Is it normal to get 5 telemarketer calls in one evening? Should I just get rid of my phone altogether?

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

Answers

Yes, it's normal for me. (those fuckers).

Worse than that, I get automated calls from machines.

I hang up also when there is a pause.

I believe you can ask for them to not call you again -- but I think the laws vary from state to state.

There is an equally annoying solution you can pursue, but I'm not sure if it would work with your future DSL setup.

You can do a shareware search and get phone answering software for your computer. The one I tried out works with caller ID. It gave customized voice messages depending on what number it detected, so you can have particular messages for friends and family.

If it got a "out of area" -- you could set it to hang up. I talked to the author of the software, and he offered to make it send out a loud obnoxious tone on these calls, and then hang up just for fun.

I didn't end up purchasing it though, so my vengeful instincts have never carried through.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

A couple of my friends have a message before their phone starts ringing saying "this number does not accept solicitations. Please place on your do-not-call list." Your phone will never ring for a telemarketer again, and friends who call only get the message three times (it's designed to figure that you're a friend once you call the fourth time). Call your phone company and ask. If you're getting harassed this badly, it's probably worth a couple of bucks.

I get as many as 4 on summer days when I'm home, including three days in a row before 10 AM. When the telemarketers ask "Can I talk to Paul Hamann (mispronounced)?" I answer "Not if you're a telemarketer." Pretty effective and empowering, snide yet polite.

Paul

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

It's especially annoying for me to receive solicitations while I'm at work. Our store is huge and I have to run and bust my ass to get to the phone, only to have someone try to sell me their credit card machinery or a better business rate on our phone line. I just tell them that I'm in the middle of actual business; helping a customer, taking orders, (which is often true) and that their call is really inconvienent. Not to mention unwanted, annoying, greedy, thoughtless......"Could you please go away so that I can run a credit card sale on the line you're tying up?"

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

I get about ten of these calls a day, usually two or three before 8 am and then another six or seven between 7 and 9pm and, just like Jen, if they don't start talking when I say hello, I HANG THE FUCK UP!!!! The ones that particularly annoy me are the ones that have a recording that says, 'Please stay on the line for an important message from XXX'.. yeah, right, please kiss my ass!! On top of that, neither my brother or the other guy I live with ever pay their bills, so I get these angry calls from GE Capital or Amex at like 7 am demanding to speak with one of them.. of course, you'd think that the fact that they never pay their bills would prevent anyone from wanting to solicit them ever again, but NO!!!!! It's like vultures on a rotting carcass.. the more you owe, the more people come out of the woodwork to try to get you to owe THEM!!! If I judged by the number of times my phone rings per night, I'd think I was the most popular guy in the tri-state area. Unfortunately, it's inevitably a telemarketer. I've taken to telling my parents not to call until after 11 cuz I don't answer the phone half the time!!

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

Nope, not one. never. I have never once gotten a telemarketing call. Not since my wife and I ditched our local telco and went to cellular. Now I get my calls, she gets hers and I NEVER have to take a message for her again. It is bliss. I use about 100 mins/month and she uses about 750 mins/month so we have different plans. It works out to about $10/mo more than the landline but it is sooooo worth it. Caller ID, voice mail, the web and email. Cool city! One mistake we made was we told people what we were doing. At first our incoming calls were few and far between. Apperently people were hesitant to call a cell phone for just chit chat ( we have considerate friends). What we should have done was just told folks that we decided to get seperate numbers and not told anyone that we were going wireless. It took a few months but now the only one who doesn't call as much as she used to is my mom. But I call her. . .:>)

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

Didn't you have a brief career as a professional phone harasser?

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

Fortunately, my roommate (the phone is in his name) has both first and last names that, while not unusual, are easily mispronounced. Nine times out of ten a mispronounced name indicates a telemarketer, and if there's a small electronic pause on the line when I pick up, that seals it. However, I can't simply hang up on a mispronouncer because my roommate does occasionally get calls from real people. But that's rare. *grin*

When I move to Seattle I am definitely getting a mobile phone and not a land line. But it's mostly for convenience. Thwacking telemarketers is a side bonus.

I *did* telemarket when I was in college, but we only did non-profit organizations who had membership lists. Hint: never give $10 to the zoo. They will call you forever.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

Like Dorothy, I worked as a telemarketer for "progressive" (i.e. liberal) non-profit organizations, and only called people who had donated in the past. But even so, it was a terrible job, and I felt really bad about doing it. It was the only job I could find, though (it was my first job, I was in high school, my parents told me I had to have a job) so I had to do it. That's why I always try to be as nice as possible to telemarketers. Not only are the people you call often hostile and rude, you are under constant pressure from your supervisors to make as much money as possible. It's a shitty job, so anyone who does it must REALLY need the money, I figure.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

I get a lot of telemarketing calls. I've been getting one everyday for the last week when I get home from work that is a recorded voice saying "We have an urgent message for you, please call 707-xxx- xxxx". Yeah, like I'll call you long distance when the message isn't urgent enough for you to tell me what it is.

I try to be polite when it is a human calling, I know they are just trying to make a living, but it's hard sometimes.

But now-a-days it seems like a lot of them are machines in any case.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

My solution is that I never answer the phone! Really, I never plug it in unless I am going to make a call, and I'm usually online anyway. I have Call Answering, which takes messages for me, and then I call people back. It's great! Drives my mother crazy, but I never get calls from bill collectors or telemarketers and if I get an obscene phone call at 3a, I don't even hear it ring.

What I have been getting alot of lately, though, is automated collect calls from prison. I have no idea why they are calling me, because I neither know anyone in prison nor speak Spanish, so I assume that it's a wrong number, but again, it doesn't bother me because the phone doesn't ring!

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

I was pretty surprised a couple of weeks ago while sitting down to dinner with some friends and my wireless phone rang with a long distance phone number I didn't recognize. It was near the end of my billing cycle, and I'd already used up all my included minutes, but I remembered that I don't give that number out to many people so I thought it was obviously an important call.

It turned out to be a telemarketer. AT&T Wireless had thoughtfully analyzed my calling patterns and was calling to suggest that the calling plan was I already had most ideal for me. To say the least, I was enraged that I was paying $.60 a minute to listen to their sales pitch, and I hustled them off the phone.

When I got home, I called AT&T Wireless from my home phone and insisted that I be credited for the call. The Customer Service Representative kindly credited me for the call. I asked to be transferred to a Supervisor to discuss the matter and register my displeasure with the policy. He defended the Marketing & Promotions Dept. and insisted it was good customer relations to suggest a calling plan that might save me money in the long run. He told me he'd remove my name from their calling lists.

I haven't received any other telemarketing calls on my wireless phone, so I'm relieved to know this was an isolated incident.

You may want to check out this site. This guy said he's made $1800 busting telemarketers for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 by calling him after he's asked them to remove his name from their lists.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

i get bombarded by telephone calls all the time! apparently, someone sold my school's dorm phone directory and credit card companies have been having lots of fun with it. last year, i lived in a quad with three other people and if the phone rang before 4pm, it was almost gauranteed to be someone trying to give us a credit card. so annoying!

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

Before I got my home computer last year, I would get telemarketer calls several times a week. Sometimes three times a night. I have an unusual first name and I always know it's a telemarketer when they butcher it :-) . If I was in a good mood, I'd at least hear their spiel as a courtesy. I worked for several months a number of years ago as a telemarketer for a non-profit program that helped teen runaways. Even though we only called on people who had donated previously, we still had to meet a quota and many of the donors were elderly and were hard to deal with because they were either hard of hearing or were just rude. I know those people have to make a living, but it is hard to deal with them. Now that I have my home computer and I spend most of my nights online, I rarely have any telemarketers calling. I have Call Answering through my phone company which takes messages for me when my line is engaged, which is great.

Vena

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

When I get mad at these calls and think of revenge I am tempted to turn one into an obscene phone call. "Sure honey, I'm interested in that second mortgage opportunity, but first tell me, are you wearing any panties?" Sure would unsettle them to have a recipient of a call go nasty on them. Of course the meanest thing to do is just keep them on the line as long as possible, chatting away, never really refusing, just driving their productivity down. That's way too high a price to pay for revenge, though.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

Yes periodically, but they're the only people in the world who ask for me by my first and last name so it's pretty easy to weed them out and tell them I'm not home.

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2000

No because: both my boyfriend and I have last names that telemarketers seem to find difficult to pronounce, so we immediately know who they are. Without letting them get a word in edgewise we ask: "Is this a telemarketing call?" Then we say, "Please put me on the DO NOT CALL list."
***According to federal law, every telemarketing company has to keep a DO NOT CALL list, and if you've asked to be put on it and they call you again, you can report them and they'll be fined very heavily. It's like spam blocking on your email account. Every time you ask to be put on someone's DO NOT CALL list, calls from that company should be blocked forevermore. So, eventually, we have received fewer and fewer telemarketing calls. I recomm

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2000

I seldom get telemarketer calls, but I've taken 5 approaches to minimizing the problem:

1) My state has started collecting--upon request--names, numbers, and addresses of residents who do not wish to receive telemarketing calls. This information I assume is forwared to some vast number pool (or removed from as the case may be) that telemarketers reference when deciding who to call. They either see my name as one not to call, or don't see my name as one available to call. About 2 months after sending that request to the state, my phone solicitations dropped considerably. There are web based forms that individuals can fill out which claim to do the same thing.

2) I have caller ID with anonymous call reject which means if you're a phone solicitor whose number could be shown on my caller ID (thus telling me who you are so I won't answer) and you hide it, you will get a polite message telling you that this number doesn't accept anonymous calls. For those solicitors calling from areas where the number simply isn't available (because of phone system incompatibilities), my caller ID simply shows "Unknown" which I let the answering machine deal with. In the unlikely event it is someone I know, I pick up when they start leaving a message.

