"They are breaking the law just by phoning. Of course a criminal is going to stop offending if you just ask nicely."

I reported only from experience, not from a theory about what criminals or anyone else would be likely to do. But now that you mention it, yes, that's exactly how the business world operates. It routinely breaks inconvenient laws -- paying bribes, cheating on taxes, circumventing environmental legislation, etc -- but tries to maintain a polite relationship with customers and the press.