Fed up with auto warranty calls?

[Spider Johnson]

I am on the no call list and I have gotten them. I admit it has been a while.
I always wondered why I can't tell where they are calling from and why I have to leave THEM my phone number and blah blah when they tell me my car warranty is about to expire and they ask me for the make and model and year of the car. Hey if they know it is about expire then they should no the rest.

I hope the legislation gets passed banning these sorts of "robo" calls. If it doesn't then people can still have fun with them when someone actually finds a working phone #.

I love the idea idea of filling up their voice mail with trivial and benign crap and calling them 30/40 or more times every day and whenever. Let them waste their time sorting it out. Until the people beg them to stop calling and say that they will remove their name. Hey they started it with calling the person to start with, why should they mind so much?

Alledgedly some people have left threatening messages and offered "rude acts"...that is probably against the law.

Seems they don't like that much....about as much as I appreciate telemarketers that fail to understand what the Federal NO CALL list means and telemarketers in general.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124234497033421649.html

[TommyBahama]

i won't have to worry about that anymore...considering my car is a Chrysler!!!

[surfpirate]

News from the Federal Trade Commission on May 15, 2009 ......

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/robocalls2.shtm

Judge Orders Halt to Illegal Robocalls Selling Deceptive Warranties

For Release: 5/15/09

Today Judge John F. Grady of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a temporary restraining order stopping telemarketing company Voice Touch, Inc., its principals James and Maureen Dunne, its business partner Network Foundations LLC, and Network Foundations principal Damian Kohlfeld from making any further calls in violation of the Do Not Call Registry and other provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the FTC Act. The FTC filed the case yesterday, charging that the defendants were operating a massive telemarketing scheme that used random, pre-recorded phone calls to deceive consumers into thinking that their vehicle’s warranty is about to expire.

“Today the FTC has disconnected the people responsible for so many of these annoying robocalls,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “We expect to see a dramatic decrease in deceptive auto warranty calls, but we are still on high alert.” If consumers continue to receive unsolicited robocalls to numbers on the Do Not Call registry, they should report them to DoNotCall.gov.

In a related matter filed by the FTC, Judge Grady yesterday issued a temporary restraining order against automobile warranty sales company Transcontinental Warranty, Inc., and its CEO and president, Christopher Cowart, who are clients of Voice Touch. In both cases, the court found that the FTC established a likelihood of success on the merits.

The court barred deceptive claims about extended warranties, froze the defendants’ assets, and appointed receivers over Transcontinental and Network Foundations to ensure that documents are preserved and assets are not dissipated. The restraining orders are in effect until a preliminary injunction hearing set for May 29, at which time the judge will reassess what type of relief should remain in place until the case proceeds to trial.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. A complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have actually violated the law.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

[springparrot]

I get them and they make me mad, but my Mother has difficulty getting around, so for her to get up and answer the phone.
I wish there was a way to get her name off the list.

[Spider Johnson]

i won't have to worry about that anymore...considering my car is a Chrysler!!!

Nah, it doesn't matter what you own or don't own.

They call people that don't even own cars! Read the article. The guy that started this did not own a car. I thought of telling them I owned a Mack truck, a Ferrari, a Yugo, etc, at different times and to get them all worked up. It would be fun and totally waste their time to let them go through the whole spiel and then tell them no thank you. I really don't any of of those, and ask if they knew anything about my bicycle warranty, or my toilet warranty or the warranty on name any other item you can think of.

I like this idea much better. I am the one inconviencing them and it is at my convience to do so. NOT theirs. Besides they have to listen to every message at least for a few seconds,...they never know when one might be a real customer.

[Spider Johnson]

News from the Federal Trade Commission on May 15, 2009 ......