3) When I send in warranty registration cards, I a) always check the box (however small it may be) that says I do not wish to participate in mailings or notifications from other companies selling similar products, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

4) I never include my home phone number on warranty cards. No product recall is ever so important that they can't mail the information to me, and if the product ran for x days without blowing up, 2-3 days more isn't going to make a difference.

5) For those idiots who continue to call, or who happen to catch me off guard, I simply ask them to place me on their no call list.

The key seems to be getting off lists you're already on, staying off by not making it obvious you exist, and ignoring via caller ID those who still find you.

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2000

I've been doing something to convince telemarketers that they don't need to call my number. For the last couple of years if I got a call whose caller ID was "UNAVAILABLE" I would hit the speaker and mute button to answer it but not say anything. If it was someone I knew, I would recognize their voice. If it was a telemarketer, I would hear a "Mr. or Mrs. Larson? Mr. or Mrs Larson?" several times before they would hang up. But the vast majority of the time I would hear a minute or two of silence before the telemarketer's computer would hang up. My telemarketing calls have dropped to almost zero now.

I've also put an outgoing message on my voice mail that makes it sound like my number is a business and all my operators are busy helping other customers or the caller should call back during business hours. Why should real businesses have all the fun?

Remember that every telemarketer is calling as many as five numbers at a time. Most cold calls result in no answers or answering machines and those are a waste of the telemarketer's time. They have no choice but to call multiple numbers and pick the most gullible sounding "hello" they hear and hang up on the rest. If their machine calls you and the telemarketer chooses to talk to someone else and hangs up on you, that's your problem as far as the telemarketer is concerned. But don't be insulted. Maybe you'll get chosen the next time. Or the next time. Or the next time.

-- Anonymous, September 01, 2000

Like Grace said above, if you tell the spammers to be put on the DO NOT CALL list and they call you again, you are entitled to $500.

Check it out.

http://www.fightTelemarketing.com

-- Anonymous, September 05, 2000

Not telemarketers, but rather creditors... I used to point out that I was in law school, not really employed, and that they'd have to put up with me sending them random amounts when I could until after the summer of '01... I've started threatening their families in a Peter Lorre voice. It makes me feel better (or at least amused) and does seem to horrify the credit card folk...

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

I hope I'm not way off topic here..but I have to post this somewhere that a bot can find it if others are harrassed. You folks are as pissed as I am so we have that in common.

If you get a call from 954-623-4620 and just get silence..it is AT&T trying to get you to switch long distance carriers. If you get impatient and hang up for the rat-bastard telemarketer to pick up from their autodialer, they just continue to call.

Calling this number back gives you a recorded message: "Thank you for calling Communication Corporation. For more info, please send inquiries to PO Box 26221, Tamarac, Florida 33320"

May they burn in hades for eternity.

-- Anonymous, September 27, 2001

Mike,

Thanks for the latest info on the 954 number. I have been getting at least of these a day and it has been driving me nuts to figure out who was calling. The thing that really irritates me is when I initially answerred they would always hang up on me. Now I do not even answer. Have you found any way to contact them about getting on their do not call list?

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001

I actually called AT&T at 1-800-222-0300 to get my name off the list, as I was also getting a call every day from the 954 number. Time will tell if it actually works. They said it would be 30 days before they can actually assure that I will no longer be on their list. Good luck!

-- Anonymous, November 07, 2001

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the information. For the last few days I have been receiving calls from the 954-623-4620 number. I'm really getting pissed!!

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2001

MANY THANKS for the info on the 954-623-4620 number! These bastards keep calling my place (2-3 times a day) while I am at work. Seems like someone or something (automated system) would figure out that maybe I have a job?

Now that I know this, I can have some fun if an actual person is on the line when this number pops up on my caller ID. I'm gonna answer and have some fun with them :) --This minimizes irritation--

-- Anonymous, November 09, 2001

In regards to the 954-623-4620 hang-up harassment, I have filed a complaint with the Attorney Generals Office of Florida. The more people who complain should garner more attention from the AG’s Office. I faxed my complaint. Florida Attorney General - Economic Crimes Division - Fax: 954-712- 4658 Tel: 954-712-4600 Good luck! Telemarketers are the filth of the planet.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Thanks so much for the info on the 954 nuisance calls!! I have been bombarded with hang up calls from them. I started getting nervous because I thought it could be someone watching the house for any sort of various evil deed.

So, what's the story with Communication Corporation, of Tamarac, FL? Why are they bothering to hang up after they place the call?

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2001

I just got off the phone with MCI to report the nuisance 954 calls. I was told to contact the local phone company and tell them to put a block on the phone for that number. This very helpful MCI fellow said that is something that can be done immediately. Of course, it would help if there was someone in my local company's office now, but of course, they're closed.

If you get annoying calls and don't know the number, all you have to do is notify your local phone company and ask them to arrange to trace the number. After that is done, you can then have them put a block on it.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2001

They just called me from the 954 number, said something in Spanish, and when I said hello, they hung up. Wierd.

-- Anonymous, November 19, 2001

I recently saw a device at radio shack that hooks to your phone line. when you receive an incoming call it automatically sends a special tone that tricks any computerized auto-dialing solicitor that your line has been disconected or is no longer in service. your number will supossedly then be removed from their call list. the tone is inaudible to human ears. i have no idea how well it works & it's a bit pricey at around $50, but i thinking of springing for it. i'm sick of all the sales calls, i get about 5 per night. and i beleve i can return the gadget to radio shack for a refund for up to 30 days if i don't see any improvment. would be worth it if it works.

-- Anonymous, November 27, 2001

Thanks a lot for the 954-623-4620 tip, I was wondering who was trying to call me. I can't stand those telemarketer basta**ds. Any suggestions on how to stop them from calling? I have heard there are some numbers you can call yo get yoou names of the lists or some address to send a letter to get off these list - please send a reply. Thanks - Chris

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2001

These scum buckets have been calling me 6 times a day everyday for the past 3 months (954 623-4620). I wonder if they can actually call that way leaving us no option to end the calls but to send them our address. If I had the time I would start a class action against AT&T for using such a low form of attracting new business. Too bad I just found this board... Today I sent a copy of the fcc page with the 1991 regulation asking this idiots to put my number on their DNC list.I'll call the AT&T 800 tomorrow to give them a piece of my pissed off mind!

Look it on the bright side... at least you don't have to look yourself in the mirror and realize that all you amount to in life is to irritate people on the phone for a leaving!

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2001

To file a complaint against these bastards, go here: http://www.800helpfla.com/~cs/complaints.html

If we can get enough people to complain to the Florida Division of Consumer Services, they may take those bastards out!

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001

I just called the 1-800-222-0300 number to request that AT&T take me off the call list, and the person I spoke with proceeded to try and get me to switch long distance services!!! She was very persistent, too, implying that I was foolish for paying a monthly fee for my long distance service, when AT&T would be so much better. I refused to switch on principle, and I will never use AT&T long distance ever again. This business practice is odious.

I'm complaining to the Florida attorney general tonight. I can't tell you how irritated I am (BTW, blocking calls costs money, so to get them to stop, you have to deal with them, unless you don't mind paying your local phone company to block annoying calls - - this system sucks!).

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001

I'm on the phone with At&t right now...Of course, they don't know anything about this number, but they are fully willing to put me on their no-call list. Hmph. Maybe in 30 days this will go away. The gall of some companies!

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001

Dear God. After talking to AT&T (from herin listed as the darkside) to remove me from their calling list, they have contacted me 2 more times today trying to win me over to the darkside. Rudeness does not seem to repel them, and I can't believe that it takes 30 days to remove my number from a computer!!??!! Sorry, ending rant. Just wanted others to know about their business practices.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001

The Satan-spawn of ATT have already lost my business over a billing error. We told them to quit calling us a while back and we still get sporadic solictations. Although it might look like the 954-623-4620 jerks may be a sneaky ploy by ATT to bypass this no call legislation I think it is someone trolling for valid phone numbers and mailing addresses. I'll be sending my complaints, too. Be sure to include the City of Tamarac mayor as a recipient.

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2001

I have been getting several calls a day from the 954-632-4620 number. Today We had several calls from a 214-615-9074 number and when we answer there is no one there, the number shows as Texas call on my caller ID and I was able to track the number to the Dallas Texas area telephone exchange. If anyone figures out how to stop theese pricks please tell. I called my phone company (Ameritec)and they said that they can not block calls. I also called ATT and was told it would take up to 90 days for them to get me on the nation wide no call list.

Thanks Woody

-- Anonymous, December 21, 2001

I finaly gave and had my phone number changed.

-- Anonymous, December 26, 2001

This is regards to the 954-623-4620 scam!!

We all know that AT&T plays a big part of this scheme that Communication Corporation is just a front line. I have lawyer friend that helped me find a way to stop these bastards from calling my home. First thing he asked me is to call my phone service carrier which is Verizon, my friend asked me if I could check how much would it cost to have this number blocked, verizon said it will be $ 3.25 every month fee. That's $ 39.00 a year!!! After we found out about the cost of blocking a number he ask some of his collegue's and found out that there is only one way to do it... My friend ask me to write a letter requesting for immediate attention and action in placing my number on the DO NOT CALL LIST! Also he told me to include the "Telephone Consumer Act of 1991 on the letter which I simply found in the internet, also he told me to clearly state on your letter that you are keeping a copy of the letter for file and future references. He advice me to send it thru certified mail with return receipt option which cost me $3.94. I sent the letter to Communication Corporation, P.O. Box 26221, Tamrac, FL 33320. After 4 days I did received my receipt or confirmation of receipt of my letter and after that I have never heard from them again!!!

