Telemarketing Firms

Did you know...?

* Most telemarketing firms use a tactic called "predictive dialing" so as not to waste the telemarketers' *valuable* time while waiting for you to pick up? Their computer auto-dials your number, assuming it'll take you an average 2-3 rings to pick up, and switches you over to the next available telemarketer when you do. Instant hangups and the delayed response typical of a telemarketing call result from this predictive dialing.
* A common practice of telemarketers is to call the elderly repeatedly and establish a relationship with them. The telemarketer will become a "friend" to a lonely old person, using this "friendship" as leverage in high-pressure sales.
* America has enough telemarketing power to make 560 calls per second.
* It is illegal for a telemarketing firm to solicit to you using any kind of artificial voice or pre-recorded message, under many circumstances.
* It is illegal for a telemarketer to call a consumer before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
* Telemarketers must identify themselves (name and company) upon request.
* In Germany, traditional telemarketing is illegal--businesses cannot call out to customers without prior consent.
* Thanks to ANI (Automatic Number Identification), telemarketing agencies can detect your return phone number AND home address if you call them.
* Telemarketers and junk mailers (more precisely, the companies that provide them with your information) routinely check and correct their databases using the information printed on personal cheques. Some telemarketing infomediaries go so far as to harvest phone numbers from these cheques.


Bite telemarketing calls in the ass!

You'll save yourself a lot of time and annoyance by committing to memory this short phrase--or better yet, write it down and put a copy next to your phone: