About three weeks ago, I received a post card in the mail telling me I had been selected to participate in a consumer survey and someone would be calling me in the next week. The card assured me it was not a solicitation and no one would try to sell me anything; they were simply interested in my daily activities and decisions. I have participated in written mail-in surveys before regarding household products, and I have answered political phone surveys, but I decided I wasn’t interested in having some stranger get me on the phone and ask me dozens of questions about what I do every day.
Sure enough, the call came the following week. I said I didn’t want to participate and promptly hung up. The next night, I got another call from the same company. I again said I didn’t want to participate, and the questioner tried to be persuasive. I hung up. A few days later, I noticed on my caller ID that the company was continuing to call, nearly every day. So I answered the phone the next time they called and firmly (rudely) told the lady I had been called three times and did not want to participate and PLEASE not to call me again. She started telling me I would have to take several steps to be removed from the list. I said, “No, don’t call me again!” and hung up.
Guess what? Yep, they continue to call. So last night, I answered the phone, and politely told the woman that since I had tried to decline taking the survey but they continued to call, I was going to participate but they better not count on any of my answers. (I had plans to tell them I earned 14 trillion dollars a year if that was one of their questions.) She said if I was uncomfortable answering any of the questions, to just state that. So that’s just what I did… to every question.
SURVEY: Did you look at a news sites on the internet last week? ME: I’m not comfortable answering that.
SURVEY: Did you watch any TV shows last week? ME: I’m not comfortable answering that.
SURVEY: Did you shop in any grocery stores last week? ME: I’m not comfortable answering that.
SURVEY: Did you read any magazines last week? ME: I’m not comfortable answering that.
and on and on…
I have to admit she was a pretty great sport, and was even giggling a bit the end of the survey. She assured me that I would not be called again. We shall see.
I hate the helpless feeling you get when people call you over and over like that. I like your final solution. You shouldn’t have had to put so much effort into it, but it sound like you had a little fun with it, anyway.
I think I have a feature with my phone (I’ve never used it) where I can block calls from a particular number. But it has to display Caller ID, and be land line, some restrictions like that.
Our solution was to get rid of our home phone. Not sure if that would help you but it seems to have helped us.
I may be wrong, but it seems to me that getting rid of the home phone just postpones the problem. As your cell phone becomes your main phone, everyone gets that number and it becomes the number the scammers call.
Worst, they can call you wherever you are and not just at home.
Am I missing something?
I don’t give out the cell number to anyone except people I want calling me. For those places when someone wants your number for no good reason I just use my old land line number.
So you give them the number that has probably been re-issued to someone else by now? I guess I could give them the number of someone I don’t like…
I doubt that it’s been re-issued yet. I don’t think they turn them that fast.