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/robocalls2.shtm

Judge Orders Halt to Illegal Robocalls Selling Deceptive Warranties

For Release: 5/15/09

Today Judge John F. Grady of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a temporary restraining order stopping telemarketing company Voice Touch, Inc., its principals James and Maureen Dunne, its business partner Network Foundations LLC, and Network Foundations principal Damian Kohlfeld from making any further calls in violation of the Do Not Call Registry and other provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the FTC Act. The FTC filed the case yesterday, charging that the defendants were operating a massive telemarketing scheme that used random, pre-recorded phone calls to deceive consumers into thinking that their vehicle’s warranty is about to expire.

“Today the FTC has disconnected the people responsible for so many of these annoying robocalls,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “We expect to see a dramatic decrease in deceptive auto warranty calls, but we are still on high alert.” If consumers continue to receive unsolicited robocalls to numbers on the Do Not Call registry, they should report them to DoNotCall.gov.

In a related matter filed by the FTC, Judge Grady yesterday issued a temporary restraining order against automobile warranty sales company Transcontinental Warranty, Inc., and its CEO and president, Christopher Cowart, who are clients of Voice Touch. In both cases, the court found that the FTC established a likelihood of success on the merits.

The court barred deceptive claims about extended warranties, froze the defendants’ assets, and appointed receivers over Transcontinental and Network Foundations to ensure that documents are preserved and assets are not dissipated. The restraining orders are in effect until a preliminary injunction hearing set for May 29, at which time the judge will reassess what type of relief should remain in place until the case proceeds to trial.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. A complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have actually violated the law.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

It is past time and well overdue! Let us hope they get prosecuted and banned!

It is sort of hard to report the ones making these calls when the number does not show or they are illegally using the call masking.
I would like to see the goverment ban all robo calls except the ones for real and verified emergencies.

Anyone can call or go to the FTC website and have their phone number placed on the FTC NO CALL LIST for FREE. NOTE if you call them, you MUST USE THE PHONE NUMBER YOU ARE CALLING FROM! Or at least you used to. You will have to renew it every 5 years or so. They explain it on the site.

One can also report SPAM to the FTC.

[Spider Johnson]

I get them and they make me mad, but my Mother has difficulty getting around, so for her to get up and answer the phone.
I wish there was a way to get her name off the list.

You are not alone in your feelings on this.

I don't know if you are on the FTC's No Call List or not, but you can start by signing up there. You will have to renew every 5 years or so. They do allow for charities and political calls and something else, (I think) and any company you have recently(?) done business with to go through.

Robo calls are different. They use computers to generate phone numbers and initate calls. Maddening as they can be. I would suggest getting caller ID and screen all calls. Consider getting a walk around phone for your Mom. You can find them at reasonable prices and carry them around the house or yard and not to go far to answer the phone.

Until such calls are banned and people/businesses are prosecuted for making them and forced to pay a hefty and serious fine or jail time, there is not much that can be done about them. Other than turn the game around on them and overload their system.

With the internet one can quickly and effectively distribute such information through various ways. From email, IMs or blogs, Twitter, etc. You might be surprised how many people around the world dislike them, and will call them. Any luck, they get overloaded and have a meltdown at best, other than that they have to go through each call for a few seconds at least. (toatally wasting the time of the employees who are no doubt quite bored with the job.)

The longer the message the more it fills up their voice mail....So use that to your advantage and have some fun....Don't get mad!! Get even! Like the guy that called them 30 or more times a day until they begged him top stop calling and said they would remove his number. Or the guy that sent them a song. Who knows maybe they will listen to the song all the way through....

They pay for their voice mail so why not help them get their money's worth?

[springparrot]

I get them and they make me mad, but my Mother has difficulty getting around, so for her to get up and answer the phone.
I wish there was a way to get her name off the list.

You are not alone in your feelings on this.

I don't know if you are on the FTC's No Call List or not, but you can start by signing up there. You will have to renew every 5 years or so. They do allow for charities and political calls and something else, (I think) and any company you have recently(?) done business with to go through.