I hope this will help some of your guys out there! It worked for me....

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

i have a call identifier and when gettting home i usually find three or four unidentified calls. sometimes i would be at home and an unidentified call would come, usually one in the morning and one in the afternoon, but the person on the other end of the lline would remain silent and hang up. pretty unnerving. at one point, 954-623-4620 showed in the identifier. at the beginning i was hesitant to inquire who these people were, but today i called that number and got the mysterious "communications corporation yadayadayada" bit. i made a search on google, and it led me here. funny world. now, how do i stop the idiots?

-- Anonymous, January 02, 2002

It seems these bastards are busy, busy, busy, I just recently have been getting calls from that 954-623-4620 number and started to wonder who it was after searching the net I found you guys. Im going to personaly put a call into the A.G. office in florida tomorrow to express my hate for these guys and to give them this web address to show them that it isnt just me that is pissed.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2002

My boyfriend just got a call tonight at 9pm... mind you from the same people i seem to be reading about over and over in these posts (954 623-4620) They told him that someone had switched his carrier and he no longer has ATT. The man then gave him the 700 number to call... which supposively tells you who your long distnace carrier is (From what ive researched it does.... havent tried it yet though) but i was a bit leary of that... however my boyfriend told him hed try it and the man was supposed to call him back in a few minutes... well i was leary of the 700 # so i wouldnt let him call ... and i took charge of the phone when the telemarketer called back... First of all he said he was looking for "Mr. umm... oh geez i forgot his name" ... i said you mean to tell me... you once carried our long distance plan... and you don't know our names? I then told him i never did business over the phone... and if he wanted to send me something in writing id be glad to look it over.... he replied with a "Huh?" and then gave me ATT's number 8002220300... and hung up... I recollected after the phone call that AT&T was NEVER our long distance carrier... this company has been calling every day for months... why are they calling and confusing people and lying? I'm going to write to somebody about this... don't know who yet. Pisses me off.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2002

I, personally look forward to telemarketer calls. I know that may sound crazy, but over time and practice, I've gotten to be a professional tele-tomenter. I'm surprised people waste money one those tele-zappers and such, because I find it more fun to just toy around with them. For instance, tell them to come by the 4th Tues. of next week. Well, any American who's gotten past preschool knows there's only 1 tuesday in a week, but it always sounds promising. Another thing I do is make them feel terrible about there jobs, or monthly income. They are truly pathetic people, who just couldn't really succeed in the real world. My record phone conversation with a telemarketer has been 1 hour and 28 minutes, which I'm currently trying to improve, but it's saved at least 5 more people the peace of mind NOT to be disturbed by a fraudulent telemarketer. I highly suggest you people have more fun with your calls and look on the bright side. Telemarketers aren't so bad once you make them feel suicidal. Well, I'm gonna leave you with some sites to keep in mind, they can help liven up your day. http://antitelemarketer.com, http://tommabe.com, the future http://teletorment.com, and for those who are bored and hate the Backstreet Boys, http://bsbgay.com. I hope you guys change your mind, it's fun to toy with telemarketers. Well, got a call, see ya. (It's also fun to convince them you are clinically insane)

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2002

Thank you so much for all of the info on this page about the damn 954 number. I'm not surprised to see how many people are pissed off by these calls from AT&T. If someone can give me an address, I'd appreciate it. We live in Louisiana and our local phone company says that they can't do anything about it. Thanks

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2002

I have been getting these calls (954.623.4620) for about 3 months now. I know the area code as I am from FL but now live in TX (this is where I get the daily calls),so like one poor fellow I thought it might be someone from my past calling or someone pranking me for a personal reason. Well after numerous reverse number searches I had no luck looking up the owner of the number and did not think a telemarketer would bother one number so much. Then yesterday looking for info on this number again I put the number itself in the search engine and this great site came up! Not one hour later I got a call from the number again! I stopped answering it because of all the hang-ups, but this time I picked up and someone was there! He spoke in Spanish but as soon as I started to speak my mind (I wanted to try and have fun with him) in English he changed language and started to apologize. I asked to be put on the DO NOT CALL LIST and soon the call was over. Not but another hour or so I got a call from them AGAIN! This time a female started off in Spanish and I went right into a rant about the DNC list and other gripes when she said "Sorry ,I dont speak English" and hung-up. Well I dont know what to do. They have not called today but the "unknown caller" has as early as 9:30 AM. How do I legally log these calls and if they call me again how do I provide proof to the proper persons? Lets just hope its the end of the "954" nightmare for me and I will not have to do any more about this. ANY HELP PLEASE!?

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2002

i also get a call from that # 954-623-4620 never anyone speaking though...weird shit

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2002

Sorry I posted anonymous but I don't want to end up in the middle of everyone's fight; I just want my peaceful nights back. Anyway, I been toying with figuring out who these relentless anoying people are and I do I believe I have the answer. I been getting calls from the 954-623-4620 number atleast once every day now for the last three months. The company you all are looking for is technion communications located in southern Florida and their contact info can be found at http://www.technion.com/technion2001/contact.htm. And incase they hide this info after we start ringing their phone off the hook: 954-693-9994 and 954-721-1994. Hope this helps.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2002

My own personal telemarketing bugbear is Direct Merchants Bank. I did the "Do not call again" bit until my tongue was hanging out of my mouth. I did the bit about speaking to a supervisor, who assured me that he would PERSONALLY take me off the list. I started yelling at the telemorons. And each time they'd wait a few weeks, then call back.

Well, I have a new method. It's called "aversive conditioning." Another term for it is "massive personal abuse." I figure that since they are making me unhappy by calling, I would make them unhappy for calling. I don't feel especially good about using this technique, but it has slowed the calls down. And I don't yell; I drawl.

"I have always been a strong believer in education," I say. "I have always thought that with time, effort, and patience, ANYONE, even ***** people! can be brought to understand the meaning of the phrase, 'do not call again.' But you know, I'm beginning to have my doubts. I guess it's true -- you *&*&*& really are that fuckin' stupid." (For *****, insert the person's ethnicity. For *&*&*&, insert the most offensive phrase you know for that person's ethnicity.) It does work. The last time Direct Merchants Bank called, THEY hung up on ME!

It helps if you're prepared for the next call. I don't want to simply pour out impersonal abuse; no, I want it targeted. For instance, I have a little poem I recently prepared -- a rap version of "do not call again," for the next time I get a call. And yes, I'm afraid that it is extremely abusive. And personal. I am also going to get a list of offensive ethnic jokes, to read to them when they call. And there are some other options I'm still working out.

Well, maybe it will induce them to take me off their phone list. Simply asking them to do so certainly hasn't had any effect yet.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Thanks everyone for posting this info. I was working an I got this umpteenth call from the mystery caller 954-623-4620. Too many reverse lookups and no result. I search for the number and come across this ! Some explanation. I was getting these calls even when I was AT&T customer! Hmmm.... Maybe they put me on this when I switched for a month. Maybe I need to get rid of them and get Armstrong's (CEO or the President) number on this list somehow.

Muchas Gracias

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

I am CRAZY MAD about these 954 numbers! They have been calling me for months now, and I finally tracked this site down!! Thank you!!! I am not sure who this is yet, but whomever they are, they need to GO DOWN!!! I am sick and tired of my phone ringing at rediculous hours, and I am personally pissed off that I had to take the time to track them down like this!! I am no computer genious, and this took too much of my PRECIOUS TIME to do! I am grateful, however, to have found this, finally. Better Business Burea? Attourneys at Law? Someone, please, give me a hand here!! This is blatant HARASSMENT!!! Someone owes me for this research!! Good Luck and please fill me in with any info!!

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

Yes and it is getting ridiculous! They get angry if you don't want to talk to them.

They even threaten my wife to remove our phone service if if she didn't put me on the line so that they could talk to the the suscriber...!

Something needs to be done about this.

Some of these big companies like AT&T think they own the world!

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Are you sure that this 954 number from TAMARAC, FL is AT&T? How did you find out? And how many people have actually spoken with a person calling from this number? Everytime I get a call it's utter silence, and a hang up. I can't even describe the rage I have about this. I can't believe these bastards can do this. A stupid law doesn't do anything it seems. Also, I called AT&T just in case and they wouldn't put me on any kind of list, I had to plead with the girl to finally put in a written request.

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2002

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your input, my parents are elderly and my father is severly disabled, my mother keeps worrying that something has happened in Florida to one of her relatives everytime she sees the number appear on the caller id. I try to reassure her that it is just telemarketers, but she feels that they wouldn't keep calling so much..my mom sometimes is a bit simple and I am hoping that by showing her everyone's comments, she can at least not panic. As far as having them stop bothering her I will try some of your suggests.

Also, if you have elderly parents make sure that they do not have some agreement with their phone company for renting equipment. My parents thought they out right bought their phone decades ago, mind you a rotary phone at that, which they eventually thru in a box in the basement. Come to find out my mom has been paying rental fees on it for over 15 years...she thought she was paying for phone service.. This was a wake up call for me to be more attentive to my parents' bills.. and subsequently I developed more of a hatred for phone companies in general... To end on a good note this is just my simple opinion but Working Assests Long Distance has proved to be a decent long distance carrier for my husband and I so far.

Good Luck to all of you.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2002

I have been getting calls from the 954-623-4620 number at least once every day now for the last three months. The company you all are looking for is Technion Communications located in southern Florida and their contact info can be found at http://www.technion.com/technion2001/contact.htm. And in case they hide this info after we start ringing their phone off the hook: 954- 693-9994 and 954-721-1994. I called and asked to be taken off their autodailer and was told it should take place the same day. They are a Marketing company that AT&T has hired.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2002

I have been receiving these calls, also. They started last week, it seems. Both 954-693-9993 and 954-623-4620, showing up as "Florida" on the caller ID. Today 9993 called at 4PM, then 4620 called about 3 hours later.

