Land lines

[moneymaker]

If I got as many telemarketers calling my cell phone as I get calling my land line I would be pretty pissed off. As of the first of the year seems like I’ve gotten a lot of telemarketers calling even though I’m on the “do not call list”, I checked and it never expires. Doesn’t bother me too much but drives the wife crazy. If it happened on my cell phone I think I would have to get a smart watch, either before or after some kind of retaliation. Is everybody out there with a landline getting these calls? Is the do not call law another toothless law?

[Hatfield]

Yeah, we still have a landline but I pretty much use it exclusively for outgoing calls. Only my dad and a few other people call the land line. I get a lot of telemarketing calls but i never pick up unless I recognize the caller ID, and nobody ever leaves a message.

I’m on the do not call list, but that law is pretty much unenforceable.

For my business I use a Google voice number that rings through to my cell phone, and I do get occasional telemarketing calls to that line. I can see that they’re dialing the business number, not the cell number.

[no_such_reality]

yep. Phone rings all day long. bs sales calls. Political organizations (exempt). Charities (exempt). Bs charities. Scams from overseas. And all sorts of ba for ‘companies working with “county programs)

You can tell the solar places you’ve already got solar and they still call back week after week.

[spdrun]

Three words for you all — special information tones. You know the doo-dah-dee sequence before “the number you have reached, EIGHT-SIX-SEVEN-FIVE-THREE-OH-NINE has been disconnected?”

Record this on your voicemail, faintly. Many telemarketers’ robosoftware will think it’s a non-working number and flag the shit out of it. Actual humans will hear your voice over the tone set and still leave a message.

[audio src="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IC_SIT.ogg" /]

[moneymaker]

Thank you spdrun I’ve got it on my answering machine now. Will find out how it works over the next 2 days. Does it matter how many times the phone rings first?

[spdrun]

I think the idea is that they at least won’t leave automated messages. 4 rings is fine.

[cvmom]

Will be very interested to hear if this works, can’t wait to try it out if so.

[La Jolla Renter]

I was getting telemarketing calls in the middle of the night on my cell phone, which piss me off 100x more than during the day. Then I finally learned how to turn on do not disturb on my iphone between 10pm and 6am.

The beauty is it lets callers through on a second attempt. So in the case of an emergency, someone trying to reach you will obviously try you back when they get your VM. What a great feature.

Has anyone else noticed a distinct reduction in text spam ads. Seems they really dropped off for me 6 or so months ago.

[carli]

Best solution to this problem is a new free service called Nomorobo. We have lousy cell service near our home so we’ve held on to our land line and were getting TONS of telemarketing calls daily. I read about Nomorobo in Consumer Reports magazine, where it was highly recommended and set it up a couple months ago. Works like a charm! Love it. Check it out: https://www.nomorobo.com/signup

EDIT: Nomorobo somehow knows to let some robocallers, such as my kids’ schools, through. Details in video here: https://www.nomorobo.com/

[poorgradstudent]

My only land line is on my desk at my work.

[FlyerInHi]

Such a waste of money to have a land line. A penny saved is a penny earned.

Tmobile and ATT wireless have wifi calling when cell coverage is bad.

[spdrun]

It still sounds like crap compared to a good landline phone. Ideally a 2500-set, designed to last for decades and not sound like you’re talking underwater while drunk.

Personally, given the choice, I’d ditch the cell phone and keep a landline. Even if it’s a VoIP landline. Because, really, who the fuck needs an electronic leash? The trend of needing a personal tracking device with you 24/7 is execrable.

Interestingly, the new LinkNYC terminals mostly provide wifi, but they also do free calling within the US via Vonage. So I could live without a cell, and just check voicemail occasionally from a Link if I’m outdoors, or from my laptop if I’m indoors/working.

[FlyerInHi]

Landlines don’t sound better. IP telephony sounds better. Did you try FaceTime audio, Viber, Skype or services like that?

Tracking is a problem but convenience is best. I’m typing this on smart phone while doing other things.

[spdrun]

It’s not the service, it’s the quality of the electronics/mic inside the phone. And I choose not to use any service that allows for video conferencing, because people will want me to turn on the camera. Video makes me way too self-conscious. Either talk on the phone, meet in person, or STFU.

[FlyerInHi]

You can use whatever you want. But a landline is expensive, not portable and limited to voice only. You can give your money to the Bells if that’s what you want.

[Author]

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