"Unavailable" - Phone Calls

[Ironhorse]

Guess I just need to rant a little bit but am so D*** tired of continually getting random phone calls during the day with the majority of them saying the usual "unavailable" for the caller ID. Today we have gotten a total of 7 such calls and the day isn't over yet. Have been on the VERY USELESS Do Not Call list for quite some time. Totally useless. Also get the usual "car warranty expiring soon" calls and just yesterday I passed on calling back to claim my $10 million dollar in cash win. Just needed to call a different number than the one that called me to claim my winnings. Yeah, I'm going to call a ''blind'' toll free number. NOT! With all the help wanted signs I see locally I wonder why these people doing these calls don't get a real job.

On another note, some time back I heard the phone ring, looked at the caller ID and lo and behold, .....it was ME calling, complete with correct name and home phone number !! Wonder what I wanted as I didn't leave a message?

[Thealien]

Nomorobo was offered by my provider. It might be available stand alone. It drastically reduced my nuisance calls. We don’t answer the landline unless it is someone we know and even then most of the time leave a message. If it’s important I’ll get back to you.

[special-K]

I hate getting texts from house buyers. I replied to the last one and gave a piece of my mind. No word back yet

[Steeveedee]

It was about $120, but we got a landline that tells the caller to "press 1 to continue". We're down from 10-12 robocalls a day and 3 legit to just the legit calls. Eventually that'll change, too, but for now the calls have diminished.

[FleetsidePaul]

Dang you guys get a lot of them. I get maybe 3 a week. Maybe because I'm a deadbeat.

The only one that made me laugh was the one that said "call from LSD'. That one still gives me a chuckle.

If a call says unavailable then so am I. Unless I'm in a mood and want to mess with them. Then they usually hang up on me. I had one chick that wouldn't hang up no matter what I said. I told her that she had a sexy voice and kept asking her to meet me at a motel and we could split the cost. She STILL didn't hang up. I thought for sure that one would get her. Nope. She just kept yammering away. Who knows maybe she would have met me at a motel.

[mongocanfly]

I get em all day..and now the house buyers wont leave me alone..
I complained to Verizon, they said there was nothing they could do.
I said I was on a do not call list..they laffed, said there was no such thing..
Well there used to be

[LT7A]

It sounds like some of what we're talking about here is landline. But if it's on your cell phone, you have the option to auto reject any number. My phone holds about 50 numbers on that list and unfortunately, I've run out of space, haha. However, if it shows number not available, that doesn't help you. I guess I've just gotten used to ignoring them. They usually don't leave messages anyway. I haven't got an unavailable call for months now. And if I got too many of them that left messages, I would push the reject option on the phone. Reminds me of a Seinfeld episode. He got a telemarketer call and he asked them for their home number so he could call them back since he was busy at the moment. They of course wouldn't give it. And so he said, you mean you don't want me to bother you at home like you are bothering me at home right now?!?

[Dieselwrencher]

I get them as well. I just don't answer numbers I don't know anymore. If it is legit, they'll leave a message. I don't need to listen to a speech to tell them they don't want to sell me a warranty on my 95 F-350 with 525k on it.

[Boog]

We've all got those calls I guess. Do the number of calls go up at certain times of the month? We have ATT U-verse for our phone and internet and incoming calls to our home phone line appear on our tv. Some show a name and some show unavailable. We don't answer that line at all. As a matter of fact the home phone is unplugged so it doesn't even ring but the number appears on the tv, silently. Most businesses now days just have to have a phone #. Sometimes I give them that land line number knowing full well I won't be bothered with their calls. That line is still active only for U-verse updates.
For the longest we'd get a call from a certain department in our fire department. Out of curiosity I looked them up and our FD has no such department. No surprise. I guess the callers changed their ID to some other fake name. Unknown callers or private callers on our cell phones my wife, while not looking up from her tablet, says if it's important they will leave a message. Rare that they do. Avoiding unfamiliar callers can be costly however. I missed some calls from my investment firm because their whole name didn't display in the little phone window so I didn't recognize it and didn't answer. They did not leave a message but resorted to sending me a letter. Could have cost me a fortune. Not!

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

It was about $120, but we got a landline that tells the caller to "press 1 to continue". We're down from 10-12 robocalls a day and 3 legit to just the legit calls. Eventually that'll change, too, but for now the calls have diminished.

Could you give a bit more info on that $120 fix? Would like to explore that a bit more. Not very "techie" so some help with that would be appreciated.

Did forget to mention this is on a landline. My cell phone warns me when a phone call is "potential spam" on the screen but then if the number is not in my contact list I just ignore it any way.

The entire unavailable spam calls is just really irritating. The home phone and cell phone both are for my use and benefit, not an open door policy to spammers and robo callers to bother me with useless crap. Tech does have it's downside in today's world.

[LONGHAIR]

Ironhorse, that is my feeling exactly. My phone is for my use, it's right there in the name. I never answer calls from numbers that I don't know and rarely do from the ones I do
I mostly get annoying texts from home buyers. They mostly happen in the beginning of the month and taper off until the next month. I have responded to a few, mostly to express my displeasure. A few have actually apologized and dropped me from their list, but those are rare.

[Sheepdip]

Originally Posted by dieselwrencher

i get them as well. I just don't answer numbers i don't know anymore. If it is legit, they'll leave a message. I don't need to listen to a speech to tell them they don't want to sell me a warranty on my 95 f-350 with 525k on it.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Could you give a bit more info on that $120 fix? Would like to explore that a bit more. Not very "techie" so some help with that would be appreciated.

Did forget to mention this is on a landline. My cell phone warns me when a phone call is "potential spam" on the screen but then if the number is not in my contact list I just ignore it any way.

The entire unavailable spam calls is just really irritating. The home phone and cell phone both are for my use and benefit, not an open door policy to spammers and robo callers to bother me with useless crap. Tech does have it's downside in today's world.

It's an answering machine from CostCo. Panasonic KX-TGF670. It was $125 several years ago. There may be a different phone in the link that is less money.
https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Lin...a-822015967841

[Ironhorse]

Steeveedee, thanks for the added info. Don't have a Costco close by but may be some other similar phone system I can look into. Those annoying phone calls are very much a real pain in the backside.

[Steeveedee]

You're quite welcome! Getting 10-12 calls like that a day is pretty aggravating.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

You're quite welcome! Getting 10-12 calls like that a day is pretty aggravating.

Especially when they're from ex wives. Talk about aggravation.

I'd rather have a telemarketer call me any day.

[burnin oil]

Around here the problem is that the spammers use a random number cloaking thing. You will get calls from yourself, neighbors, family, and even businesses on occasion. I get the car warranty call amost daily. Ironically it has had a different number every time, for months, since they changed to an automated call. Unless I am waiting on a call I just ignore the numbers I don't recognize. Waiting to the end of the warranty call has an opt out option but it doesn't work.

[Boog]

We have had the caller ID show our name and number as the incoming call. How stupid is that?

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Boog

We have had the caller ID show our name and number as the incoming call. How stupid is that?

You need to quit talking to yourself Boog. People might think you're cuckoo.

[Boog]

I know right?

[In The Ten Ring]

I answer all calls. If it's spam, I usually try to take up as much of their time as possible.

Once had a renter call via "Private" and she turned out to be among the best rentals ever.