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  July 18, 2010 5:48 p.m. Woody SuperDork

  In spite of the fact that we have added our name to a "Do Not Call" list, my wife recently took a call from someone who stated that they were raising money for the American Cancer Society. She said that she wouldn't give a donation over the phone, but if they sent her a pledge form in the mail, she would be happy to contribute. She believes that if she makes out a $20 check to the American Cancer Society and mails it to them along with the pledge form, the American Cancer Society will receive $20.

  Discuss...

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  July 18, 2010 5:52 p.m. Streetwiseguy Reader

  Probably simpler to look up the American Cancer Society and mail a cheque directly to them. If the phone people, who are not likely direct employees of the cancer society, get a cheque, they will keep their percentage.

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  July 18, 2010 6:02 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

  The Do Not Call list doesn't apply to nonprofit organizations.

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  July 18, 2010 7:00 p.m. xd New Reader

  stuart in mn wrote:

  The Do Not Call list doesn't apply to nonprofit organizations.

  Exactly! The do not call list means nothing. In another life I bought and sold charged off debt. I loved testing that crap. Generally withing the first three calls you would get someone screaming into the phone that they were on the do not call list. That was a fun job.
  

  As for the cancer society just look them up and send them a check.

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  July 18, 2010 7:02 p.m. NYG95GA SuperDork

  Phone solicitaion is wrong in any context.

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  July 18, 2010 8:31 p.m. wbjones Dork

  my favorite way of dealing with them is to ask them to tell me more ... any time they stop to take a breath or ask for commitment from me, I ask for more info... eventually I put the phone down and walk away ... eventually they get the hint and hang up.... the very worst thing you can do to a phone solicitor is to waste their time... so since they are bothering me I hurt them as much as I can ..

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  July 19, 2010 1:05 p.m. aircooled SuperDork

  Political call are also not covered... oh joy...

  caller ID is GREAT BTW... I apparently have a LOT of close friends who live in the 866 area code, I wonder where that is, A-Hole county?

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  July 19, 2010 1:31 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

  I'm on the Do Not Call registry, and I have caller ID as well. Getting on the registry did reduce the number of solicitation calls by quite a bit. The few I do get these days are mainly from nonprofits, although there are occasional calls from other solicitors who are clearly breaking the rules.

  However, since I have caller ID, I don't bother picking any of them up anyway, as is the case with any phone number I don't recognize. If they really want to talk to me they'll leave a message, and none of them do.

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  July 19, 2010 1:35 p.m. mndsm HalfDork

  If I don't know the number, I don't answer. If they think it's important, they can leave a message. If it's ACTUALLY important, I might call them back after a few days. Seems to work well for me.

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  July 19, 2010 4:22 p.m. Keith_Goodrich New Reader

  I love the ones that call me and when I answer they put me on hold untill they can get to me. I don't like being put on hold when I call someone that I want to talk to. If they can put in the effort to dial my number they can talk to me when I answer.

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  July 20, 2010 9:08 a.m. Kramer HalfDork

  About six or eight years ago, I lived in Indiana, and I was on the do-not-call list. My telemarketing calls had greatly reduced, but I still got one or two a month. So I acted interested, but for just long enough to get the caller's info, then I informed them I was on the list and that they couldn't call me again. I also wrote down their info, along with the call date/time.
  

  I got a second call from someone, so I again acted interested, got their info, and wrote it down. The State website had a form to fill out and mail in, so I did, not really expecting anything to happen. A while later, I received a notice stating that the company was fined $2500 due to my call, and they were (along with every other telemarketer doing biz in Indiana) required to subscribe to the do-not-call list, which cost $1500 per year.
  

  I felt good about Indiana's government. Now I live in Michigan, and I had to disconnect my home phone due to telemarketers--even after I put my number on the list.

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  July 20, 2010 10:51 a.m. SVreX SuperDork

  Woody wrote:

  In spite of the fact that we have added our name to a "Do Not Call" list, my wife recently took a call from someone who stated that they were raising money for the American Cancer Society. She said that she wouldn't give a donation over the phone, but if they sent her a pledge form in the mail, she would be happy to contribute. She believes that if she makes out a $20 check to the American Cancer Society and mails it to them along with the pledge form, the American Cancer Society will receive $20.

  Discuss...

  Personally, I would side with your wife, believing my check would likely be cashed by the right folks.

  But don't worry about it. It won't happen.

  I've been using the same response to telephone solicitors for over 20 years, and NEVER had a single one follow up in the mail. LAZY.

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  July 20, 2010 11:01 a.m. carguy123 SuperDork

  I've learned never to donate anything to anyone. They share lists and you will get calls from everyone. I explain that to them everytime I get a call and yes, if you tell them to take you off the list they must honor your request.

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