I don't know anyone in Florida, which made me curious. I did a web search and stumbled across this site. It's sort of nice to see other people complaining about the same problem. ;)

BTW, I recently changed my carrier from MCI to AT&T about 3 months ago. That must've put me in their database...

-- Anonymous, January 28, 2002

THANKS Joe for the informaton on who that annoying 954 number is!! (He posted it on this board...with the company's website AND telephone number WITH the co.'s director of marketing). I called them today spoke to Mark Abrams, the director of marketing, and talk about RUDE! I asked to be removed from his call list, I was tiredof being hung up on at LEAST 6 times a day. He tried to lecture me on my states' no call list...I was well aware of such procedures, and that if the calls and harassment continues, I will file charges against him.

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2002

forgot to add to my post...I did a search on the name Mark Abrams in Florida on Google. I was given 2 names, I belive this is the person I was looking for Marc Abrams, (954) 236-3528, 2145 SW 81st Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33324. Same area code....I wonder if HE would like people to call him at hme and send HIM trash mail too??

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2002

Evening! I'm one of the scourge you're talking about...

...wait, hear me out. I'm off the clock, I'm not working under a quota, and I'm sure as heck not selling anything. I get enough of that at work.

I'm not going to sit there and say telemarketing's a good thing, because it's not. It's definitely not. When society's gotten to the point where we think that calling people when they're tired and frustrated is a good business practice, there's something wrong.

However... and yes, there is a however... we're human too.

Comes as a shock, doesn't it? Most telemarketers are scripted, and that's a miserable thing. Thankfully, the company I work for (MCI) isn't. They prefer we try to talk to people, not recite.

But enough about MCI. I live in Northeastern Ohio, which is a very economically depressed area. We just had about 10,000 people lose their jobs in this area, which basically just makes it go from bad to worse. My husband is currently working two jobs just so we can cover our bills (he's a police officer, one of those guys you either love or hate... a very good man who does his duty, saves lives, the whole nine yards), and just three weeks ago, I was hired at MCI.

I had nowhere else to go. God, I tried to find another job, because the *last* thing I wanted to do was annoy people like I've been annoyed in the past. But the jobs aren't here, we've no money to move, so MCI it was.

Still with me? Lot easier when I'm not calling during meals, huh?

Anyway, I'd like to tell you that MCI's a horrible corporate place with lots of stiff necked people, but it's not. I started training on the 14th, and so far, I've met some of the nicest people in the world there... it was a pleasant shock. Most of 'em were down and outs like me; people who are there because there's no hope anywhere else.

Get to the point, you say? Eh, in a few. I'm off the clock, I'm not selling, I'm not calling you over dinner, so I'm going to take a few minutes.

So here I am... by the way, I'm five feet nine, brown hair, brown eyes, a plain looking girl with nothing extraordinary about her, who's going back to college in the fall just like some of you... but anyway, so here I am in this place, training to do something I hate.

And whaddya know? I still hate it.

I've only been on the phones for three days and made one sale... and the only reason I sold him was because AT&T gave him a $50 phone bill and we had mailed him our updated rates. Lemme tell ya, I'm not cut out for this business.

By now, you're either really annoyed with me or really interested in my little note here. I'll either come home tomorrow to a box full of hatemail, or maybe, if I'm lucky, a few people who say, "Hey, I might not like what you can do, but I can sympathize with why you have to do it."

However, on Tuesday, I had the pleasure of speaking with a lady who had a very rough day... hey, I'm human. I called her, went through the whole, "Hey! My name's Steff Watson, and I'm calling for MCI. How are you?"

She didn't sound too good. So, before I even thought about a sale (which is probably why I suck at selling), I asked her if she was okay. She, of course, said that it had been a hard day and she was very tired, and I, being a sap, replied, "Well, before I let you go rest, can I tell you a joke?"

She agreed, I told her the joke (a corny one about a dentist and a bartender), and she laughed.

She *laughed*.

And then she thanked me for trying to cheer her up, and I thanked her for letting me. And you know what I did? I termed her record 'Not interested'. That basically means she won't be hearing from MCI again between six months and a year. If I had termed it 'do not call', she might have gotten us once or twice more, before her record was out of the system.

So, at least I saved her from our hassle for several months.

That made me feel better. I talked to Hazel in Illinois yesterday night. Her son was out on the roads in a snowstorm... a sixteen year old kid. And even after she told me she wasn't interested, I asked if she'd like to talk (she had call waiting) while she waited for him... she was glad to. She told me about the snow on the pines, about another girl named Stephanie who was having a time of it (like me), about how she loved the country.

And I listened. I know I should have been selling, but God, I listened.

I talked to a fellow in California today about the Pacific, and how beautiful it was.

I told a few jokes.

I made a few people laugh.

I didn't make one sale. But I'd like to think I made an impression... not for telemarketers, but for humans. You know, those hairless apes? You and me.

So now I'm sitting here at 4:30 in the morning. I dread going to work tomorrow, because God, it's so hard not to take all of the harsh words and negativity home with you... it's so hard not to just start crying because even though you know that these people you call aren't mad at you so much as the fact you bothered them, it still aches.

I don't believe in telemarketing for two main reasons:

1.) Because we are interrupting lives here. Even though MCI has good products, very rigid quality control on those of us calling (ie, we're always under the gun), and we try not to be too rude, we're still wrong.

2.) Because it makes people like you forget that we're human too. And that sometimes, this is the *only* choice we have... the only thing between food on the table and not.

The commission, you say? Sorry to break it to you, but you have to be a pretty good TM to get enough to make up for the 42% tax. I made $3 for three days of my life that I can never get back. Three days that I've suffered abusive language, three days where I was constantly pressured to make sales, three days where I would have rather been *anywhere* in the world other than MCI. Sure, I get base wage for just being a warm body there, but even that $7.00 an hour isn't much when I come home every night feeling broken up inside.

But mostly, I guess, the hardest part to take is knowing that human kind has enough compassion in them to mourn the loss of people who die tragically or donate to causes for those in need, but they lack enough compassion to treat the person calling them with a tiny shred of decency.

So yes, I hate my job. I'm going back to school to be a historian, and hopefully I'll be able to pull it off with enough grant money and student loans... someday, I won't have to do this. Someday, I'll be able to do what I love and make sure my hubby doesn't have to work himself to death, and someday I'll be able to talk to people without having them hang up, blow airhorns or cuss me out on the phones.

But for now, this is all I've got. Please try'n remember that if you happen to hear "Hey, this is Steff Watson with MCI, how are you?"

Because no matter what, even if you're not interested, I'll listen to you. I actually do give a damn about my fellow man. If you have a problem, I'll be an objective standby. If you want to hear a joke, I'll tell one. If you want to chat about snow on pines or the blue of the Pacific... all the better. Sale or no, I'll *listen*.

Is that such a bad thing?

PS: If you want to stop TMs from calling, don't hang up on 'em. The comp automatically reschedules. Being nasty doesn't work... if you get someone less sympathetic than I, they might schedule you in for 8AM Saturday morning. (pricks) You could ask to be put on our Do Not Call list, and we'll do that... but that only works for MCI. We're pretty dang reputable (Fortune 500 company, we'd better be).

If you wanna stop 'em all, call 1-888-5OPT-OUT. This organization does work... a very dear friend of mine's used it, and her calls have virtually stopped. It won't stop the local companies, but it'll stop the big ones and mostly everyone.

And that's all from me. Hope I've helped, at least with the above number.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

954-623-4620 - Thank you all so much! I just recently switched from ATT to another long distance carrier. I started recieving at least two calls a day from that number. I have called the Attorneys General Office in Florida and Texas and have filed a complaint. I have called ATT and Technion and filed complaints. I am currently sending registered letters (for all the good it will do) to all involved. ATT is now on top of my shit list.

-- Anonymous, February 04, 2002

another 954-623-4620 bastard caller. I have call the state of texas and filed a complaint. But I have tried looking them up on a phone search and this number do not exist. I have been call 2-5 times a day for over a month. I wish bad things to happen to this scum. Alot of bad things. These people are not trying to make a living that are caller harrazment. More times than not they hang up when I pick up the phone. There is something else going on with this number. I am checking all my credit cards and bills really carefully. This maybe some kind of phone line hookup to use your phone line. I dont know but there is something very strange about this caller. Infact I gets calls with the same 6 front numbers and the last 4 numbers change. And I have tryed to call it back an I get a prerecorded blib from the operator telling me to use an area code. The number will not dial thru.

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2002

Hi. I had problems with being bothered constantly ... day and night. Finally, I called Ameritech (my local phone company) and they set me up with Privacy Manager. The way it works is when you get a call. On your Caller ID ... it will read Privacy Manager. When you answer the phone, you will hear a message, where you have the option of finding out who is calling by pushing #1. Then the person has to identify themselves to you. If you want to accept the call .. again you press #1 .. if not, press #2 ... and they will be told you don't want them to contact you. Most of the time salespeople will just hang up .. rather than telling you who they are and who they work for. They gave me this service to try for free for 6 months and after that it is a nominal fee (about the same cost as Caller ID). This works with any business that operates with many phone lines/banks not personal phones. So, if your friend from out-of- state calls you ... Privacy Manager isn't going to mess with that call. I know Ameritech offers it ... but am unsure of what other companies offer. I hope this information helps someone, as much as it's helped me.

