Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Aug 01 - 11:31 AM

Here's an informative page called Stop Junk Mail and Phone Calls put up by Delaware County, PA.

Here's another page called Do-it-yourself: Stop junk mail, email and phone calls.

Here's a page put up by the FCC: Tips for Consumers with Disabilities on Stopping Unsolicited Telemarketing. (I don't see what disabilities have to do with it.)

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: Rowana (at work)
Date: 08 Aug 01 - 10:54 AM

Regarding unidentified calls on your caller id (and I'm quoting a telephone employee here):

"The auto-dialer has nothing to do with it. The reason that your outgoing solicitation calls are displayed as "Unavailable" or "Out Of Area" is due to their intentional use of the outdated "MF-trunking" (multi-frequency or "in-band signalling") technology, which is NOT compatible with the current telecom industry standard, Signalling System 7 (SS7). SS7 is what allows the "CLASS" features (Caller*ID,Repeat Call, Return Call, Call Block, etc.) to work. Even though SS7 was introduced in the late 1980's and is fairly ubiquitous by now, the telemarketing industry purposely sends all their calls (local & LD) over these antiquated toll circuits to avoid detection/blocking by customers with Caller*ID or related blocking technologies. The bill in Congress attempts to outlaw this sorry practice. The ONLY legimate use of remaining MF-trunking in this day and age is at the thousands of smaller CO's in rural areas served by independent telcos who haven't done network or switch upgrades yet. Even the wireless companies have had modern SS7 networks for a few years!"

However, Call Blocking and Anonymous Call Rejection may help. Call your local businss office to find out what is available in your state.

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: LR Mole
Date: 08 Aug 01 - 09:53 AM

There is a post for this thread on the way. Please stay right there: your reading of this post is very important to us. If you are in mid-sandwich, please put it down and allow it to become stale and repugnant. If you are engaged in another important part of your life, please stop it. If you are making music, or were before the phone rang, listen to this mindless eardrool instead of what you, yourself are capable of: we think it is Kenny G. plays Barry Manilow's hits but it might be the other way around. Please wait for the post. If it comes. Or send us money.

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Aug 01 - 09:23 AM

I don't use call blocking or caller ID. I don't answer the phone when I don't want to be disturbed, ie dinner hour or when I'm working (I work at home). It is simple to turn off the ringer.

Someone above mentioned the "dead air delay" as I call it. You often get that with the phone banks. Everyone in my house now knows to hang up when they hear the sound, as it is a phone solicitor.

My children have been taught, when answering a phone solicitation, to politely ask "is this a phone solicitiation?" and then say "we don't accept phone solicitations" and immediately hang up. Simple to do. I never cease to be amazed at the fact that people don't understand that they are using your politeness against you. GET OVER IT PEOPLE! JUST HANG UP THE PHONE ON THEM!

You can, of course, spend money on the technology the phone companies want you to spend money on, which never deals entirely with the problems THEY created with these monsters. But as someone else also said, there is no foolproof way of stopping their calls from coming through, without blocking other calls you want to get.

The one saving grace of the whole phone solicitation thing is that they don't clog up my voice mailbox with messages.If they don't reach a person with a pulse, they keep dialing.

You can also put ID blocking on your line (when you call others, your number is blocked). I think I've had to do the *82 thing once or twice in the past year. Oftimes, if I can't get my call through to the business (it is always a business that requires this in my experience), I just decide to take my business elsewhere.

I'm not going to do anything to help them harrass and/or intimidate me to get me to buy their product/service!

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: campfire
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 11:36 PM

Wisconsin ain't Kansas, John, but here, Ma Bell (well, Ameritech) lets me have Caller ID on just one of my lines. It might be because I had the Caller ID before I got the second line though. And the second line is unlisted, which they didn't even charge the extra fee for "because it's a computer line" (the salesman said).

I don't have the call blocking feature, but I just don't pick up "anonymous" or "unnidentified" calls, unless I'm in the mood. The answering machine screens them, and if its someone I want to talk to, I can still pick up. The problem with call blocking is that most cell phones come in as unidentified, and many people use them instead of a payphone if they're out and about.

campfire

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 07:32 PM

We had numerous calls some time ago where the phone would ring, but there would be no one there if you picked up.
We learned much later that this is due to a practice by telephone "sales people" with automatic dialing equipement that dials several numbers at once - to assure that their people will always have someone to talk to.
Although it is considered "harassment" if you or I make anonymous phone calls, and may be prosecuted, these "people" have a large lobbying effort, and my regional legislators have decided that it's okay for them to do it "because it would cut into their profits if they couldn't."
I note that caller ID will do nothing to really help, since "these people" always block the ID. My phone company has pointed out that I can get "call blocking" that will not ring if the ID is blocked (for about $4 per month), but it took me about 20 minutes with the phone co rep to confirm that "call blocking" will not work unless you already have, or also add, "caller ID" for another $6 per month. Since I have two phone lines, I am told that I can't get either unless I get them for both lines.

John

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: GUEST,emily b
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 06:31 PM

I got a phone call once from Southwestern Bell Telephone, our local phone company. They were trying to sell me caller id. I'm one of those people who kind of enjoy not knowing who is on the other end. I like the surprise. I'm also getting good at hanging up on soliciters. I explained all this to the salesman. He wouldn't take no for an answer. When I told him that had I had caller id I wouldn't have answered his call, he hung up.

The best scenario I've heard of to deal with telephone solicitors came from a Hermann cartoon. He's on the phone and saying to the salesman, "This is far too important to discuss on the phone. I'll be right down." Click. I've not had the guts to do this yet but maybe someday...

I think Call Blocking only blocks "anonymous" callers not some of the other unknown categories. It's hard to protect against large phone banks just dialing through all possible numbers.

Good luck.

Emily

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 06:13 PM

thanks GaryT... I was just about to suggest caller ID and screening...

Couldn't live without it!

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: Gary T
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 05:27 PM

You can probably stop 99% of those calls by obliterating every business that engages in telephone solicitation.

At my shop, nearly all of the "Unavailable" or "Unkown" calls are sales calls that I don't care to waste my time with. I don't answer them. A few of them, however, are customers calling from their workplaces. Once they start speaking to my answering machine, I pick up the phone and talk to them. Having Caller ID and using it this way saves me a lot of time and frustration.

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: bobbi
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 04:54 PM

Actually.. I was just told that there is a feature called "CALL BLOCKING". I don't know if Verizon offers it, but for $3.95 a month, you can have calls blocked that do not list a number. The calling party then has too dial in a two digit code (like *82) to unblock their number before they call you.

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 04:51 PM

Actually, I've got a real good idea.

Why not try calling the phone company, explaining the problem and asking for their advice! Get angry and refuse to pay if you get no satisfactory answers. Then try again

Wow, took a real 'eureka' moment to come up with that one!

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: bobbi
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 04:49 PM

Disconnect your phone!

Subject: RE: Help: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 04:47 PM

Try using Verison. Helps you live life the way you want.

Subject: Unavailable or Unknown phone Numbers
From: tremodt
Date: 07 Aug 01 - 04:43 PM

i keep getting all those annoying phone calls from who knows who unknown number, we have verizon. does any body know of a better phone company or how to stop those annoying calls

thanks

ron