The phone rings... and rings... and rings...

[AZRedhawk44]

I got by for years without a landline phone.

When I bought my house and moved in, I had Cox give me phone/cable/internet all in one rather than just innernetz.

I didn't even have a landline phone handset for the first couple weeks.

I bought a house phone (pretty cool one, too!*) and plugged it in a couple days ago.  When I plugged it in, it immediately started ringing.  Literally.  Immediately.  The battery wasn't charged on the phone and I wasn't allowed to use it according to the instructions, so I disconnected the phone line that night rather than answering all the calls and let the phones charge in their cradles.

All day yesterday... telemarketers.  At 15 minute intervals.

I put my phone number on the Federal do not call list, but that isn't going to work until the telemarketers update their databases.

It's so bad, I am tempted to just cancel my landline.

*Phone:

AT&T DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone With Caller ID And ITAD - 2 Handsets

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10992511

The range is phenomenal on these handsets.  I can walk all over my 1/3 acre lot, even out to my workshop and the phone is crystal clear.  The phones also work as intercoms with each other.  Each handset has a speakerphone function, is customizable for ring tone and volume, and the handset can operate the answering machine from anywhere in the house.  Just a bunch of neat features.  Almost as customizable as a cell phone.  These things have come a long way since last I had a landline phone.

[bedlamite]

The only high speed internet where I am is DSL, so I have to have a landline. That said, my phone is for my convenience: The ringer stays off unless I am expecting a call, and even then I check the caller ID before I answer it. I've also got one of those generic digital answering machines and I only get one or two telemarketer messages a week.

[mtnbkr]

The only high speed internet where I am is DSL, so I have to have a landline.

You can get DSL without a land line. My brother had it.  I think it's called a "dry loop" or something to that effect.

Chris

[AZRedhawk44]

The ringer stays off unless I am expecting a call, and even then I check the caller ID before I answer it.

Kewl.  Just went and muted both handsets.

None of my friends/family have my landline number yet.  Probably stay that way until the idgit telemarketers stop calling me and I can turn the ringers back on.

[PTK]

Personally, I'm bored and when I have a land line I generally spend a while each call annoying the hell out of the telemarketer. 

[BridgeRunner]

our phone has talking caller ID, so I can skip the telemarketers without having to pick up the phone.  The ringing gets annoying from time to time, but now that I don't have to do anything when a junk call comes in, it's tolerable.

[vaskidmark]

Personally, I'm bored and when I have a land line I generally spend a while each call annoying the hell out of the telemarketer. 

You mean like this?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5z4Vs26-TI

stay safe.

skidmark

[RoadKingLarry]

The only high speed internet where I am is DSL, so I have to have a landline. That said, my phone is for my convenience: The ringer stays off unless I am expecting a call, and even then I check the caller ID before I answer it. I've also got one of those generic digital answering machines and I only get one or two telemarketer messages a week.

Yup, Dry DSL or Dry loop DSL, same thing. Allows you to get internet based phone service or just have it for the DSL service. If you are in AT&T land it should be available.

[mtnbkr]

Also available in Verizon land.

Chris

[MechAg94]

I thought that was what caller ID was for.  I don't even answer if I don't recognize the number.  Sometimes I just answer for about 2 seconds and then hang up. 

I feel no obligation whatsoever to be polite to telemarketers.  That includes all the charities and such that call as well.

[DonTron]

When I get a call from a telemarketer (a human one, not a recording), I explain that I charge a $25 fee to accept unsolicited telephones sales calls.

In the ensuing silence, I hang up.

[Declaration Day]

Visit www.telemarketertorture.com to hear some really good telemarketer abuse.  FYI this is the guy who owns www.thescambaiter.com.

Warning for lots of foul, NSFW language and many non-PC comments.

Enjoy.

[Brad Johnson]

On your answering machine message add "If you are soliciting for any reason, remove my name from your list and do not call again."  It may not help with automated calls (that's were the DNC list kicks in) but it will knock a big hole in the from-a-person calls.  I did it a couple months ago.  After about a month the marketing calls dropped off to maybe one or two a day.

