HELP PLEASE !! Do Not Call Registry and Beyond

what a royal p. i. t. a. those calls are. What's coming in the next 3.5 months is precisely why I posted this. We only keep a landline for added security in the face of an emergency, otherwise, I'd just drop the thing. It's to the point now, when the landline rings, 90% of the time its someone we dont know. The political ads are theeeee worst, by far.

I thought political calls were exempt from the Do Not Call Registry?

They are.

BTW - I generally get calls from both political parties.

Husband and I are both independents, but we did vote in the primary. (We each voted on a different party's ballot - perhaps that could explain why we get calls from both?)

the question is....how do I get those pre recorded messages to stop? No one to tell "remove me from your list".

the question is....how do I get those pre recorded messages to stop? No one to tell "remove me from your list".

Bulldog, if I knew rest assured I'd tell you - right along with everyone else. Those robo calls get on my very last nerve.

The call that angers me the most are the calls from Bubble Head! at Card Services (or Account Services, or whatever). Follow the tree and you'll get connected to an 'operator' who will hang up on you the instant you start to mention a do not call list. I've complained to the FCC to no avail.

Sadly, you can not stop the political robo-calls. The bastard politicians made sure to exempt themselves from the law - just as they do with much of the legislation they create.

I've complained to the FCC to no avail.

The Do Not Call Registry is under the umbrella of the Federal Trade Commission--different agency!

Complaining to the FCC may have some value (as it is an enforcement partner), but you'd probably have better results going to the home agency.

Do Not Call Registry FAQ's

The National Do Not Call Registry is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency. It is enforced by the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and state law enforcement officials.

And everyone is correct: political calls are exempt.

Just hang up and don't sweat it, quit letting them get more of you than they deserve. Bang the receiver down if it makes you feel better. :)

Yes, politicians excepted themselves and their political parties from the Do Not Call registry and prohibitions. Imagine that!

But there are a couple of options: some people have the ability to block certain numbers or certain prefixes. If you don't have that ability currently, you can call your phone carrier and ask about it.

With a local politician, you can call their office and/or campaign (many have separate numbers) and insist your number be removed from future calls. The list is stored by politician name/district and it is possible to have your number taken off the list. However, that usually means you have to find a staff person who can follow through with the vendor being used to make the calls and actually get your number off the list. Threatening loss of your vote if calls don't end is also a tool to use, though most politicians really don't want to keep bothering you if you don't want their calls.

(Side Note: Be sure to give them your number. The last campaign I worked on I had some obnoxious man call to say he didn't want any more calls, though he'd only gotten one, and before I could ask for his number so I could remove it from the call list, he hung up. Well, he got another of the robo-calls and called back and was even more threatening. Since I recognized his extremely distinctive voice, I interrupted him and told him (patiently, though it took a lot) that the reason he got called again was because he'd hung up without giving me his number and that if he'd just give me his phone number, I'd take him off the list. He was quite contrite after that. But we also had one person who wouldn't give me her number because she figured we had it to call her so we should know what it was.)

The last option is to just not take the call, or answer and promptly hang up. This means you have to have caller ID. My husband is a firm believer that caller ID for this silly season is invaluable and worth the small cost for several months.

Good luck!

We screen calls during the election season: let the answering machine take the call while we listen to see if we want to pick up or not. That really cuts down on the aggravation, and it's also kind of surprising to discover that so many of the recorded calls recognize answering machine signals -- so they disconnect before even delivering the speech.

I just don't answer the phone. If I don't know your number on my home or cell it goes straight to voice mail, or I just press answer then end.

This.

I don't pick up any calls from numbers I don't recognize.

Technically I receive political and other nuisance calls, but I don't listen to them.

Knowing that the political calls will end in a couple of months makes that situation bearable.

The chick from cardholder services needs to die. A long, slow, painful death. I cannot get that place to stop calling me. Hate. Hate. Hate.

I got one last night that I had a good time with. Some left wing group of busybodies in Wisconsin wanted to know who I was going to vote for. I told them I was a Democrat, that I voted for the Ayatollah Obama but since he'd done such a lousy job I switched to Mitt and the straight GOP ticket. Let them chew on that spike for a while.

I treat calls from unrecognized phone numbers the same way I treat a knock at my door from someone I don't know - both go unanswered.