>>>>For anyone who's tired of telemarketer phone calls...
>>>>
>>>>http://www.commongroundsolutions.net/BobandTom_TelemarketerNightmare.mp3
>>>>
>>>Haven't had the time yet, but there was a "anti-telemarketer-script" complete with
>>>possible flowchart, aswers, evasion tactics and hints for "going back to track"
>>>somewhere on a dutch server AFAIR.
>>>
>>
>>The trouble is that in the end you achieve nothing. The guy at the other end of the phone is just a boiler-room slave who gets paid a fee for making calls. He could'nt care less whether you buy something or not. It's just another form of spam. Personally I (a) don't answer during dinner, which is a favourite time for them to call, and (b) just say "no thanks" and put down the phone the instant I hear it's a telemarketer.
>
>I once said to one of these guys "... how would you like it if someone phoned you during dinner ... ?" etc. and he immediately drew my attention to the UK "Telehone Preference Service" which you phone to have yourself removed from telesales "to do" lists. As a result I very rarely get one of these calls any more. I'm not sure if it's like a voluntary code of practice that they all abide by, with just a few renegades", or deletion from a hit list.
>
>I'd be surprised if there aren't similar service in other countries. I must admit that this is not well known in this country and at least I applaud the honesty of the caller who put me onto it.

I had an IT contract a few years back with a large telemarketing firm - one of the worst jobs I've had - and they are required by law to not call anyone on the DNC (Do Not Call) list. The first offence was $1,000, and it went up exponentially from there. They took it very seriously. That, and making money.