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

Hi all! I forgot something in my last post. I just learned about a new product on the market earlier tonight. It's called Privacy Technologies Telezapper, made by Royal Appliance Mfg. Co.. It sounds like something I'm going to look into a little more ... but more than likely will be purchased really soon. (c:

The TeleZapper emits a special tone that fools telemarketing computers into thinking that your number is disconnected, which makes the computer drop the call and then delete your number from its call list. Over time, as the TeleZapper works, you receive fewer and fewer annoying computer dialed telemarketing calls. The TeleZapper comes with a one-time low cost, not a monthly fee like Caller ID or other phone services. Will it interfere with my answering machine? No. The TeleZapper will not interfere with your answering machine. In fact, the TeleZapper works with your answering machine to "zap" telemarketers when you are away or when you prefer not to answer the phone. When your answering machine picks up, the TeleZapper emits its special tone to "zap" the telemarketer. Your name will have been deleted from another telemarketing list and you won't have been bothered at all. We do recommend that you re-record your message and delay speaking for a few seconds to allow time for the TeleZapper tone prior to the start of your recorded message. A caller who wishes to leave a message on your answering machine will hear a short tone followed by your recording.

I have voicemail from the telephone company. Will the TeleZapper work with this? Yes and No. Your telephone must go "off-hook" for the TeleZapper to emit its tone. As long as you pick up a call, the phone goes "off- hook" and the TeleZapper emits its tone to "zap" telemarketers. If, instead, the telephone company "answers" your calls through voicemail, your phone does not go "off-hook" and the TeleZapper cannot emit its tone. The TeleZapper will not interfere with the normal operation of your voicemail.

I have searched this tonight and found it available at KMart and WalMart. WalMart is cheapest at $44.88 (online, anyway). I hope this comes in handy. Take care.

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2002

Been getting them for a month here in California.

Have faxed a complaint to the Florida Attorney General and will next file complaint in California.

This however seems to be a federal issue, as they are engaging in interstate-commerce.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2002

I get a lot of telemarketing calls, but most of the time they aren't even looking for me. I have a common last name (like Smith for example, so it seems like they are calling ME looking for every "smith" on the planet. It really makes me upset because I get numerous calls a day. Also, half of the time there isn't even a person on the other end. I have noticed that almost every single "unavailable" or out of area call is a telemarketer. So my question is, why can't the damn phone company (we have verizon here) just block the unavailable calls for me? Also, what should I do about the wrong number telemarketer calls? Thanks.

-- Anonymous, March 12, 2002

Telemarkers has no respect customers' home numbers. Where did they get our telephone number? We did told Telephone Company that unlisted number on book. They have been harass us every hours and hours every days and nights. They have NO RESPECT US!! They woke us up. They cut our meal hours. They cut our movies hours. Our Caller I.D. thousand of unavailable and also when they pick up our answer machine then never leave message. They are JUST LAZY TO LEAVE MESSAGE!!! They will never leave us alone!!! WE ARE FEED UP NOW. WE ARE VERY TIRED OF TELEMARKERS. WE HAVE NOT BE HOME MOSTLY DURING THE DAY AND NIGHT, WHEN WE CAME HOME FROM TOWN THEN CHECK WITH CALLER I.D., MOSTLY UNAVAILABE. WE REALLY HATE THAT!!! NO ANSWER MACHINE LEFT MESSAGE NONE ZERO. WE WILL FIND THE ANSWER AND GET RID OF TELEMARKERS!

-- Anonymous, March 14, 2002

954-623-4620 guys can bite me.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

This company's agents must work from several locations. I think one guy messed up and his # showed on my caller ID as a number in California 805 area code.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

954-623-4620 guys call me 3-4 times a day for past 6 months. When I pik up the phone somebody speaks in spanish.. Of course I do not speak spanish and say hello then the apologise and hangup but again and again the cycle repeats. Now whenever I get a call I just pick the phone and start off in my native language which is neither english nor spanish. I do not stop whatever they say.. Ha Ha (Payback time)

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

I think the very early morning 954 call is just to wake us up, for when they call back later... because the early one always hangs up on me :) jerks.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2002

954-623-4620!!!!

I get this stupid call this morning. I search web, and found your poor guys. hehe... I am lucky that only one call this moring, till now (9:00 am)

I think we should do something to those mom fucker!

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2002

It seems to me that "Stephanie Watson" was a little too articulate. Did you notice that she had NO typos or misspellings?

I really wouldn't be surprised if some corporate schmuck decided that (surprise!) suing everyone wasn't the answer, but that making up some sympathic operator might leave a better taste in everyone's mouth.

I can tell you for sure that I don't work for anyone that calls your ass up when you don't want it called. or ever, really.

Big corporations disgust me.

P.S. Go to Salon.com and do search for PetS Warehouse. You'll see how lawyer happy assholes can and do sue everyone who complains. From list moderators to contributors. If you've contributed to this list and posted your name you may soon be listed as a defendant.

-- Anonymous, April 06, 2002

Because someone was able to clearly state a thought without misspellings and in grammatically proper English, they must be a shill or a phony? That's a pretty dismal and cynical way of thinking. Perhaps Ms. Watson is simply a conscientous writer.

In any case, I must agree with her. I worked as a telemarketer for a brief period about a dozen years ago, when I was a broke college student. I was an intelligent, well-read, articulate person, but because of my limited hours of availability, there weren't many jobs open to me, and I took the one that I least wanted, but which would've allowed me the most hours to study (my primary focus) and wouldn't require me to be on my feet constantly. I hated what I did (selling Time-Life book, video and CD series, like the do-it-yourself manuals and "special editions" of the James Bond movies) and I hated the people with whom I worked, who ranged from insipid, brain-dead automatons to overexuberant sleazes who racked up 30 to 40 sales a day by being so obnoxious that people would agree to the sale just to get them off of the phone. (Their numbers on the board looked tremendous, their numbers after all orders went through the "verification" callbacks were as dismal as everyone else's.) The bosses had all been the sleaze type of marketer, who had somehow managed to con their way into promotions. (The Peter Principle was never more evident.) The company offered absolutely no vacation time, no personal days, and only 4 sick days per year, even for full time employees, and did everything in its power to pressure employees to work even when ill. I was not permitted to go home one day when I had laryngitis and couldn't be heard by the people on the other end of the phone line. And when I had to be hospitalized for a severe female problem (which I didn't feel very comfortable explaining in any detail to my dimwitted male bosses) I was formally reprimanded and written up for taking off two days of work in a row.

I never made more than ten sales in one day, which means that I never made the incentives and bonuses that all of the telemarketing want ads trumpet. At base salary, I was bringing home slightly more than minimum wage (which was only $4.25 in those days) and I was subjected to unbelievable abuse, profanity, namecalling -- insults upon my person, gender and ethnicity included -- every single day. I routinely found myself wiping away tears as I huddled in the backseat of an overheated, overcrowded bus that took nearly an hour to get me home at the end of the day. After six weeks, I gave up, quit the job, and eeked out a living working seven hours a week in the college library and selling blood plasma.

I didn't want to disturb people or intrude upon their lives. I only wanted to be able to buy basic necessities and eat something a little more substantial and healthy than ramen and boxed mac and cheese, made without milk or butter. I'd wager that the same is true for most of the people who are willing to brave the horror of telemarketing for more than a few weeks.

I urge everyone to take Jennifer Wade's example (scroll up) and remember that there are human beings on the other side of the phone. You don't need to yell, harass, swear at or insult them just to end their calls. They don't choose who to call, they aren't out to get you, even if the companies that they work for are mercenary about repeat callings. On their behalf, I ask that you try to separate your rage at the corporate tactic from the powerless people who don't make the rules, and are just trying to earn a living.

-- Anonymous, April 06, 2002

I did a couple of brief gigs as a telemarketer a long time ago. One of the places I worked had a sign in the phone room: "No weapons of any kind allowed. NO EXCEPTIONS". The staff consisted of recovering mental patients, newly paroled convicts, and various other detritus. I won't say which category I was in at the time. We sold frozen food, which was ironic because I was living on potatoes because they were cheaper than ramen and kraft dinner.

After a few weeks of this I finally got my act together and got into a better more respectable line of work. Decades later, I now work for a company that makes telephone systems, including predictive dialers.

Let me tell you how predictive dialers work: These are machines that grab up to 10 outgoing lines at a time, dial a block of numbers from a database, and then pass the calls that are answered to an agent, who then mispronounces your name and reads a script trying to sell you some lame product you don't need. Of the 10 numbers dialed, only one person at the other end is "lucky" enough to get a live telemarketer, the rest get silence.

The hell of it is, your typical telemarketer has no idea this is happening -- they sit at their computers with their headsets and take call after call, having no idea that for every person they get to annoy personally, 9 other people got silence. I've heard stories about telemarketers who put their headsets down and walked off the job when this was explained to them by a caller.

So why am I now working for the enemy, the enabler? Wasn't my choice, I worked for a company that made an honest living developing and selling useful, respectable products. That company got bought out by another company, which then got bought out again by the one that makes phone equipment including predictive dialers.

Why am I still working for a company that makes life easier and more convenient for telemarketers? Because I hate my life and have no self esteem. Note to self: start hunting for an honest job before those vampires suck my soul completely dry. Wish me luck, I need to get out of here in the worst way.

Oh, one other thing. These phone switches can be set up to send basically whatever caller ID the company using them wants to. Most don't send anything at all, so you get "unavailable" or "out of area". Some send a completely bogus number. Some are occasionally misconfigured and send some innocent person's number instead of their own.

Finally, here's how the telezapper works (you can do this yourself and save $$). Have you ever dialed a number that was not in service, and heard a three tones, then the recording that it's out of service? That tone is the key. Record it, then put it on your answering machine's outgoing message before you start with your real outgoing message. Predictive dialers will hear that tone when your machine picks up, and will automatically toss out that number as "not in service". You don't need to buy the telezapper to do this, anyone with a cheap tape recorder can do it themselves.

