I ’m not sure about anyone else, but I am being plagued by telemarketer calls even though I am on the federal Do Not Call list that is run by the Federal Trade Commission and the New Jersey Do Not Call list which is run by the Department of Consumer Affairs. As far as I am concerned, both Do Not Call lists are useless to stop these unwanted calls. I get three to five calls every day with the caller ID saying such things as “800 Service,” “Out of Area,” “Name Unavailable,” “cell phone from various states,” or listing a bunch of numbers that mean nothing, or a bunch of dashes. In all cases, you have no idea who the caller is unless you answer the phone, which I refuse to do if I don’t know the caller. All these callers just hang up when they get voicemail or an answering machine. These calls interrupt whatever you are doing and usually call around dinner time or during prime TV hour. I have Googled the numbers and come up with things like carpet cleaners, credit card interest lowering, and other things. The caller ID can say anything, even if it’s not accurate information. Evidently, lots of other people get these annoying calls too.
For the past week I have been barraged by various numbers in the 732 area code (“name unavailable” showing up as the caller). There have been several different numbers in that series, but evidently they are “spoofed” numbers, because when you call one, you get a recording that the number is not in service. One day last week, I got tired of getting these calls so I actually answered the phone. It was a recording about lowering my electric bill. I don’t even have the company in question as my supplier. The recording went on to say that if you want to lower your electric rate, press “5” for a live operator, so I did. After a few minutes, a lady came on the phone and asked, “What is your account number?” So I told her I wanted to be removed from their calling list and asked what company they were calling from. Again, the lady wanted my account number. This song-and-dance routine went for another minute or two and then finally she said she worked for discount services, and then again asked for my account number. Again I asked where they were located. The lady then tells me that it was none of my business and evidently I wasn’t interested in saving money, and then hung up on me. I was livid.
Every call I get from these nuisance callers I enter onto the federal Do Not Call website. You never know what happens after that or if it does any good but I still do it. I tried calling the Federal Trade Commission but all you get is a recording telling you to enter the numbers on their website. No way can you find a live person to speak to, so I called the N.J. Department of Consumer Affairs, which has their own Do Not Call list laws. The person told me to print out their form, fill it out with all the nuisance callers, and mail it to them, which I did. There were several. Of course I still am getting calls daily from that place where the lady hung up on me, so I again called Consumer Affairs. The person told me they can’t do anything about the calls.
So I ask you, what good is the Do Not Call list other than to waste your time entering numbers? When advised to block nuisance phone numbers, you are limited by your phone service supplier as to how many numbers you can block. Of course, with spoofing and a caller having several numbers from which they can call, there is virtually no way to stop the calls. If someone takes the time to be on the Do Not Call list, they should not keep getting all these annoyance calls. I realize that several calls could be from charities or political groups, which are supposedly allowed to call by the law, but nobody ever leaves a message. They just call endlessly and anonymously until they hopefully get someone that will answer the phone. They are hoping for some weak-minded person to answer, hoping to talk you into some scheme they have cooked up. The government should have better laws for nuisance calls, ban spoofing, and have all these calls clearly and accurately identified on the caller ID so you know who they are. And maybe, just maybe, there should be a citizens’ panel in place to be able to give suggestions to make the law more effective.
Larry Feldman
Edison