Robo calls are different. They use computers to generate phone numbers and initate calls. Maddening as they can be. I would suggest getting caller ID and screen all calls. Consider getting a walk around phone for your Mom. You can find them at reasonable prices and carry them around the house or yard and not to go far to answer the phone.

Until such calls are banned and people/businesses are prosecuted for making them and forced to pay a hefty and serious fine or jail time, there is not much that can be done about them. Other than turn the game around on them and overload their system.

With the internet one can quickly and effectively distribute such information through various ways. From email, IMs or blogs, Twitter, etc. You might be surprised how many people around the world dislike them, and will call them. Any luck, they get overloaded and have a meltdown at best, other than that they have to go through each call for a few seconds at least. (toatally wasting the time of the employees who are no doubt quite bored with the job.)

The longer the message the more it fills up their voice mail....So use that to your advantage and have some fun....Don't get mad!! Get even! Like the guy that called them 30 or more times a day until they begged him top stop calling and said they would remove his number. Or the guy that sent them a song. Who knows maybe they will listen to the song all the way through....

They pay for their voice mail so why not help them get their money's worth?

My Mother has a cordless phone at her reach most of the time, but they still wake her up. They call really early
and she is on the Do Not Call list.

[Crazy Navy Flyer]

I'm on the no call list and have an unlisted number, I get on average 2 calls each day from them. They're like roaches, they'll never go away.

[Coconuts]

They call both my and DH's cell phones.

I think the reason they weren't shut down earlier was because when people actually talked to them, they wouldn't give you the required information to report them.

[Moonie]

I get them and they make me mad, but my Mother has difficulty getting around, so for her to get up and answer the phone.
I wish there was a way to get her name off the list.

You are not alone in your feelings on this.

I don't know if you are on the FTC's No Call List or not, but you can start by signing up there. You will have to renew every 5 years or so. They do allow for charities and political calls and something else, (I think) and any company you have recently(?) done business with to go through.

Robo calls are different. They use computers to generate phone numbers and initate calls. Maddening as they can be. I would suggest getting caller ID and screen all calls. Consider getting a walk around phone for your Mom. You can find them at reasonable prices and carry them around the house or yard and not to go far to answer the phone.

Until such calls are banned and people/businesses are prosecuted for making them and forced to pay a hefty and serious fine or jail time, there is not much that can be done about them. Other than turn the game around on them and overload their system.

With the internet one can quickly and effectively distribute such information through various ways. From email, IMs or blogs, Twitter, etc. You might be surprised how many people around the world dislike them, and will call them. Any luck, they get overloaded and have a meltdown at best, other than that they have to go through each call for a few seconds at least. (toatally wasting the time of the employees who are no doubt quite bored with the job.)

The longer the message the more it fills up their voice mail....So use that to your advantage and have some fun....Don't get mad!! Get even! Like the guy that called them 30 or more times a day until they begged him top stop calling and said they would remove his number. Or the guy that sent them a song. Who knows maybe they will listen to the song all the way through....

They pay for their voice mail so why not help them get their money's worth?

My Mother has a cordless phone at her reach most of the time, but they still wake her up. They call really early
and she is on the Do Not Call list.

if it's not the bot calling, there is always the air horn....

[bbqmonster]

A few months ago we kept getting calls from the "Internet Yellow Pages" they said they wanted to verify our business info for our "Ad" which I know we don't have. They used to pull the same scam by sending you a bill for yellow page ad that you never requested. At first I would get frustrated that they kept calling even though they were told not to, but now i mess with them and I actually look forward to their calls. For some reason telemarketers do not like it when you start asking them a lot of personal information. Here is a link to a "Anti Telemarketer Script" that is fun to use on them. http://www.xs4all.nl/~egbg/counterscript.html

BBQMonster

[ph4ever]

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76418&hilit=warranty Are these the same calls?

[PA PAR8 HED]

Before the Do Not Call list, if I got a telemarketing call I used to tell them I was interested and ask them to hold. I'd put the phone down in fron of a Barney video. When I came back 10 min later, the'd hung up!