I beleive the Do Not Call list is only good for a certain period of time - perhaps 3 years? It might be time to renew.

Are You Getting Telemarketing Calls You DonÂt Want?
Here's How to Stop Them
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched the National Do Not Call Registry to give Americans a choice about getting telemarketing calls at home. According to a recent Harris Interactive poll,92 percent of people who reported placing a number on the registry said they are receiving fewer calls; a total of 78 percent said theyÂre getting "far fewer calls" or none at all.

If you think you put your number on the National Do Not Call Registry, and youÂre still getting telemarketing sales calls, the Federal Trade Commission recommends that you:

Check to see that your number is on the registry. You can verify that your number is on the registry two ways: online at DONOTCALL.GOV (click on "Verify A Registration"), or by calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the phone number you wish to verify. Follow the prompts.
You also can add your number to the registry using the same Web site or phone number (call from the number you want to register). If you register online, you will receive an email from donotcall.gov as part of the confirmation process. You will need to click on the link in this email within 72 hours after you receive it. If you donÂt click on the link in the email, the number you tried to register will not be added to the registry, and telemarketers may continue to call.

Understand that some calls are not covered. Once your number has been on the registry for 31 days, most telemarketing calls will stop. However, you still may get:
calls from  or on behalf of  political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors;
calls from companies with whom you have an existing business relationship. A company may call you for 18 months after you make a purchase or three months after you submit an inquiry or application;
calls from companies youÂve given permission to call.

File a complaint. If your number has been on the registry for at least 31 days, and a telemarketer calls, complain to the FTC. Visit DONOTCALL.GOV or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY1-866-290-4236). YouÂll need to provide the date of the call and the phone number or name of the company that called you.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

Here is a link that might be useful: Do Not Call Registry

Calls from Charities, politicians (ugh!), and surveys are excempt. Also calls from places you do business with - up to 18 months after you have done anything with them.

Here is more info - and a way to file complaints. Do you have caller ID? You can submit the telemarketers # if you need to, to the FTC.

Here is a link that might be useful: Consumer Fraud

I got an automated call yesterday, said that it was a collection agency "trying to collect a legitimate debt." Said to either key in my credit card number or my bank account number to automatically pay the $70 due. I guess some people really fall for the scam.

Thanks for the above info, Mimi.

I always take the option to talk to a human. Then I sweetly ask to be removed from their list.

Of course, moving helped... none of the old calls received yet. But, I am back on the do not call list, and had to already request to be taken off lists here too.

It's a bother, but works better than hanging up.

Moni

and do register your cell # as well...

You have to be very, very careful when you donate money to a cause. Some charities sell your number to a third party. My guess is that the Cancer Research firm you mentioned bought your number from another charity that you sent a donation to. Rex is probably calling on behalf of a charity, working from home.

I know this from experience...I am on the do not call list, and last year, I foolishly donated to a charity who has sold my number to every charity on planet earth. There have been days when I get home from work and find 9,10 or more calls received (but no messages left on the machine).

See the above post...charities are exempt from the Do Not Call list.

The only way I have been able to avoid these annoying calls at home is [1] having caller ID...if I don't know the caller's name/number, I don't pick up and [2] immediately using a call blocker feature offered by my phone company to permanently block the number that called.

Get a cell phone and use that for your family and friends only...do not give that number out to anyone who might sell it...that's my only other advice.

Annoying, isn't it?

The DO NOT CALL list no longer expires in 5 years. It's now permanent. So if you have already listed your number, you should NOT receive random solicitations. We have the same problem and it is annoying. We have been receiving automatic calls from a carpet cleaning company (which I never use because I don't HAVE any carpet) but after the 3rd call I decided to hang on to speak with a person. Their number was BLOCKED by the way...When I told them to put me on their DO NOT CALL list, they rudely hang up. I STILL don't know their name or I would report them to the FTC

Patti, we just went to a new plan through alltel and let MCI go..
I now have a system set up that when a telemarketer calls I can answer , then hang up, pick up again and put in #60 that automatically puts them on MY do not call list. They can't get through on THAT number again. To set it up I had to first put in a number that I don't want calling me and then it's on for good. Look in your Altell phone book somewhere in the front. It's called Selective call rejection . I should tell you how to do it. If you don't know if your phone service is set up for it,, give it a try anyway, just follow the directions. It's easy.

I recently started to use Anonymous call rejection (also in the phone book) for unknown numbers and when I looked at my days calls after work today, there wasn't a single unwanted call. Ya hoo. I'm hoping it works like this everyday!

A lot of the calls we get are sales pitches from "Out of area" and it doesn't list the number.

We have cox phone service so I'm not sure if they have anything like that...I guess I could call and ask them.

I have the call waiting and and answering maching..and a talking phone...it always tell me..."You have a call from...then says the name"....lol sometimes it butchers up the name...but if I don't pick it up it just leaves a message...So if it is one of the calls I get everyday I just pick it up and hit "end"

you all have given me a lot of info to play with...I'll have to see if I can come up with some good answers.

patti

I just hang up.

Keep in mind that by calling an 800 number, you are establishing a relationship, therefore an exemption. Ever see those For sale signs on houses with a number to call for info? Call it and you'll have realtors calling you within minutes. Again, you gave them unwitting permission. The DNC list is good but not perfect. Not all telemarketers respect it and those that don't won't have CID either. In my state it's illegal to use a recorded call without a person first introducing themself to get permission. Yet it's not enforced so it goes on. Vengeance is your best bet and have fun with them. Get an airhorn and blast them in the ear. Lead them on and waste their time. It'll be more fun and be as effective as reporting them. Ask them what color underwear they have on, if you can get the aluminum siding in paisley, if they'll sing the price list to you and keep putting them on hold. Take them to the bathroom with you after a chilifest and give vivid narration. Splash some water and muffle your voice and yell the phone fell in the toilet... can u hear me now????

Remember: No fear, no retreat, no surrender (to quote my wedding vows). Telemarketers are scum of the earth, the lowliest type of scum. The type that make gas station bathroom floors look clean.

and Never, never, never buy from those scum! Don't even give them the time of day and maybe someday they will fade away...