-- Anonymous, April 06, 2002

I dont know if anyone else gets these calls, and please forgive me, I cannot remember the last 4 digits of the phone #, but anyway, it starts 803-308-____ . I work for directory assistance and people call all the time wanting to know what this number is to. I am sorry to say, but I don't have an answer to give them. Of course it is not listed in the directory and besides, the 308 prefix is not valid in the 803 area code. (OMG, I hope that I remembered the right prefix:)) If anyone else has gotten calls from this number, please post. My curiosity is about to get me.!

-- Anonymous, April 06, 2002

THE ULTIMATE WAY TO DEFEAT TELEMARKETERS

When you get the call, just say "Hold on a minute, please", set the phone down, and go about your business. After a minute or two or three, they'll hang up. If even a small minority of people did this, it would destroy the economics of telemarketing, which depends on calling as many people as possible and only spending time with real prospects.

-- Anonymous, April 06, 2002

Why answer the phone? We let all of our calls go to the answering machine and call back when we feel like it. And we turn off the ringer at night. You don't HAVE to be a slave of your phone, there's nothing forcing you to jump up and get the phone, if you feel you have to it is simply social conditioning that you have to get rid of. It isn't rude or unfriendly to not answer your phone.

You have to tell your friends and colleagues at work a few times that you never answer the phone and that they must always leave a short message and you'll get back to them but that's it. You can be sure the messages you pick up are for you, a telemarketer never leaves a message.

The worst that can happen is that someone you know dies and you don't find out for an hour or until the next morning. If you think the chance of that happening is worth the inconvenience of answering the phone for a telemarketer, then pick it up.

-- Anonymous, April 06, 2002

About the message from Stephanie Watson...

I looked in TeamNet (MCI Worldcom Intranet web pages) for Ste* Watson in Ohio. No dice. I looked for anyone with the last name Watson in Ohio. Two matches, but they both looked like techs. I finally did a search for anyone named Stephanie in Ohio. I got a lot of potential matches in sales.

One Stephanie (who has a common last name like "Miller"), for example, is a telemarketing service rep, who has yet to be assigned to a department by her manager. Then there are other Stephanies like an SBS Sales Rep in the Major Retention department. Another Stephanie is a manager in a "Communications Team" under the sales department. Another is an MM Supervisor (Sales). My belief is that she probably didn't use her real last name, but it is credible that someone who is/was at MCI or knows a bit about MCI would have written that.

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2002

whether or not stephanie watson is a real person or not (and disregarding her completely merely because she has decent grammar is idiotic), what she says is essentially true. yeah, i hate junk mail and telemarketers too, i don't even have long distance on my phone - both to save money and to avoid getting on their lists in the first place (i use cheap calling cards). however, i've also gotten the occasional really nice telemarketer, and i appreciate their politeness. it's not so painful to give people the benefit of the doubt - valuing your personal privacy and being nice don't have to be mutually exclusive. even if they are employed by the devil, everyone's got bills to pay.

anyways, the most important part of ms. watson's email was how to get yourself off the lists of the three major credit bureaus - call 1-888- 5 OPT OUT (1-888-567-8688). this site: http://www.learn2.com//05/0514/0514.asp, is a great site to show you how to stop not only telemarketers, but also cut down on the junk mail, and provides you with contact information for taking your information away from the major list sellers. i took most of the suggestions, and within a couple months the calls stopped and the only advertisements and solicitations i receive are local ones that i want. if you give your info out frequently, just go through the steps every year or two to stay off the lists.

hope this helps... now if only someone can get the faxes to stop! my new number is the old fax number of a golf course, fax-marketers have no qualms at all to sending faxes at 2am, and there's not even a chance i get a nice person on the other end!

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002

Hi "Worldcom Employee". Stephanie's message looks very scripted to me as well. But about you not being able to locate her in the company. She might not even work for MCI directly. Most of the time when you think you're talking to someone from the big telcos, it's actually work that's been contracted out. I.E. AT&T and Convergys.

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002

I have the best response to telemarketers. It's easy, non- confrontational, and it saves someone else out there from getting a telemarketer phone call. When they ask for me by full name, I say "Yes?", they launch into their spiel, and I put the phone down and walk away. A few minutes later I come back and hang up, b/c they're gone by then. The beauty of this is, you make them go through their whole spiel, which takes up more of their time, so they can call fewer folks. Do your part: try it today!

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002

Here's a little fun to fight against the nusiance calls:

"10 Ways To Annoy Telemarketers"

10. When they ask "How are you today?" Tell them! "I'm so glad you asked because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems; my arthritis is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died..."

9. If they say they're John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is located. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for as long as necessary.

8. Cry out in surprise, "Judy! Is that you? Oh my Gosh! Judy, how have you been?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of pause as she tries to figure out where she could know you from.

7. If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up for the Family and Friends Plan, reply, in as SINISTER a voice as you can, "I don't have any friends ... Would you be my friend?"

6. If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy and you could sure use some money.

5. Tell the telemarketer you are on "home incarceration" and ask if they could bring you a case of beer and some chips

4. After the telemarketer gives their spiel, ask him/her to marry you. When they get all flustered, tell them that you could not just give your credit card number to a complete stranger.

3. Tell the telemarketer you are busy at the moment and ask them if they will give you their HOME phone number so you can call them back. When the telemarketer explains that they cannot give out their HOME number, you say "I guess you don't want anyone bothering you at home, right?" The telemarketer will agree and you say, "Now you know how I feel!" Say good bye - and hang up.

2. Insist that the caller is really your buddy Leon, playing a joke. "Come on Leon, cut it out! Seriously, Leon, how's your mom?"

And first and foremost:

1. Tell them to talk VERY SLOWLY, because you want to write EVERY WORD down.

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2002

Its funny that I find this website. For the past 4 days, not including weekends we've been receiving 3-4 phone calls a day from 954-623-4620. Like all of you, noone is talking. Infact, they called around 1030am this morning. Nothing but aggravation!

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Thank you for this site! I have been getting unbelievable amounts of calls from 954-623-4620 for the last week. I answer and no one is there. I hit *69 and called the # back a few times and always get a recorded message saying: "If you have any questions, write to: Customer Service, 1802 North University Drive, PMB #301, Plantation, FL 33322. So, now I'm suppose to spend .34 cents to write to them to ask them to stop calling? Ridiculous!

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

CONTACT TECHNION DEMANDING PLACEMENT ON DNC LIST:

Email: Marketing@technion.com Marc Abrams, Director of Marketing Phone: 954-693-9994 ext# 7641 Fax 954-981-4321 Attn: Marc Abrams, Director of Marketing Address: Technion Communications 4000 Hollywood Blvd. Suite 755 South Hollywood, Fl 33021

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

File a comlaint with AT&T here:

http://www.att.com/forms/forms_corp.html

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

[Sorry - I HAVE to use a fake email address as I'm bombarded with spam. Perhaps you could create a false address for us to use which gets tossed by your server, so it doesn't harm anything?]

I found this by searching for the 954-623-4620 number too - none of the reverse numbers found anything. I LOVE "Spunky"s suggestions - also the one about putting the phone down (or on hold) while you go cook dinner (tee hee)... I happen to have switched to another long distance co ("Annies" - the one that makes the macaroni! - great company BTW) from AT&T a year ago. From reading this page, many of us have that in common but not all of us.

I have an unlisted number and I'm wondering if that could be what we have in common? If they don't say anything, they could be getting you to call them back... they might be someone tracing unlisted numbers.

Just a thought - please prove me wrong.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2002

If you live in NY, list your number with for Gov. Patakis "Do Not Call" program, it has worked for me, I have not gotten any calls.

Except this 954# recently, and when that happens, you can just go here, file a complaint, and the calls will stop.

https://www1.consumer.state.ny.us/cpb/CPBComplaintForm.html

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2002

Wow... talk about a suspicious lot of folks. I wasn't particularly going to come back and follow up, but heck with it. Ended up here, looking through old bookmarks.

Yes, I'm well-spoken. Whaddya know, I gratuated in the top 15% of my class, have spent many years writing stories and generally love the English language. Was that scripted? Nope, I was venting at the time.

As for not finding me in the employee database, I quit probably a week after I posted. If you're still curious, though, try looking up the name Damien. I won't give his last name, mostly since it's not my right to do so, but he was my supervisor in Bay 247, Niles, Ohio call center. I worked the afternoon/evening shift, part time, from 4PM to 10PM.

I've left the ranks, and feel much better for it. MCI is a good company, and I won't speak badly of my employment there... but I'm not cut out for sales, and certainly not for high pressure ones. I've sworn off selling forever.

And, since some of you seem to think I'm some corporate big shot, think about this... exactly what would a company pulling down seven figures want to do with a little internet forum? They wouldn't. They don't care, which is yet another reason to wonder exactly why we let them basically run our country.

This is my real name. I don't have anything to hide, never had. Want more? I was born on May 17th, 1980, in Columbus, Ohio. I grew up in the assbackwards village of Craig Beach, married at 19, moved to Newton Falls, and just last year to the Southside of Youngstown. I used to be a printer/graphics designer, but was laid off in 2000 and have been struggling ever since.

That's me, folks, in a nutshell.

Feel like dropping me a line about more pleasant topics than telemarketing and corporate conspiracy, feel free to e-mail. I'm a pretty friendly person, most of the time.

And have a good night!

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2002

*blush*

That was supposed to be 'graduating'. Looks like I might need a few refresher courses.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2002

...and I was beginning to think 954-623-4620 was Joe Basi, whose company Crystal Clear Water Solutions sold us a generic water conditioning system we were told was Ionics brand... another scam through telemarketers... Crystal Clear Water Solutions called shortly after we moved into our new home, offering to test our water, and we made the mistake of purchasing the system from them after their test showed hardness in our water... they had gotten our number from a listing of homes recently purchased, and telemarketing calls have been flodding in...

