Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection

Thank for doing this Pat. I'm peppered with calls like this daily at it irritates me to no end. I imagine others feel the same as we do and I'm glad you've got skillz from a former life to do something about it !

I usually just put them on eternal hold or speak spanish. I like to trrment the tele-marketer as much as possible.

You can't put your number on the list and forget about it. You have to renew it.

Hi Patricia,

You are so right.  My favorite is to ask them for their home number or mobile number and then give them hell when they say they don't give that out. 

I try not to take unknown calls. I let me 4 year old take one last night.  He was so cute talking to them..."My daddy is busy. He is playing a game."  PAUSE "My daddy is playing and Scooby Doo Game!..."Have a Fun Night."...I handled it really well.  I will let him practice his phone skills on those from now on.

Patricia, when you publish your Blackberry telephone number on your blog, website, office, etc., you automatically exempt the number from the Do Not Call Registry. By publishing your number as a business entity, your telephone number becomes exempt. It will now fall under the category of Business-to-Business calls which are exempt from the Do Not Call Registry. Business-to-Business calls are not in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule. One of the down falls of being a real estate agent.

Good Post!

Lol Patricia.  That's what I get for calling you, eh?  Personally, I have fun with Telemarketers....I know they are just doing their job, I just try to make their day go faster:-)  The Do Not Call Registry is something I've been quite familiar with for years and am pretty familiar with.  Michael makes some good points above...

Pat~ 

Is it Pat or Patricia?...exactly..??  I can hardly wait to find out the exact way to handle the do not calls...I'm checking in... I read the comments above...hadn't thought about the automatic exemption that comes when publishing a number on the BLOG ...

Pat,

I too hate telemarketing calls.  However, it amazes me how salespeople are more adamant about telemarketers than non-salespeople.  Something like how ex-smokers are the most adamant about non-smoking.  Heck, they are just trying to make a living too.

Pat--It is nice to see someone turning the tables on the telemarketers. I had a mortgage broker tell me he didn't need to check the list as he wasn't selling anything....Hmmm. I doubt that the Feds would agree. We can't just blindly phone anyone these days. Why should they be able to call us...Good for you!

Hi Pat, I like to cuss them out in Cajun French. They don't have a clue what I say and hang up eventually.

Pat - I will be looking for that post with the details!!! I usually just hang up on them, but your way sounds like so much more fun!!! Then they will stop bothering me and many others as well!!!

I had a huge argument with one after I told him to remove me from his list as my number is on the do not call list.  I said if you are looking to buy or sell a home with me than I can help but otherwise he is soliciting and it's not acceptable

Pat, I thank you for this blog, I tend to get a little frustrated myself. Too many "opportunitied" out there! Looking forward to your follow-up!

you go girl.... maybe if we all put a stop to these companies our cell phone bills would be lower :)

Michael's explanation above is how I have understood it as well - there is a page on the donotccall site that explains who can be on the list and it says businesses can not.  So if the calls are on a line you use for business, I am not sure there is much you can do.  But if I am wrong, do tell what you do to make it stop.

I don't half way mind the website telemarketers as I loathe the referral/lead generation telemarketers (remember Jennifer?).  I still say, "My business is doing great. Thanks.  Bye."  One minutes max.

UPDATE!

Michael, Wow!  I had no idea that we were a little exception to the rule!  I just may have to file a petition for rulemakeing so they'll have to stop harassing us!

Still, I'll call tomorrow and try to get information on how to file a formal complaint.   Ill also try to get instructions for ways to change the rules.  One of my clients is a retired legal eagle who does this kind of stuff as a hobby!

My office screens my calls to avoid this but a lot of them find me by cell phone.

Pat - I actually have 2 "regular" sales guys who call me.  I have them saved in my phone as "SALES DO NOT ANSWER".  You'd THINK they'd get the hint after I said no a couple times and hung up!

Please let us know have to complain - I am there with you!

Oh I start feelin' the smoke coming out of my ears when I think of how many calls I get on my blackberry soliciting me for business or products........i HAVE started not picking up the 'unknown' numbers figuring that if its something important they will leave me a voice mail!  geesh..:-)

I get them too, on my blackberry, if Michael is correct then are we stuck. If not, please repost and let us know if we have any recourse. Thanks !

I researched the Telemarketing Sales Rule again and it quoted as follows:

Business-to-Business Calls, Unless They Involve the Sale of Nondurable Office or Cleaning Supplies Most phone calls between a telemarketer and a business are exempt from the Rule. But business-to-business calls to induce the retail sale of nondurable office or cleaning supplies are covered. Examples of nondurable office or cleaning supplies include paper, pencils, solvents, copying machine toner, and ink—in short, anything that, when used, is depleted, and must be replaced. Such goods as software, computer disks, copiers, computers, mops, and buckets are considered durable because they can be used again.

Unless a telemarketer is trying to sell you Nonudrable Office or Cleaning Supplies the exemption applies. Hope this help. - Michael Setunsky