One interesting note, my new DirecTV boxes have Caller ID functions built in.  It will flash the incoming number on the TV screen.  At least it would if I had caller ID.

Brad

[esheato]

One interesting note, my new DirecTV boxes have Caller ID functions built in.  It will flash the incoming number on the TV screen.

Oddly enough, our Samsung HDTV flashes land line calls on the screen and I have no idea how or why. Neither the TV or the cable box are connected to the phone line and the TV manual doesn't mention anything about it.

Ed

[Azrael256]

Phone/Internet/cable come as packages because they're all in a bundled system.  Making a TV show caller ID is a trivial thing when it's all one pipe.

[White Horseradish]

The reason for this is that the phone company actually sells new subscriber lists to the telemarketers. A new phone is a prime lead as it is guaranteed not to be in any DNC databases.

[Wildalaska]

I just tell them:

"Im sorry I dont speak english, do you have an esperanto translator?"

WildiusuallyhavetoexplainwhatesperantoisAlaska TM

[zahc]

Around here, ATT wouldn't install their U-verse internet unless you also bought the whole U-verse package, with landline phone and cable TV. But after some prying, I figured out I could cancel everything but internet after the first month.

[agricola]

I just tell them:

"Im sorry I dont speak english, do you have an esperanto translator?"

WildiusuallyhavetoexplainwhatesperantoisAlaska TM

"Ydych chi'n siarad Gymraeg?"

 

[BlueStarLizzard]

dad took it a step further. he had the phone company add another thing to our line. if the number won't show up on the caller i.d. then the caller gets a screening from the phone company. it asks you to give your name and only then does it call through, then we get the option of answering the call, denying the number, forward them to voicemail or play the 'sales call refuseal'.

fun stuff.

[red headed stranger]

We've got the cox bundle too.  It was amazing the amount of telemarketing calls that started right away. It took about a month after I put the number on the do not call registry for the telemarketing calls to taper off.     

What really annoys me is how quickly old numbers are recycled.  My wife and I moved to the area in January, and we are still getting bill collector calls and calls from friends of the previous users on our home and cell numbers.   

[Regolith]

We've got the cox bundle too.  It was amazing the amount of telemarketing calls that started right away. It took about a month after I put the number on the do not call registry for the telemarketing calls to taper off.     

What really annoys me is how quickly old numbers are recycled.  My wife and I moved to the area in January, and we are still getting bill collector calls and calls from friends of the previous users on our home and cell numbers.   

I STILL occaisionally get calls from a bill collection agency for the guy who had my number before me, and I've had it for over 4 years now. 

[mtnbkr]

What really annoys me is how quickly old numbers are recycled.  My wife and I moved to the area in January, and we are still getting bill collector calls and calls from friends of the previous users on our home and cell numbers.   

We got calls from collectors for one lady for a few years before they finally tapered off.

Chris

[AJ Dual]

What really annoys me is how quickly old numbers are recycled.  My wife and I moved to the area in January, and we are still getting bill collector calls and calls from friends of the previous users on our home and cell numbers.   

Wait! Those are the BEST!

Well, unless you believe in Karma, and don't want the bad mojo that comes from insulting the caller that "so-n-so never wishes to speak to them again for what they did..." or that "You'll never pay them a thin dime, unless you get taken to court..."

 

[Nightfall]

We've had our landline for a couple years, and we also get a ton of debt collector calls for people we've never heard of, on top of the charities/etc. At least, I'm guessing that's who calls now. I wouldn't know outside of those few who leave some message attempting to beguile us into calling them. I haven't made a habit of answering the phone for almost as long as we've had it. It only took a few weeks of about a dozen solicitations a day before I stopped answering, period.

I'd like to find a phone I can program to completely ignore numbers based on their caller ID (or lack thereof)... I guess I'll have to settle for one I can program to have 'silent' ring by default, and a normal ring for caller IDs matching entries in memory.