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

We have two lines and it is not unusual for telemarketers to call them both within a few minutes. I got a call from the Mercury News one day and a moment later the second line rang with another rep from the Mercury News. So I conferenced them and let them talk to each other. It was so funny I wish it would happen again.

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2002

Okay...I had to do it too..I use to work for MCI in the Small Business Division, I knew I had moral conflicts with this company but decided to try it out. The training was for only 2 weeks. In that training they teach us how to handle "reluctance" another word for "not interested", "go piss up a rope"...you get the picture...We are all told of the fortunes made in this line of work, and some people working for MCI are actually on track to make 120K. Don't let these people intimidate you into switching. I was on the autodialer for only 2 days and 4 hours before I came to my senses. MCI stood for Many Changes Instatly...this corporation has a 90 day re-hire process. They will hire anyone, at anytime, as long as you produce. They like to make their employees feel like they give a damn...they don't, bottemline they just want to make as much money as they can...Don't fall for it!!! I can tell you that we indeed had to hit a certain "commit", we actually had to watch our talk time, the measured us on "Lines Per Hour". Two of the strong salespeople in my bay at MCI, were so blatently unethical it made me sick to my stomach, I mentioned thier tactics to my trainer and she agreed with me. If you ever get a call from MCI, let them sell you, then when they tell you that your going to be transfered to the "Third Party Verifcation" either ask them a question OR hang up...This will result in a cancelation...this makes the quality go down and if the sales rep has less then 80% they get a big chunk of bonus taken away...You will not only waste the TM's time but kill that big bonus they thought they were going to make.

Just a thought here....If you wanted the service wouldn't you call them??? As for my career I'd rather shovle shit for a living, then put up with a pathetic company like MCI...Anyone paying attention to their STOCK???? hint hint wink wink!!!

Play with the TM it's fun and it wastes their time!!!! Sorry Stef I had to spill the whole truth...although I will say I made a very good friend through this experience...he quit the day after I did!

Peace!

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2002

We Can Make A Difference and if ATT only knew how many customers they have lost because of this company http://www.technion.com/technion2001/contact.htm. it's just too bad for them. In there best interest they should have fired them a long time ago it is now 8:32 PM on May 31 2002 and guess who calls 954- 623-4620 Pompano Beach Florida well I have found this Number on this site thanks to all of you who have posted and given it a call 1-800- 222-0300 I very nicely told them who I was and gave them my number and address to be removed of there list by the way I'm an Attorny an we get harrassed too lol any way the nice lady on the phone made sure that I would receive a mailing confirmation that I was removed from there calling list which by the way means as soon as I receive it if ATT ever calls this number again they are liable for a law suit according to the 1991 act. Good Luck Everyone!

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2002

By The Way If You Want to Have A Little Fun They are very much Linked to ATT if you can use this information and I know some of you can crack away Registrant: Technion Communications Corp (TECHNION-DOM) 6931 Nw 88th Ave Tamarac, FL 33321 US

Domain Name: TECHNION.COM

Administrative Contact: Prashant Cherukuri (PC540-ORG) prashant@TECHNION.COM Technion Communications Corporation 6931 Nw 88th Ave Tamarac , FL 33321 US 954.721.1994 Fax- 954.721.4123 Technical Contact: Global Network Management Center (GNMC) rm- hostmaster@EMS.ATT.COM AT&T DNS Service 3324 Hollenberg Bridgeton, MO 63044 USA 314-264-9672 Fax- 314-264-9647

Record expires on 21-May-2006. Record created on 20-May-1997. Database last updated on 31-May-2002 22:32:08 EDT.

Domain servers in listed order:

CBRU.BR.NS.ELS-GMS.ATT.NET 199.191.128.105 CMTU.MT.NS.ELS-GMS.ATT.NET 12.127.16.69 There easy on ftp://12.8.10.145 I didn't but I have limited time so please let me know here on this site what anyone has done. Happy Happy

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2002

I just started getting this recording about 2 weeks ago. They call about 4-6 times a day and its getting frustrating...I say we find one of the executive numbers and call him or her several times a day and just hang up on them over and over....maybe that will let them see how we feel. I do something similiar when it comes to getting spam or ads in my email. I just forward them all to each other over and over..I admit it takes time but it works.

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002

Can someone post a link to the law of 1991 making it illegal to make these 954-623-4620 calls?

-- Anonymous, June 08, 2002

I get calls every hour on the hour all hang ups. I let it go thru my answering machine but after a while it gets on your nerves. I called my telephone company today to ask them for a number change. They asked for my phone number and I said to them I will give you my number if you tell me where you are located. They hesitated saying they were not allowed but then I got it out of them -- believe it or not it is out of the country in Manila. I hung up on them. I am thinking seriously about getting a cell phone and cancelling my regular phone service.

-- Anonymous, June 24, 2002

I get these 954-623-4620 calls mulitple times a day, too. I finally called the number and now they represent themselves as "Outsource Compliance Company" out of Miami Florida. I am getting thoroughly annoyed!

-- Anonymous, June 25, 2002

Hi Guys,

First, thanks so much for the resources I was able to find here. I called Technion at the number listed above and was able to get my name taken off their calling list. It took me a couple of tries and I had to wait on hold a little bit, but the woman was very nice.

I think that being very polite makes things easier. She said they usually only promise to stop calling by 60 days but she'd expedite my request. She said she'd do the same thing if she were getting calls.

I assume that she could have made things much harder had I been rude. But there was no need for me to verbally assault her. I also think that pinpointing a director of marketing is the wrong way to go as well. He still goes home at the end of the night. Abusing him or berating him, or getting pedantic isn't going to stop the company from calling people is it? When they harass you with calls it's annoying and unfortunate. If you call and yell at somebody you're being a bully. One does not justify the other.

On the other hand, it would be nice if there was a national database of people who did not want phone solicitation. I believe there has in past been some movement within congress to get some legislation passed that would do this. Keep your eyes open and write to your congressperson the next time it comes up.

Better yet. Write to them now.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2002

well i also get calss from that stupid number 954-623-46-20 every sngle day 5 or 6 times a day and i really is getting me piseed off couse i have a 6 month baby and it always wakes her up and i still have to handle more stuff in the house before my husbund gets home and she wont go back to sleep. its like they are going to help me are they!

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2002

OK this is pretty pathetic.. i'm about to take action seriously you've all heard of the internet calling program. Well use it. call them back dont waste your money use the free program.. ya it's only 3 minutes or so.. but if you can get some 5000+ people to call it lol....i know how trunk lines work and such.. but maybe it will break their switching system and they will have to replace their COB cards every day(hopefully every hour).. yes i'm looking to cause some damage... whynot.. cause me damage everytime i get up to answer the damn phone.... i have to walk across the room to answer the phone which means i put wear and tear on my socks.. so i think it's a fair trade off.. neways... i'm sick of it...and they wouldnt like it if i went into their database and took my name and maybe accidently everyone else off their list and replaced it with 900#'s and international calls? now that would be funny... considering that they would probably loose in 1 hour of phone calls what they pay all their employees in a year... and it would probably be a few hours before someone caught on.. so that i think would hurt them... anyways... BACK OFF AZZHOLEZ!!!! YOU ARE STARTING TO WAKE UP A SLEEPING GIANT.. and besides it's been a while since i've gotten together with my old programming and networking friends... neways TATA... SLAG!

-- Anonymous, July 01, 2002

Click here to see if there is an agency within your state that deals with "do not call" violations. http://privacycorps.com/pages/state_donotcall.htm? source=Odonotcalllist

I live in georgia and we have this available for Georgia residents:

"The Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs is responsible for enforcing this law, not the Public Service Commission or your local telephone company. Telemarketers that call someone on the Georgia No Call List can be subject to a $2,000 fine per call. You can contact the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs to report a violation by calling 404-657-7544, or toll-free at 1-800-805-7544. Before calling the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs, please try to identify the telephone solicitor by obtaining either the name of the company or the phone number from which the call was made."

-- Anonymous, July 11, 2002

I just received the 954 call!

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2002

Recently AT&T had called me about switching my long distance service. I do not make long distance phone calls and I told them that I did not have a long distance service, nor did I need one. The lady on the other line then proceeded to coax me by saying something such as "Well do you know that your local service could be charging you long distance fees?" and she went on with more while I was saying. "I'm sorry I have already told you I am uninterested and I hung up."

Well now I am getting the 954-623-4620 as well as 954-721-1475 early in the morning, and hang ups after I answer on one ring.

I am not pleased with this because I get very little sleep as is since I have a 7 week old baby. I am considering writing the address that the 623 number provides when you call it. But I am not sure it is even worth the hassle. Has anyone tried this?

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2002

We too get calls from these people and they hang on us. It is really annoying. They operate under an assumed business name of Outsource Compliance Company, which is owned by Teleforce International, Inc., 3330 N. University Drive, Sunrise, FL 33351. They changed to this address on 06/19/2002. Their Federal Employee Identification number is:651127492. They filed their article os incorporation the State of Florida on 08/07/2001. You may want to write them and tell them to take your name off of all their calling lists and file a complaint with the State of Florida.

Interestingly enough, Outsource Compliance Company, when you call their number, tells you to send inquiries to a Miami, FL P.O. Box, however their official mailing address maintained with the State of Florida is 2800 E. Sunrise Blvd., Suite 16-D, FT. Lauderdale, FL 33304. This address was effective as of 04/22/2002.

Let me know if you find a way to stop them from calling.

I hope this is helpful.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2002

I am tired of the tele marketers to. I am recieving up to 20-25 calls a day and I want them to leave me alone. So please put my name on the list to keep them from calling my house.

