On May 25, 2005, at 17:17, Jean Nathan wrote:
I've been doing these for some time. It hasn't cut down on the junk mail, but I feel satisfied sending the junk mail on and making the companies pay the return postage.
The one time I got pissed off enough to try that trick (last autumn, from the Republican party, asking for money. The nerve!!! I don't give money even to the Democrats <g>), I noticed - as I tried to stuff their trash back into the provided, pre-paid envelope - that every little bit of paper - including the return envelope - had my name printed on it. Knowing the party's unlimited lack of principles, I feared retaliation ("rendition"? To Egypt?), and aborted the exercise.
On one occasion when I did the first one, "three little words", the telemarketer rang three times - the second was to tell me we'd been cut off, so she got the three little words again. The third call was to tell me that I was pathetic for doing what I'd done. My response was that she was the pathetic one to bother phoning to tell me I was pathetic!
This one is no longer as much of a problem for us - we're on the "Do Not Call" Registry. But the DNC Registry has its own limitations.... One is that charities are exempted; they can continue to call. They pursue the dollar with as much vigour as any business and now, having had their wings (and budgets) clipped by the administration, they've gone totally nuts. They sell their lists of donors without even asking your permission (which the businesses used to do with their customers). So, watch out if you contribute to any of them.
We used to get - maybe - one charity begging call every couple of weeks. Then, seeing the dire straights some of them have fallen into in the last few months, I started sending as much spare cash as I could to as many as seemed worthy (I'd check their financial statements first, to determine the precentage of raised money spent where. Those which spend 70% on soliciting doen't get a dime <g>) And, immediately, the level of calls (and of my blood pressure <g>) has risen tenfold. There's not a day goes by that we don't get 3-4 calls from various charities. I let my DH answer most of them - he's better skilled at saying "you may be a charity, but I'm still not interested" and slamming down the receiver - even as I admit that the sudden influx is *my* fault. But it sure has taught me to be less generous :)
Still, I don't feel mean enough to get them to hold (and run their phone bills up), when its myself who answers the phone; I just tell them to stop calling and hang up.
The second category of callers exempted from the Do Not Call Registry are businesses that one has ever dealt with (or considered dealing with). If you *ever* make contact with a business - to inquire about the price of a product, to complain about a product, whatever - that's considered a tacit agreement to deal with that business. So, they can call you and call you, and they're within their legal rights.
Sigh... I've ben playing telephone-tag with a subscription service for 6 months now; when I call them to find out why they stopped sending me the magazine (I paid for 3yrs but got only a year's worth), I get stonewalled - "don't know, will get back to you" (and never do). But the representatives trying to peddle another 3-yr "deal" keep calling at least twice a month. And now I seem to have locked into another vicious circle (via mail though, not the phone) with a credit card provider. I sent them a written notice I wanted my card cancelled, which they required (they trust anyone to *open* an account, any which way, but try closing it <g>). The only response I've had so far is offers of "better" cards, since I'm such a "valued customer"...
(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end? This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.
Almost all the charity calls I get start with an "empty space" of a second or two, before a live "drummer" comes on; that's how I know to brace myself for a begging call from a charity (or a political one; that's another area exempted from the Do Not Call. And, sending money to *them* doesn't even give you a tax break <g>) I think they dial several numbers at once and "service" the one that's answered.
I've never had one which *remained* "empty" beyond those couple of seconds; if I can remember long enough, I'll try jamming them with the # button next time... Maybe it'll work.
You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing!
Like I said - the Republicans (though not the Democrats; no wonder they lost the elections, the dumb clucks <g>) got smart to that, and their "send in" envelope is already pre-printed with your name... May not be prominent (in the return label area), but it's there; like the communists of yore, they're gonna keep track forever of everyone: those who try to oppose them, and those who can be counted on bleeding freeely for their benefit... :)
-- Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
