Just got me wondering ......

8pm tonight there's a knock on the door - some guy calling about insurance, who hubby told to wee wee off as it's the same company who we've told numerous times to STOP calling - they call round at least once a month late in the evening

We also had the religious lot round knocking on the door at the weekend - we're just not interested, if we were (& it's a big 'if'), we'd go & find out for ourselves.

So do you have the same 'problem' in Canada with double glazing (our house is already double glazed), insurance, religion, block paving (our drive is already blocked paved), tea towels .............

Yup.

Sorry to disappoint, but I get about 10 calls a week (or more) from idiots hawking windows, doors, free whatsits, lawn care, snow clearing, duct cleaning, you name it. I don't remember any religious nutjobs though. Perhaps that's an improvement.

I find a 14 stone AKITA sat behind me normally puts the callers off

Or let him look through the window before open the door

"what callers"

In 6 years weve had the Jehovas twice, and a lady selling books for kids once. Thats all.

I was talking about telephone cold callers though. What's the secret of avoiding those? Unlisted number?

Is Canada any closer to getting a US-style Do Not Call list? I know full well that "US-style" is a derogatory term in Canada, but let me tell you, the Do Not Call list is terrific. Our telemarketing calls went from 30/day to 2/day overnight.

We used to be unlisted, and seldom got calls from anyone but HSBC and Sears(who we have cards with) We are listed now, but dont seem to get many more calls now.

Maybe the answer is to have no money

As far as I recall Canada does have a "do not call list", but Im not sure how toothless it is.

It's hard to avoid them but you can get rid of them quickly.

"No, I'm not the owner; we rent" gets rid of home-improvement types PDQ.

"Oui, allo?" killed most cold calls dead when we lived in Ontario. We continue to use variations on that theme.

The guy who offered me a free trial subscription (home-delivered) to a Francophone newspaper backed off most apologetically when I explained, in French, that it was a bit pointless because I couldn't speak French. No idea what he thought after he'd hung up and had time to reflect.

what I did once when we got bible thumpers and as you know they rattle on so you dont get a word in I stoped them in their tracks I asked if we come from apes and they said as far as we know yes so I asked if god was a ape well if we all come from apes was god one try it some time the look on the persons face is priceless and they walk away

but then again Im a nut

Years ago, when I had just arrived, I had a very similar call - it was for the "Journal de Québec", if I'm not mistaken; I screen my calls and never bother answering the calls made by phone-pests, but at that very moment I was expecting an important call from Montreal - and, when I saw the 514 area code coming up on the screen, I rushed to pick the phone up. The caller - a mid-aged soft-spoken lady, started talking to me as if she had already met me - an element that prolonged my confusion for a dozen seconds or so - until I realized what she was up to. I respectfully (but firmly) declined and she acknowledged my lack of interest in the aforementioned publication... but, excuse me, can I have a reason for not wanting to subscribe? The question caught me off-guard; for a split second I thought about just telling her I couldn't be bothered to shell out some money for her newspaper, but I hesitated - would that be considered rude? As our somewhat lively conversation seemed to have suddenly stopped, she felt compelled to help me out: maybe I couldn't speak French? Yes, I replied, relieved and amused, that's the actual reason. I can't read French. Nor do I speak it. Au revoir, madame.

The funniest thing here is that I'm one of those very rare Anglophones who have no English accent whatsoever when speaking French (besides the French accent, obviously - having learned my French in France, not in QC)

FYI: Do Not Call Listings to Expire in 2008

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which oversees the list, says there is a simple fix. But some lawmakers think it is a hassle to expect people to re-register their phone numbers every five years. Numbers placed on the registry, begun in June 2003, are valid for five years. For the millions of people who signed onto the list in its early days, their numbers will automatically drop off beginning next June if they do not enroll again.

Bummer.

The five-year expiry is probably the result of heavy lobbying by the telemarketers... Fortunately it's easy to re-enrol in the list, and believe me, I'm going to. I was skeptical about whether it was going to do any good, but it's been great. Canadians should be clamouring for their own list.

Its already happened..sort of. As usual with government things its all a bit of a farce.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Do_Not_Call_List


http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/INFO_SHT/T22.htm

I don’t want telemarketers to call or fax my home or business. What can I do?
As a first step, call the telemarketers directly and ask to be removed from their fax lists or tell them you want to be placed on their "do not call" lists when they contact you by telephone. As of October 1st, 2004, the telemarketer must give you a unique registration number which you should write down as proof that your "do not call" request was made. Most problems will be resolved at this point.
If you are unable to contact the telemarketing company or if you continue to receive telephone calls/faxes, contact your telephone company for assistance.
If you aren’t able to reach the telemarketer or have yourself removed from a fax/calling list and if the telephone company has been unable to assist you, contact the CRTC and we will pursue the matter on your behalf.
In addition, you can register to have your telephone number(s) removed from marketing lists by mailing your request to the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA), P.O. Box 706, Don Mills, Ontario M3C 2T6, or faxing it to (416) 441-4062 or by completing the registration form at www.the-cma.org . Not all telemarketers are members of the CMA so this will not eliminate all unsolicited telemarketing calls. Make sure you indicate your first and last names as well as your complete address and all telephone numbers, including any Ident-A-Call numbers. This free service is valid for three years and applies to telemarketing calls received by mail, telephone and fax.
You might also wish to consult the front pages of your local telephone directory under Privacy Issues to see what you can do to have your name removed from any directories made available by your local telephone company to publishers of independent paper and electronic directories, including the Canada 411 Internet directory. You might also want to contact your local telephone company directly to be removed from its telemarketing lists.



There is also a voluntary list, but its only good for 3 years...