The Sewing Mom

Ever Feel Like a Private Investigator?

16th August 2008

Ever Feel Like a Private Investigator?

posted in home |

I have been receiving the most annoying phone call for the past several months. My phone rings. I answer it. The automated voice on the other end says my vehicle warranty is about to expire and would I like to purchase and extended warranty now, if so, press 1. If I would like to be removed from the calling list, press 2. Of course, I press 2, but weeks later, the call comes again.

This is a problem for a couple of reasons, the biggest being that at no point in the call, and I’ve listened to it many times, does it ever identify exactly who the company is that is calling or which vehicle it is talking about. This is either a random marketing call or, a complete scam. It drives me even more crazy because the call comes in on my cell phone, a very private number and it’s listed on the “Do Not Call Registry”.

My caller i.d. isn’t identifying the number, it says “unknown”. The next time I get a call from that number, and I’m sure I will, I’m going to use reverse phone lookup to track down exactly who this is and then I’m going to report the company for harassment. The service from TraceNumber.com can be used on land lines as well as cell phones and will look up the name and address of any unknown phone number. So, if this nuisance is calling from the United States or Canada, I should be able to identify who they are.

For now, I’m just going to enjoy the fact that my phone has been quiet for the last couple of days!

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 16th, 2008 at 9:20 am and is filed under home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 10 responses to “Ever Feel Like a Private Investigator?”

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  1. 1 On August 16th, 2008, heidi said:

    I have gotten so tired of those kinds of calls that now I only answer my phone if the caller id says who it is.

    heidi’s last blog post..A Quick Update

    posted on August 16th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

  2. 2 On August 16th, 2008, RogerDJ said:

    We get those calls all the time also. Our caller ID is also verbal. We listen for what it will say. When I answer the phone I give a greeting and if there is a delay before someone speaks I know it’s a telemarketer. It’s delayed because they use an automated dialing program. If I wait too long then they come on the line and start right in. Usually though I hang up before they come on. I don’t see how that reverse phone lookup will work for you in the case you mentioned where the number is not given. Maybe you know something I don’t know in which case please tell me since I would love to be able to stop this stuff.

    The problem with never answering if the number is not known (as previous commenter mentioned) is that we get calls from people we know all the time that the phone ID lists as unknown number. Instead i would try answering and if you don’t get a hello right back…. hang up! If it’s really an important call they will call again or leave a message.

    RogerDJ’s last blog post..Why It matters !

    posted on August 16th, 2008 at 4:40 pm

  3. 3 On August 16th, 2008, megan said:

    Ugh!! I hate those calls. I got one the other day asking if I would like info on gov. grants. I asked the lady “do you work for the gov?” She replied ” uh…yeah, I think so.” I just hung up…I mean if your gonna lie at least have some confidence LOL.

    megan’s last blog post..Prim & Proper’s Very First Giveaway!!

    posted on August 16th, 2008 at 11:26 pm

  4. 4 On August 17th, 2008, Beth said:

    It’s a scam, you’re wise not to answer that particular call. If you go to the website http://whocalled.us and plug in the number, you’ll see reports from other people who’ve gotten that same call. Actually, I’ve found that to be a handy resource for double-checking calls from my caller ID list.

    Beth’s last blog post..To our faithful readers

    posted on August 17th, 2008 at 4:49 am

  5. 5 On August 17th, 2008, jailbird said:

    we get the same call! We are also on the DNC registry - it’s so annoying. When at home I just set the phone down until they hang up.

    posted on August 17th, 2008 at 10:43 am

  6. 6 On August 17th, 2008, anajz said:

    This the second post I have read today about this particular problem. I am having the same trouble with getting this same automated phone call anywhere between 2-9 times a day…from different phone numbers. I have talked to an agent (when they do not hang up on me first) and have asked to be removed, but the calls persist. My warranty has been out on my new car for over a year now!!!
    I am wondering if a class action needs to be filed if this is annoying to so many people. I believe I am going to start keeping a log of the calls and their numbers so that I might be able to get some help from our Attorney General.
    I am so fed up with this, I am going to contact our car dealership and possibly General Motors…because that is from where my phone number was shared.

    anajz’s last blog post..New Kitchen Gardeners’ Video

    posted on August 17th, 2008 at 11:38 am

  7. 7 On August 17th, 2008, lynne said:

    Roger - I do the same thing, if I answer a call and there’s a pause, I hang up. This particular call is automated, but it begins before I even have the phone to my ear. I finally figured out that if I listen to the entire call, it gives me the option to press 2 to be removed from the list. I’ve done that and then a few weeks later, just enough time for me to forget about it, I get the call again. It seems there is no right or wrong answer to handling these calls, they are all annoying! :-D

    posted on August 17th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

  8. 8 On August 17th, 2008, lynne said:

    Thanks for the tip Beth! I think it’s a scam too. Unfortunately, my caller id shows “number unknown” and so it’s difficult for me to track it to file a complaint.

    posted on August 17th, 2008 at 8:25 pm

  9. 9 On August 17th, 2008, lynne said:

    anajz - It would be nice if we could figure out where these phone calls are originating from so we could file a complaint. I receive them less frequently now, every few weeks or so.

    posted on August 17th, 2008 at 8:28 pm

  10. 10 On August 17th, 2008, lynne said:

    jailbird - I’ve done that! Set the phone down & walk away. It’s actually funny when you hear them saying “hello?” “hello?”

    posted on August 17th, 2008 at 8:30 pm

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