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2002

954! I get calls constantly from the same 954 number that you guys talk about. I have put my number on my state's do not call list-- and still receive calls from this number! I've called it back without much luck - until today when I got the canned address info. I'm just curious why they bother to call if they are only going to hang up! Has anybody spoken to anybody on the other end?

I'm going to get to the bottom of this yet! :)

-- Anonymous, August 12, 2002

Okay...I am at my wits end with AT&T and their relentless telemarketing BS! About three months ago I switched my long distance carrier from AT&T to Verizon. From that day forward I have been getting repeated phone calls from AT&T asking me to switch back. For the first few I was very polite and said, "Sorry. Not interested." Three months (and many harrassing phone calls later) I am mad as hell and ready to fight back! I called Verizon first and asked if there was a service that would block the calls from AT&T. I was told that there was not and that my only recourse would be to get a service on my home number - for an additional $5/per month - that would put some type of recording on my line saying that the caller would have to give their name, telephone number, and where they were calling from or else their call would be rejected. The only other alternative would be to change my telephone number. I do not have caller ID so never know who's calling before I answer the phone.

I then called AT&T's customer service center at 800-222-0300 and got three of the rudest customer service people. (1) Steven who put me on hold for a manager and then 30 minutes later hung up on me, (2) Pat who put me on hold for a manager and then came back 15 minutes later saying no one was available. I told her that I was hold until one became available and she told me that she could not allow me to hold on her line because her calls were backing up. I told her "Tough! Now you know how I feel when you call and inconvenience me". She again said that she would have to release the line and take other calls and I told her that I wasn't hanging up until a manager got on the line with me. She continued to argue with me - which was fine with me because the more we argued the fewer other calls she was making. After a few minutes of listening to her rant and rave I put her on MUTE and went about my business. I guess she eventually hung up. (3) I then called back and got Paul. He, too, said there was no one who could help me and he hung up. Needless to say, I didn't make a 4th call.

I think we may be going about our recourse backwards. We are going after these fly-by-night telemarketing companies when we should be going after the big boys...the Chairman, President, and CEO's of these companies who okay telemarketer abuse. In reference to AT&T, here is what I know:

C. Michael Armstrong, Chairman & CEO AT&T Corporation 32 Avenue of The Americas New York, NY 10013-2412

John D. Zeglis, President (address unknown...yet!)

I would love to find telephone and fax numbers for these two individuals. Lets wear out their fax machines, deplete their paper supply, and jam their telephone lines with our complaints. I just dare them to threaten us with harrassment! Back atcha, bastards!! If anyone can find this information I would be eternally grateful. I currently still have AT&T cable, internet service, and cellphone service that I will be dumping as soon as I find replacements. Then I will never give those people any part of my business every again.

By the way, does anyone know if the TeleZapper works? I'm seriously considering the purchase.

Thanks!

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

I was rude to a marketer working for AT&T.....ever since I am getting bombarded from every telemarketer under the sun, stars and moon.

Even credit card companies whom I already have an account with !!!!

I was evidently put on some bullshit list.

Well I'm moving anyway next month,and intend to get an unpublished number.

that will be that.

-- Anonymous, August 14, 2002

I've been getting called incessantly by telemarketers from 954 433 9404 I called the number back and got the Outsource Compliance Company message you were discussing. Then they called back 20 minutes later. It turns out to be AT&T. I tried to get as much information as possible. She kept claiming to be an employee of AT&T when I probed further she hung up on me.

Very annoying.

-- Anonymous, August 14, 2002

We've received five hangup calls from the Outsource Compliance Company in the last two days. Thanks to all of you who found information about them! I'll be writing to them, the BBB, and the Florida Attorney General shortly. If anyone finds anything else out, please post it here!

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2002

I, too am getting an enormous amounts of calls from that number--> 954-623-4620!!!! at first they were just silent and then i hung up but then a spanish speaking person asked for me (only by my first name, coincidence?) and when i told her i didnt speak english she said some one would call back who did speak english. before i could say anything, SHE HUNG UP!!!! i am going crazy with these phone calls!! if you find a solution please let me know.

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2002

I just got a call two days in a row from the 954-443-9404! Luckily, I wasn't at home at the time to answer these calls but I'm glad I decided to call the number, get the information and search the web. Now I know what kind of corporate monsters we're up against.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2002

I think I am the latest victim of this Outsource Compliance Co. What do they want from us? I have seen my caller ID and it has several phone calls from 954-443-9404. I called back and got that stupid message about sending them your concerns.

Once a telemarketing company gets a hold of your phone number, they will sell a list to many of their clients.

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2002

To all whom may be interested: Here is some info I pulled for those of us from Calif, who receive these relentless telemarketing calls!. We get them here at our small business offices at least 4-5 times a week. It always seems to be from the FLorida based 954 693-9993. I figure the more we notify our government agencies, the more ammo they will have to pursue these "backdoor unprofessionals".

http://energybrain.ca.gov/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/ I receive a lot of telemarketing calls. How can I stop them?

When you receive a telemarketing call, ask the caller to remove your name from their "call list". By law, they must remove your name and not contact you again. Also, the California Department of Corporations can mail you a "Remove your name from Lists" form that will remove your name from thousands of telemarketing and junk mail lists, and it lasts for 5 years.

* Please keep in mind that this will not stop all telemarketers from contacting you. You must be diligent in asking them to remove your name. * For additional information please call the Department of Corporations Client Resource Center, toll free at 866 ASK CORP (275) 2677. The Client Services Representative will be happy to assist you. * The Federal Trade Commission also has an informative web site on the federal laws that apply to telemarketers. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/straight.htm

Good Luck !

-- Anonymous, September 16, 2002

I got calls from 954-623-1630 and 954-623-4620. I only got once from 954-623-4620 but several times from 954-623-1630 this number isn't machine. Someguy with wierd accent(Indian or Spanish) says he's from AT&T and asked me to change to AT&T. The first time, I said "no, please don't call back ok?"

He said "I'll call back" and hung up. I was like what the?!

And the next day,the second time he called me i recognize his accent and hung up. About few seconds later he called back and I said "Hello? Who's this" he said "Why did you hang up on me? Do you speakn english?" I: yea I speak english. Who are you and why do you talk to me like that he: Why did yu hang up on me? I: Why not? and Who are you? he: Let me talk to your parents (he recognized I'm a teenager) I: who are you and what do you want? he: Let me talk to your parents I: who are you? he: Let me talk to your parents I: who are you? he: Let me talk to your parents (about 4 times) I: I gotta know who you are.. then I let you talk to them he: Let me talk to your parents I: THEY ARE NOT HOME!! (i yelled) he: ok then he hung up... I was so pissed because someguy I don't even know calls me and like 5 times aday!. My parents are usually not at home. And They don't speak english very well..

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2002

This number showed up on my phone bill (954-623-4620). It states that it is from Pompano Beach, FL. I called and got a message stating "Out Source Compliance Company, Miami, FL".

-- Anonymous, October 05, 2002

I keep getting calls & hangups from 954-443-9404. Im thinking about visiting the "Outsource Compliance" Company personaly since they are located only a few minutes from me.

Anybody got a real telephone for the company to call them other than the 443-9404?

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2002

(954) 443-9404. (954) 443-9404 (954) 443-9404 (954) 443-9404 I did a GOOGLE search to find this page. IF I COULD REACH THE ASSHOLE FROM OUTSOURCE COMPLIANCE WHATEVER!! I W O U L D PERSONALLY BREAK THEIR FUCKING NECKS!!! I AM NOT JOKING! COME HERE TO MICHIGAN & BRING THE BIGGEST BADDEST MUTHA FUCKER TO MY DOOR & SOLICIT ME AT MY DOOR YOU FUCKING CHICKEN SHIT BASTARD! ANOTHER THING----> WATCH HIM FALL!! I normally do not talk like this but i am so sick of THIS CALL I could KILL I see how murderers are created. Thats how pissed i am! I have never sworn on the net in the 8 years i been on till i read some of these posts & i agree with you's. this is MY HOME! MY PHONE! LEAVE IT THE FUCK ALONE! I had called "0" to report & they put me through to a "annoyance call" line. What a joke that was, they told me to call the police to get a trace & proof that i was being harrassed before anything could be done!??? (21 days?) this call is comming at the rate of MIN of 3 a day & when answered i get the CLICK every fucking time! & the bastards are chicken shit to ANSWER their own phone when you call the ## back! I have privacy manager since before most of you ever heard of it & it has worked very well! i have been "100% satisfied" with it But still a VERY few solicitations get through... but this ONE is well to say the least its driving me insane! I really do feel i could kill the person responsible for these calls. By rereading this i cant believe this is me saying these things but?? i'd have to say i mean every bit of it. To the person that says they live not far from the place calling? need bulletts??? If i lived there i G-U-A-R-E-N-T-E-E they would no longer be bothering me! I sound like a sycho, i am not. maybe going insane from these calls I CANNOT CONTROL!!! Thats the bad part, no control. Someone PLZ find a way to kill this company & all like it?

(954) 443-9404. (954) 443-9404 (954) 443-9404 (954) 443-9404 <---D I E The least they could do is leave a ## to be reached at. Suggestions APRECIATED!!! (i know some of you will reply with i need anger management but this probably isnt happening to you???) I also apologise for the worst language possible but sometimes this is what it takes to get the point heard? Thank you, not-enough-balls-to-leave-my-real-name-for-more- solicitations!@email.com

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2002

I am happy to have found this website after numerous phone calls from 954-623-4620. I took action and filed a complaint based on the information provided above. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INPUT! I, too, think the world would be better off if telemarketing was made illegal. Sometimes freedome is a bad thing.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2002