For many, hell is being strapped to a desk with a phone that has a telemarketer on the other end of the call every time it rings.
It’s one of those things that we often feel like we have a licence to drop every profanity to a stranger that is usually contained within our cars when we get cut off at the traffic lights.
“Why complain about spam/ telemarketers- it’s so simple to block them with a call blocker” you might say.
However, many of these apps fail to catch the first calls, meaning you have to go through the prompts of answering, angrily hanging up and then manually blocking said number so they never try to reach you about that new investment opportunity ever again.
Well, in a turn of events so crazy it seems like the world has turned upside down, the government have come to the rescue.
A new website, called ‘Do Not Call Register’, allows people to register their numbers if they don’t wish to receive spam calls (all power to you if you enjoy them), and telemarketers can be fined if they dial you.
The site is pretty upfront about the simplicity of the process; “It is a free service where consumers can securely register their home, mobile or fax numbers for free to reduce unsolicited telemarketing calls.” Check out all the details here.
It’s an interestingly long-overdue step by the powers that be when it comes to dealing with unwanted tele-market calls.
Two years ago leading telemarketer company Lead My Way coughed up over $280,000 of infringement fines due to their dialling of the countries register of people to avoid, in a major win for those who like to have uninterrupted afternoons.
93% of Australians surveyed recently said they found telemarketer calls annoying, with 89% reporting that they were receiving unsolicited calls, under the impression that they had asked to be removed from lists.
Crucially, charities, political groups and market research centres have not been considered telemarketers in the past, making them able to give you a buzz when your having dinner on a Friday night, regardless how many other people you’ve hung up on, or apps that you’ve used in the past.
Surveys also found the top excuse given for not wanting to speak to a telemarketer (for those with the patience to not slam down the phone) were ‘having dinner’, ‘being busy’, and ‘not being able to speak English’ (one wonders how accurately that was communicated.
There are other apps that exist that attempt to help you block those pesky calls; Apple’s True Caller, and Google’s app of the same name have no doubt helped millions in the past. Fingers crossed the public service offered by the government is the solution we needed.
Check out revenge served cold to this telemarketing company
