STOP Those Bot Calls & (201) 263-4339 Is One Of Them

Starting at 8:30 am my phone started ringing.  EVERY 15 to 20 minutes.  ALL day LONG.  Not even a break for lunch.  Sometimes the number (201) 263-4339 showed up on Caller ID and sometimes it just said PRIVATE.  But it was the same place.  Because the same "air" type sound could be heard.  The telephone "bot" sound.   No one spoke.  No one would respond.  It would not disconnect though.  Only if I hung up.

I remembered back in May, there was THIS issue which was all over our local TV news and the internet about the auto warranty calls.  And this was happening all over the United States.  Car Warranty telemarketers calling ALL day, every day.  That was stopped by the FTC before I had a chance to  even do anything about it after the first day.  But I was a victim of them too.  (And a participant in the payback I might add - read the comments there and here at Multiply especially.  (Thanks to Jeff at Multiply for his links about the subject )

BUT at least those people SPOKE.  Today, all day - no one would say a word.  They were automated BOT calls.  Well after HOURS of this, with my entire family being disturbed, (mother in law ill, hubby in bed with a bad back and I with a broken toe, a migraine, no sleep the night before, no pain pills just wishing I could SLEEP),  I couldn't take my phone off the hook permanently ( I was waiting on a doctor to return my call and HIS phone shows up as private sometimes).  I was STUCK trying to protect the rest of the family from these calls, hoping they could get some rest while I dealt with them.

First, I googled the number HERE.  NO SURPRISE HERE either.  Look at the complaints!

I wanted to ream someone a new asshole.  I wanted to punch someone and see blood.  I wanted someone to HURT as much as I did.  I wanted to spew forth the vilest of all vile words and I wanted someone to hear them.  And I know them ALL and I know how to string them together well enough to possibly burn in hell (and it would be well worth it).  I wanted to go ONE ON ONE and I needed that ONE to do it to.  I wanted to PROVE that I was the ONE person they did not want to ever call again.  I wanted to be the ONE PERSON that NO one would ever call again or call anyone within my internet reach.  I quite possibly can accomplish this as soon as this post shows up on GOOGLE.  (Feel free to link)


Noon - I started calling OUT.  The phone number that DID occasionally show up on caller ID was in WESTWOOD NEW JERSEY.  Some dive of a shithole call center somewhere in this area HERE.  I googled it.  I traced it.  I did everything I could to find a working INBOUND number to whatever terrorist group that decided to erode our American way of life and peaceful existence by making me CUSS out loud every 20 minutes, for at least 10 of the 20 minutes.  I wasn't successful in that ONE endeavor.

Then I got BUSY being successful.   First call was to the FTC.  I filed a complaint with them, giving them the number and all information I had.  I talked to a live person and I was persistent through the phone menu to make sure I talked to someone live.

I got a complaint number.  This is the first and MOST important step you can do because they shut these places down based on the complaints THEY RECEIVE.  Make SURE you are registered on the DO NOT CALL list.  It's PERMANENT.

  After 31 days you can file a complaint against ANY telemarketer that calls you.  (I'm already on the DO NOT CALL LIST but at the FTC I was able to do it BY PHONE, automated, so I did it again)  You can also do it HERE ONLINE.

(Keep in mind now, WHILE I'm on the phone with the FTC, they are still ringing IN on my phone)

Next, I called the WESTWOOD, NJ police department.  Of course I got the "run around".  Know how I know?  Because they told me they had no way of finding out WHERE the phone number goes to.  BULLSHIT.  However I made sure I made my complaint to them to include the phone number.  I got a name too.  ALWAYS get names of who you talk to.

Then I called MY POLICE DEPARTMENT.  They had an officer call me back.  I gave my report and all info to them.  They couldn't take an "official" report as a crime (which generates a report number) but the officer gave me the number and his name in case I needed anyone to call him to verify that the police here was called.  (Very nice officer, I might add and sympathetic because I'm sure he too has to put up with this kind of CRAP on his own home phone).  He was going to try to call the number as I had done but he too would only get, Press 1 for an "specialist" , who is "not available, call back later", or Press 2, to be taken off the call list which DO NOT DO EITHER.  That means you are AVAILABLE for another call.

