"Hello, this is Steve from Air Duct Cleaning"

[Papa_Complex]

Is the same thing going on, south of the border?

Over the last couple of years we've seen an explosion of telemarketing calls from a company calling itself "Air Duct Cleaning." I was home sick, one day last week, and had to get out of bed 4 times to answer calls from these assholes. If you opt for the cleaning then some knuckle dragger shows up at your door, blows the dust out of your heating vents and all over your house, then charges you $75.00 for the privilege.

In Canada we have a national "do not call list." Companies that are in breach of it are supposed to receive legal sanctions from the CRTC (our equivalent to your FCC). Thing is that these assholes are in Karachi, Pakistan and using IP phones, so tracking them down and sanctioning them is a virtual impossibility.

Unless you're a TV news and information programme, apparently.

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episod...emarketer.html

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episod...-knocks-3.html

[shmike]

You had to get out of bed to answer the phone?

Does your phone number still have a letter in it?

[CasterTroy]

Originally Posted by shmike

You had to get out of bed to answer the phone?

Does your phone number still have a letter in it?

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by shmike

You had to get out of bed to answer the phone?

Does your phone number still have a letter in it?

Land line. No cordless. I started ignoring home phone technology when I got off dial-up.

So you guys aren't getting these calls too?

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by shmike

You had to get out of bed to answer the phone?

Does your phone number still have a letter in it?

[Gas Man]

They're suppose to put bags on all your vents to collect the dust... I have seen it done before.

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by Gas Man

They're suppose to put bags on all your vents to collect the dust... I have seen it done before.

At the very least they're supposed to cover them over with something like blue poly, to keep dust from being kicked up all over the house. It's also pretty pointless to be using forced air in the air return ducts, when you're vacuuming out the forced air ducts.

[Rangerscott]

Luckily my cell # is really old and not recycled so I only get wrong #'s.

[VatorMan]

Verizon has an app that I can block pretty much anything. I can specify out of area, specific numbers, etc.... We have a don't call list but it excludes so called charities. So a LOT slip through the cracks.

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by VatorMan

Verizon has an app that I can block pretty much anything. I can specify out of area, specific numbers, etc.... We have a don't call list but it excludes so called charities. So a LOT slip through the cracks.

Up here the limitation on the do not call list excludes newspapers, polling companies, political parties, and companies who you are already a client of.

The problem with these particular telemarketers is that they are using IP phones and spoofing local phone numbers, to the call display function. As a result they slip through and the aggressiveness of their calling is beyond ridiculous.