Stop Calling!!

[Stacykins]

Does anyone else have this problem with their landline? I've just about HAD it and am considering paying to get the number changed.

Calls, all the time, day and night. But either there is nobody on the other end, or there is that long 'pause' before a telemarketer or automated message plays. ARG! I've taken to not picking up the phone and letting the answering machine pickup. What happens? 9/10 calls, the message goes like this: "*few seconds pause* *click* *another pause* If you'd like to make a call, please hang up, and dial your operator...". That last part is I guess that happens when someone hangs up after the answering machine picks up.

There are sometimes a half dozen, maybe more, of these blank messages by the end of the day. The number IS on the do not call list (recently renewed about three months ago). I never give out the number except to potential employers and family. If I post something for sale on craigslist, for instance, I use my cell phone number or just my email, not the landline.

It is driving me bonkers! And of course, when someone calls who actually intended to call, now I have to call them back. This is annoying, because I wish I'd have picked up the phone when they first contacted me. But I don't know until the answering machine picks up, and I hear that blasted message from a hangup.

 

[sourland]

I too have this problem. We have caller ID and a system that announces the caller's identity. I just screen my calls, but agree that it is an aggravation. We too have invoked the 'no call' list with somewhat limited success. Even more aggravating, I have been getting telemarketing calls on my cellphone.

Now, that really ticks me off!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Thats life here... Lately we keep getting calls from the "federal prison", I dont know anyone there so I hang up... My jewel thief niece is in the state pen...

 

[herfrds]

When the telemarketers call get their name, company name, etc and then inform them you are on the Do Not Call List and you want to be removed from their calling list and you are now filing a harassment case against them. That worked for me. They leave me alone.
If they hang up when you ask them to not call, call the number on the caller ID it will normally be automative and you can get your number removed that way.
Just recently started calling my cell phone and got that number on the Do Not Call too.

 

[conny63malies]

For this exact reason i dont have a land line anymore. Annoying callers on my cell get a silent ring.

 

[Stacykins]

Well it seems today has reached a new low.

Some callers actually left messages. All of them said they'd received calls from the landline number and were calling back. I've been home all day and have not made a call out once, so unless a ghost is making calls on the landline, something is wrong here. Of course, these calls were all mixed in with the usual 'blank' messages on the answering machine. Six of the messages today were blank ones, and five where people said they were calling back. All the callbacks sounded different, such as a man with a Southern accent, and a man with an Indian accent.

It is beyond aggravating right now. I am going to give it a few days, and if this increased activity continues, dump that landline number. Heck, maybe the landline altogether.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Is it possible one of your neighbors is piggy backing on your line? When we had a landline, we ran into this issue. I was talking to a friend of mine on that line one day when all of a sudden I heard someone pick up a phone and start dialing. Turns out, my neighbor hadn't paid her phone bill, so she swapped our cables so she could make some calls (on our dime). We dropped that line shortly after. I've just started getting telemarketing calls on my cell, SO aggravating! I got one last month before Christmas, and was very annoyed. So, I gave the phone to my 6 year old daughter and told her Santa was on the other end and he wanted to know what she wanted as presents (muahahaha).
Nikki

 

[tammyfarms]

I don't know if this is an option for you but my DH and I just dumped our home phone in October. I was not sure how I would feel about not having a home phone and just having a cell phone but we both love it. We also dumped our internet service and use our cell phones as hotspots which works great for us (might not for everyone). It is saving us money each month which is great. The best part is that we did it right in the middle of political calling season. All of the calls stopped immediately. (knock on wood) We have not been found by telemarketers yet. As I said, not sure if any of this is an option. Good luck!

 

[chickaddict]

I have a HUGE problem with those "blank" phone calls on my land line. After one really bad phone day I took the phone number down and had the phone company investigate. I was informed the the call was coming from a number that was no longer in service. Just for Ha Ha's I tried returning the calls on three of the other blank phone calls and got the same thing. A recording claiming that the number I was trying to reach was no longer in service.

Seems to me that somebody in the phone company, when shutting off the number, probably is failing to disconnect it from whatever from whatever computer call list it was previously attached to. The computer is calling the same list of numbers over and and over again.

lucky me not all of my extensiions have caller id

 

[chickaddict]

Is it possible one of your neighbors is piggy backing on your line? When we had a landline, we ran into this issue. I was talking to a friend of mine on that line one day when all of a sudden I heard someone pick up a phone and start dialing. Turns out, my neighbor hadn't paid her phone bill, so she swapped our cables so she could make some calls (on our dime). We dropped that line shortly after. I've just started getting telemarketing calls on my cell, SO aggravating! I got one last month before Christmas, and was very annoyed. So, I gave the phone to my 6 year old daughter and told her Santa was on the other end and he wanted to know what she wanted as presents (muahahaha).
Nikki

AWESOME IDEA