I get a lot of those calls and I have resorted to being a smart ***. Last night a Kirby salesman called me and telling me how great there vacume is for my carpet. I just told him I don't have any carpet and he hung up on me. I ask to get off the list and they still call.

Have fun dealing with the telemarketers ! This is a FW I received a few years back. :)


1. If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy and you could sure use some money.

2. If they start out with, "How are you today?" say, "I'm so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems; my arthritis is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died..."

3. If they say they're John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is located, how long it has been in business, how many people work there, how they got into this line of work, are they married?, kids?, etc. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for as long as necessary.

4. Cry out in surprise,"Judy! Is that you? Oh my God! Judy, how have you been?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of terror as she tries to figure out where she could know you from.

5. Say "No", over and over. Be sure to vary the sound of each one, and keep a rhythmic tempo, even as they are trying to speak. This is most fun if you can do it until they hang up.

6. If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up for the Family and Friends Plan, reply, in as SINISTER a voice as you can, "I don't have any friends.... would you be my friend?"

7. After the Telemarketer gives their spiel, ask him/her to marry you. When they get all flustered, tell them that you could not just give your credit card number to a complete stranger.

8. Tell the Telemarketer that you work for the same company, they often can't sell to employees.

9. Answer the phone. As soon as you realize it is a Telemarketer, set the receiver down, shout or scream, "Oh No!!!" and then hang up.

I have a friend who does this because she really doesn't have any carpets - they have a daughter with allergies and carpets exacerbate them. However, it would be really, really funny if you told him you don't have any floors! hee hee

Apparently, political calls are also exempt. They drive me crazy. If you don't answer, their computer automatically calls you back again and again. If you hang up right away, they also put you on the list to call back.

When I get a call like that, I pretend interest for the first 5 seconds then I lay the phone down and walk away while they chatter on on their dime. After a while I hang up.

I have my cell number on DNC and I started getting these calls 3 weeks ago again, grrrrrr.

We are on the list, have an unlisted number, and we still get some calls. I just can't believe that they have the gall to call us anyway. I was once told that you can report each call and the govt can fine them $10,000. Don't know if that would be true or not but wish something better would work. One guy told me when I was asking him how he got our number since it's unlisted, he said they use the robo call machines - which are illegal as I understand it. Just can't get away from it.

My daughter calls her 2 year old to the phone and tells him the call is for him.

Whenever I get a call to take a survey, I tell them I'd be happy to take their survey, then ask the caller for their credit card number and billing information. When they ask me what I need that for, I tell them I charge 100 dollars a minute to take surveys. I usually don't them calling back. :o

I have our house on the do not call list and trust me it doesn't do anything. The phone rings here at least 3 to 5 times a day, different cruise ship prize ones, telemarketers for companies we've done business with (was told that if you do business with a company you can't block them), our bank has a 3rd party company that calls about credit protection, etc there's no way to stop the calls. The companies that get reported pay their fines and change to a new number. Around here the rule is we don't know the number we don't answer. I can also block numbers from ringing through