Finally eat dinner in peice.

[Hardpoint]

http://donotcall.gov/

[RacinM3]

What is this? An ad for chainsaws? Ginsu knives?:p

[RaceGrrl]

One sales call to our house:

nrc: Hello?

Sales Guy: Hello, We're in your neighborhood and I'd like to talk to you about window replacement.

nrc: Oh? Well, we don't have any windows.

SG: (a moment of baffled silence) You don't have any windows?

nrc: Nope, no windows. Not a single one.

SG: Well I guess we'd better get over there right away then. <Click- hangs up>


Now we just check caller ID before picking up the phone.

[Wheel-Nut]

I like to let them go through with their pitch and then tell them no thanks and hang up after 30 seconds or so. Hey, everyone has to work, no such thing as a free lunch!

[Napoleon]

Good one nrc.

Years ago I started adopting the stratigy of regardless of what they were selling I would give them an answer that made it clear there was no incentive to ever do buisness with them.

If a salesmen for windows call I tell them I live in an apartment, if a stock broker calls I tell them my wife is a broker (which is a lie), if someone calls on a bank refinance, I tell them I do all my banking with my brother the banker (anouther lie). Its impossible for them to argue with me.

[RaceGrrl]

It was great when nrc worked for AT&T and we got calls from MCI and Sprint to change long distance service: "No thanks, we get free long distance from my employer, AT&T"

They usually responded with an "Oh" and a hang up.

[RobGuru]

My parents listen to the caller for a couple minutes, then blow an airhorn into the receiver.

[Ed_Severson]

I generally just set the phone down quietly and walk away ... it's got to be frustrating to waste all that air with a sales pitch and then realize nobody was there to hear it. ;)

[JoeBob]

I've had a few of them hang up on me, which is pretty hard to do.

I once had a guy tell me that the credit card they wanted to sign me up for had 44 special features and benefits. I said, "Really? Can you list them?" He was at about #7 when my call waiting beeped. After a brief conversation, I went back to the credit card guy to hear this, "Hello... Sir? Are you there? Are you even listening to me?" I said, "I'm sorry, my call waiting beeped. Can you start over?" All I heard was *CLICK*.

Then there was the time that one of my roommates called one of the "free" psychic hot lines as a joke. They called back one day to try to sign him up for some psychic related services. So... he put me on the line. I interrupted the woman and said, "Ma'am... are you a psychic?" She politely said, "No sir, I'm not" to which I responded, "I figured, because if you were, you would have known that I'm not interested." *CLICK*

It is also pretty funny if you go off in a four-letter word laced rampage about nothing at all related to what they're selling. "Can this day get any WORSE?!?!? First my dog gets hit by a f****ing car, and now I've got you on the phone telling me that I need to refinance my house!"

[SteveH]

Indiana has had such a law for a few years. It is wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.