Don't Mess With The FCC: Long Distance Telephone chapter

[W3WN]

A company called US Telecom Long Distance has been notified by the FCC of it's Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of...

wait for it...

$5,230,000

For 'cramming, slamming, truth-in-billing and deceptive marketing practices' violations.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-14-4A1.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-14-4A1.txt

Also

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-325257A1.docx
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-325257A1.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-325257A1.txt

[NQ6U]

Great. Now, if they'd only start really going after those assholes who ignore the National Do Not Call List, I'd be a happy camper.

[kb2vxa]

That's why some years ago I got an answering machine to screen my calls. I sit here all day listening to a constant stream of assholes, telemarketers hang up when they hear the machine, bill collector robots calling for people I never heard of get ignored. "My people" know to identify themselves so I'll pick up, once in a while I'm out or on the throne so they leave a message or if need be I call them back. At the end of the day I delete the messages so I don't have to wade through a pile of shit to find out if someone needs attention. Assholes, assholes, I'm surrounded by assholes!

"In fact, because of the egregious nature of USLTD’s apparent violations, the FCC increased the proposed forfeiture by approximately $3 million."

Egregious: Bad eggs get beaten the hardest.

"Combined with last month’s action against Consumer Telcom, Inc., the FCC has now proposed nearly $9 million in forfeitures in recent enforcement actions for cramming, slamming, and misrepresentation."

That leaves $3.77M divided by how many recent forfeitures?

[NQ6U]

That's why some years ago I got an answering machine to screen my calls.

I wish we could just do that but we tend to my invalid mother-in-law and any call that comes in on the land line is a possible emergency call from her. The mobile phone is not a good alternative because she doesn't hear well and has a hard time understanding a call made from a mobile phone.

[KJ3N]

Assholes, assholes, I'm surrounded by assholes!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNJj-PA8lKU

[W3WN]

Great. Now, if they'd only start really going after those assholes who ignore the National Do Not Call List, I'd be a happy camper.They can't.

Most of these a$$hats are routing their calls through VoIP via Canada or other countries outside the US, therefore they are outside of the jurisdiction of the FTC.

Frankly (hi Frank!) I'm getting a little tired of the almost daily call from "Microsoft" telling me that my "Windows Computer" has a virus, and that they need to "dial in" to fix it. (So when I'm in the mood, I ask the guy 'OK, which Windows machine? The Win 98SE, Win 2000, Win XP, Or Win7? Or is it the Ubuntu machine?' And the answer is usually on the lines of "Yes, the Windows computer." A$$hats)

[NQ6U]

Frankly (hi Frank!) I'm getting a little tired of the almost daily call from "Microsoft" telling me that my "Windows Computer" has a virus, and that they need to "dial in" to fix it. (So when I'm in the mood, I ask the guy 'OK, which Windows machine? The Win 98SE, Win 2000, Win XP, Or Win7? Or is it the Ubuntu machine?' And the answer is usually on the lines of "Yes, the Windows computer." A$$hats)

I get those too (although the guys who call me say they're from "Windows"), which is funny since I'm running mostly Mac/Linux here. I like the pitch where they warn me that my computer has "performed an illegal operation", with the implied threat of possible law enforcement intervention.

Oftentimes, I'll mess with the caller's head and keep him on the line for as long as possible before I tell him to fuck off. Since telemarket callers are usually on a quota of making so many calls an hour, that hurts them more than anything else you can do.

[KJ3N]

I feel kind of left out. I never get calls from "Microsoft", or "Windows".

Of course, I have CallerID, so I don't pick up anything I don't recognize. :dunno:

[w8nsi]

Great. Now, if they'd only start really going after those assholes who ignore the National Do Not Call List, I'd be a happy camper.

I got tired of it, so I started looking at methods of stopping them. I have tried the little call blocker boxes. Panasonic makes several models of phones with call blocking built in. I am currently using some software call "Call Clerk" http://www.callclerk.com/ that seems to be working pretty well. I had an extra computer that is now my dedicated call screener. It has both blacklist and whitelist functions.

[PA5COR]

Our system of don't call me list works, i only get calls that are for me and important, no advertising or other sh$theads....

[kb2vxa]

You're beginning to sound like Bob VK6BE, King of Albania (he lives in Albany) the Land of Perfection and master of all he surveys. (;->) Now if you tell me you fly a pink Bell 47 with an APU I'll faint.

Seriously, it works because you live in Holland, not the US where nothing works and everything hurts. It could be worse, you could live in New Jersey, land of the fleas and home of the slaves... and Governor Christie.