General Discussions

**andrei155** · 03-14-2008, 11:41 AM

Alright, I've had enough... I don't know whats happening but my Home phone is getting constant spam. Now I don't mean one or two a day. I mean one or two a minute! Same company, no message..just beeps. If answered there is no one the line, and as I stated if left ... they just leave a message with constant beeping!

I've just cleaned out the messages 5 minutes ago ... and now I'm sitting here looking at 6 more spam messages!

my caller display reads AVCO FINCL

I want to stab my fists into their faces.

**Cheshire_cat** · 03-14-2008, 11:54 AM

I love talking with those guys.

One guy calls about changing my long distance provider; and I was trying to get him to lower his interest rates! It was great. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, It was great.

**andrei155** · 03-14-2008, 11:57 AM

Do they learn? *-)

**Cheshire_cat** · 03-14-2008, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrei155

Do they learn? *-)

Nope, it’s kind of like this forum, for every 1 spammer that you ban, 5 more join.

Do you have your number on a site somewhere? Because I did that for a little bit then I was flooded with crap calls.

**andrei155** · 03-14-2008, 12:11 PM

I hope not. I usually fill in bogus info for the phone number.. and such.

**Learning Newbie** · 03-14-2008, 12:18 PM

Do they have anything like the do not call list?

You could try picking up the phone and saying "never call this number again". Maybe it's just that Americans like to sue each other, but that's exactly what can happen here if you tell a company to stop calling you and they don't.

**Leg** · 03-15-2008, 08:13 AM

I just change my number once every year

Seems to work fine... Also gets rid of ex-girlfriends, etc.

**ADAM Web Design** · 03-15-2008, 11:37 AM

They do, John, but the way companies work around that is the same way they work around it in the US...they outsource the call centre to another country. For example, a lot of the credit card insurance telemarketers are actually based in Toronto (in the same building as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation).

Andrei, if you really want to deal with it and your internet connection is reasonably stable, go Primus TalkBroadband (VoIP). You can block a number, or even a range of them, right from the portal. I block all 800, 866, 877, and 888 calls with it, and I also have ranges blocked from certain spam spots in Markham and Kitchener, among other places. They'll even port your old number for you.

The only downside I find is that, if I need tech support or have a question (which usually only happens about once every 8-12 months) and have to call in to TBB, the wait time can be horrendous (20 minutes or more). But to save 66% on my services and have a better overall service than Bell can provide, it's worth it.

**ForrestCroce** · 03-15-2008, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADAM Web Design

The only downside I find is that, if I need tech support or have a question (which usually only happens about once every 8-12 months) and have to call in to TBB, the wait time can be horrendous (20 minutes or more)

I see you've never been on hold waiting for Sprint.