NEXT, I called Verizon in WESTWOOD NJ - CORPORATE office, who is the PROVIDER of that phone number, and I filed an official complaint with them (as best you can which is really lame - they want YOUR provider to provide the complaint to them - Verizon is not my provider).  I called them TWICE as a matter of fact to make SURE they knew I wasn't kidding around.  They wanted me to call my provider EMBARQ.  I told them I'm reporting this to both.  (There's Verizon Wireless and Verizon land line and I called the wrong one and they connected me to the right one so just google it if you need it and do what I did)

I called MY PROVIDER - EMBARQ which in a way was even more lame but I wanted names and numbers to show that I had done MORE than MY due diligence about the problem.  They wanted me to call VERIZON which I've already done.  They told me my options which I already knew.  Change my number - NO.  Pay $5 extra month to block numbers individually - NO because they can call from more than one number in the call center.  And finally the * options.  One for call trace (did that in case I need it) and the other * for blocking ALL blocked calls (PRIVATE for instance).  Those are FREE options and I did those.  Look in your local phone book or call your phone provider office or look online for exactly what your free * options are also.  They may be different than mine.

REMEMBER - By this time I'm OUTBOUND calling for several hours and the entire time this place is beeping in on ME.  (I have call waiting caller ID so I could tell and if it was the doctor he would just have to wait.  I was on a ROLL).

These call centers (bots) pay by the minute for outbound calls.  They play the numbers hoping to get someone who is willing to give information on the phone you should NEVER give to a stranger.  They also make these automated calls registering when someone answers the phone, and they sell THIS information to other telemarketers.  In my case NOT ANSWERING all day didn't work either.  It kept calling every 15 minutes regardless but that's for your information.  It's POSSIBLE that this bot was malfunctioning, but I was about to find out.

NEXT, I called my local TV station.   They asked if I would be willing to be interviewed for the local news coming up in about an hour but I said no.  (They always want to freaking interview me and I wasn't in the mood to DO my HAIR)   But I gave them all the information that I had and what I was doing and that I would follow up with them when I had even more information, since they reported on the car warranty issue described above.

Next, I called EMBARQ REPAIR SERVICE.  Now there was nothing that needed repairing, but if you want to know something about your phone service, THESE guys know it.  They know more than anyone else that works for your phone service.  I got the absolute NICEST repair service man at EMBARQ.  And this is what he told me to do.

Block the private calls first.  Then it will HAVE to call in showing a phone number if it's goiung to call at all.  When THAT happens, answer it and lay the phone down.  CHA CHING.  They aren't aware that there's an open line,  You have effectively disable them from making outbound calls on that line.  Not just to your house.  Anywhere.  You've locked their system up.  The ONLY way for them to unlock it, is for them to disconnect from you and then remove your number from their system.   This will take a LIVE PERSON on their end to do so.  It might even take them a while to realize that they have just racked up this ENORMOUS pay by the minute phone bill.  By enormous, I mean, the guy told me - leave it off the hook connected to them ALL DAY OR NIGHT if need be.  He knew his stuff.  We talked over half an hour, and for the first time today, I had HOPE at the thought of sticking IT to another one of these phone terrorists. 

His final recommendation was to POST THIS so everyone knew about how to do this.

Payback is a bitch, and I'm one pissed off bitch at this point.

After hanging up with him, (the entire time we talked it was RINGING IN but I wanted to make sure I had all the information I could get from this great guy), I * blocked all CALLER ID BLOCKED numbers.  I waited.  Five minutes.  Nothing. Silence.    I knew it was only temporary.  After all,  they were still calling in during the day with the number actually showing some of the time.  Ten minutes later... RINNNGGG... 

I'm ready to lay the phone down and then go get my pain pills.  I answer it and suddenly THERE WAS A LIVE person on the phone.  Now he was some foreign phone terrorist.  I couldn't understand a word he said.  BUT .. He understood ME.

I told him I just got off the phone reporting his company AND HIM PERSONALLY to the FTC, the WESTWOOD NJ, my local police department, Verizon, MY phone service provider, the SCC, the IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT (my all time favorite that usually applies) and if his ass or any other ASS from his company called my phone again I would personally show up there in his shithole of a callbank and pull his tonsils out THROUGH his PENIS with a chain saw and to remove my number from their system NOW.

He started stuttering, I heard a sharp intake of breath (or fear)  in whatever guttural foreign language he spoke and I slammed the phone down. 

I hung up.  I have YET to get another call after that.  4:00 PM.

Just call me PAYBACK.

And if you are going to call me, you just might want to call me and tell me you are going to call me first. 

Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I just might pursue this even further.  I'm sure there's more places I could call.  My Congressman for instance.  Wonder if Obama might be free for lunch.