting Telemarketers should be done unethically or illegally. So there should be some rules, some guidelines, to being an “Ethical Telemarketer Tormentor”.
Sign up for the Do-Not-Call List
If you haven’t already, sign up for the Do-Not-Call list. This will give the legitimate Telemarketers a chance to honor your request to not be disturbed. If you tell them to leave you alone and they honor that, then agree to leave them alone. However, if they violate that and call anyway, all bets are off and they are open season, no bag limit.
Never Call Them / Never Call Them Back
If for any reason you call them first, it should be expected that they will call you back. Admit your error and tell them you’re not interested and not to call you anymore. Don’t waste their time, it was your own fault. And obviously, never ever Torment an Inbound Telemarketing center. That’s just not cricket.
Do not call a Telemarketer back to complain, either. Sometimes, the Caller-ID is spoofed so you just end up abusing an innocent person. Besides, often calling them only results finding out their voice-mail is full, being asked to “Press 2 to be removed”, or even a real or fake “Number Out Of Service” announcement. It just isn’t effective or useful.
Protect Your Phone Number
Pretty obvious here. If you give a Company your phone number via a Contest, Survey, a “Win A Free {Useless} Membership” entry, expect a call. Don’t mess with them. You invited the call. Hang your head in shame and ask to be put on their Do-Not-Call list. If they continue to call, then show no mercy.
Are They Legitimate?
If the Telemarketing call is legitimate, don’t mess with them. If they are a company you do business with, conduct your business promptly, politely, and be done with it. As a Customer, it would only hurt you to mess with them. If you don’t want to do business with them, cancel your services and ask to be put on their Do-Not-Call list.