The Do Not Call list does NOT apply to political calls or calls from charities.

Our landline has been off -hook for several weeks now because even though we screen all incoming calls, we got sick of the political calls at all times of the day. It will be put "on hook" after the election is over.

Do not call doesn't work for my land line. I get telemarketers all the time, I just ignore them, but it's a pain in the you-know-what.

My rinkydink dial tone provider doesn't support Nomorobo, I'm in the boonies.

All of our phones are on the DNC list but we still get the calls from IRS and Card Services on our cells. They are now spoofing the number that they call from, making it appear that it's a local call. I had a good conversation with another 'Pam' that got a call from my number.

Nomorerobo doesn't work with Android yet, but I'll sign up when it does.

I have disconnected my answering machine and if I don't recognize the phone number when it comes in I do not answer, surprising how many late evening calls and daytime ones have stopped coming in. I too am on the do not call list.

Sue

The Do Not Call list is a joke as far as I am concerned. We are constantly bombarded by telemarketer calls. Comcast doesn't support the Nomorobo so we can't get that.

Nomorobo: best thing EVER!

I also think the Do Not Call list is a joke. My landline starts ringing at 7am and continues till 8pm, with of course most calls not leaving a message and I sure as heck won't answer. When I search the called number online, they are always telemarketers or charities. I average 7 calls a day. I've tried to reregister my numbers on DNC, but can't.

The Do Not Call list worked for me for about 10 years and then I started getting all kinds of "robo" calls. My understanding is that they now can now make it look like they are calling from many different numbers, which you have not put on the DNC list. As y'all have said, a pain in the ***. I haven't received many calls from politicians this season, don't know why.

Despite the DNC list, I get a half dozen unwanted calls per day. It has to do with the rules of the DNC. People you do business with can call you. This includes any business you ever gave your name and address to. Surveys, politicians and religious groups are exempt from the list. Newly listed telemarketers have 31 days to comply with the DNC and will change their phone numbers every 30 days to avoid any semblance of compliance. It really is a waste of time to even register your phone number. This law has no teeth.

"My understanding is that they now can now make it look like they are calling from many different numbers, which you have not put on the DNC list."

You misunderstand. You don't put numbers on the DNC list that you don't want calling you. You put YOUR number on the DNC list, and telemarketers are not supposed to call any number that is on the list.

I guess I'm lucky - I get very few such calls.

A few for the "trouble in your computer" ("not hooked up to internet")and "lower interest rate on your credit card" ("what - you're offering lower than zero? - taking a note from some of the banks/bond issuers, are you?).

A few from window/door upgraders ("I'm a renter" ... "your company should help pay my phone bill, as you've messed with my agenda for today").

ole joyful

The calls are terrible here too. I am also on DNC list. My phones spend more time disconnected and in a drawer, than they do plugged in, and I havent had my answering machine hooked up for over 2 yrs now. If I were not required to have a phone to get my internet and cable tv, it would be long gone. No choice in this area, except for what I have for internet, so no point in switching to a dish for tv, instead of the cable.

Lindsay--you are correct, I realized after I posted that I wasn't clear. In the past, if a call did come through I could go to the DNC website and enter it to be further blocked. But now, everytime they call it's from a new #. And I don't know why my # is available to them now.

I just called the DNC # and it told me that my number had been on the list since 2003 and what to do if a marketer called me. Filing the complaint is now what is unproductive because they use a new # each time they call. I also checked to be sure my cell# is on the DNC list. I have received a few calls on the cell but I am able to block that caller from the phone and so far they haven't tried again. I'm not sure what the actual process is if you file a complaint, but obviously there are many entities that are ignoring it.

I just reread ElizabethR's post and see the part about changing the number every 30 days. That may explain part of it. All of the work arounds are easier for them to do than just a few years ago when the DNC list really did work.

Same here. It doesn't seem to work much. I even get calls on my cell.

We seldom answer our landline and unless I actually go to look at the caller ID. We let it go to the answering machine. Most times, "they" just hang up.

Many of the telemarketers and scammers pay no attention to the Do Not Call list. That's why they keep calling. A couple of years ago I put an answering machine on my landline and left the generic answering message it came with on it. All of my friends and family know to use my cell phone number to reach me, so I have no problem never answering the landline. I do check any messages that are left on it, just in case. And I have no problem reporting messages from the so-called IRS, etc., to the Do Not Call site. My cell phone is also listed on the Do Not Call list, and I never give that number out on the Internet or other random places. I get very few calls from unknown numbers on it. I never answer a call from a number I do not recognize. If it is something important they will leave a message. If no message is left, I delete the call. If a 'scam' message or sales message is left, it gets reported. And, as others have said, political, church, and charitable organizations are exempt from the DNC list.

Rusty

"Do not call doesn't work for my land line." It works, but you need to understand HOW it works, what it does and what it does not do.

I've talked many times about Phonetrayfree and Phonetray. Great programs. I've been using the free program for years and it's great.

Pkponder, you are NOT getting calls from the IRS nor from a legitimate credit card operation. The IRS DOES NOT call you unless you ask them to call you. You're getting a scammers call. Many people fall for these scams and it costs them a lot of money.

Sadly, so many people are ignorant of what the DNC list is, what it does and how it works, then they criticize it for not working. It does what it can do, but people who don't follow the law are criminals and then you blame the law? How laughable! People really need to educate themselves before making comments that display their ignorance. The DNC list has helped my junk calls a lot. And sadly, so many people put themselves on the junk call lists. Can't blame the DNC for that!

matti5, I don't understand. Why can't you register with DNC?

I've cut down dramatically on my junk calls but there are of course some that come in. Probably 1 or 2 a day at most but most of those get intercepted by Phonetrayfree. Just this morning I saw a caller's ID was "New York" so I knew I wasn't going to talk to them so I zapped it right then. I know better than to call toll-free numbers unless it's a reputable business with whom I do business. People don't understand what happens with the lists. They think they just change their number. No, they don't for the most part. What they do is sell the lists to others. And the ones who like to answer and talk to them (because they have to be nice to these poor people trying to feed their 17 children...) only invite more calls because they become a confirmed valid number which sells for more than other numbers. Seldom will a scammer leave a message but it will happen. They don't want to waste time leaving messages when there's so many gullible people just ripe for the picking! Most just let it go 3 rings and that's it. Time is (sucker's) money to teleterrorists.

Thanks, Cynic, for calling us all "gullible". We are not blaming the law, we are just saying we are no longer protected from calls as we were before. That is certainly due to illegal behavior on the part of the marketers, but that doesn't help us.

Any law is only as good as it's enforced, and the consequences of breaking it. Some laws are hard to enforce, the one under discussion being one of them.

Most cellular providers have the means to stop these types of calls on their end, but why should they? Fewer calls, fewer dollars for them.

I had my phone ring one day and my own name and number came up on the Caller ID. I thought that maybe some scammers were using my information to make calls. I talked to the phone company and they told me that someone had spoofed the Caller ID system and that many people were getting their own name on the ID. My information had not been stolen. Weird experience.

I don't think Cynic is calling us gullible but there are a lot of gullible people out there. That's the only reason that these people keep calling is because there are enough people who fall for their spiels to make it profitable.

Cynic, my comments about getting calls from the IRS and Card Services should have been clarified. I am well aware that these are scammers, maybe you missed the bit that I included regarding them spoofing the numbers.