Do you accept phone calls from strangers?

[soundmotor]

This will restart in the spring when the weather gets good and will continue through the summer. Every week and sometimes twice a week we get a robocall from a pressure-washing company to clean off the house. It starts with the recorded pitch and then you can click to a live body. They will not tell you the company name or where they are located and f-bomb you if you push for references. Then they hang up. Of all the crap calls we get I really want to find out who is responsible for these.

 

[dosmalo]

I honestly don't understand why an average person (like me, for instance) would even want or have a landline. My parents do but they are in their 80s and stuck in the 1990s and are constantly changing their 'unlisted' phone number because of unwanted and telemarketing calls. My mother in law has a landline and is constantly freaked out and worried about crap robo calls and telemarketing calls that amount to nothing but scams.
Way back, I went from landline to VOIP to strictly cell without activating voice mail. The reason I purposely don't have voice mail is because, if I did, it just adds another layer of commitment to having to respond to whomever is calling and leaves a message.
"Hell man, why didn't you call me back?? I left you a voice mail!!"

 

[Chris Brown]

I always answer calls, because I do some business on the side and each call could potentially be more business. At the same time I always string-along scammers when they call, and waste as much of their time as possible. They almost never call back again.

 

[OvenMaster]

All incoming landline calls to my house are screened via an actual, mechanical, microcassette-based answering machine in addition to Caller ID.
If no one is home, they can leave a message and I'll get back to them. If someone is home, they can pick up or not, depending on the message they leave, if the caller is recognized, etc.

 

[OvenMaster]

I honestly don't understand why an average person (like me, for instance) would even want or have a landline. My parents do but they are in their 80s...

My parents are in their 80s, too, but for us, landline service is less than $20 a month and it also provides our DSL internet service at affordable rates. Maybe it's because of location, demographics, whatever, but most people in my area, including all my neighbors and all my relatives over age 40, still have landline service.

 

[Shominy]

We've been recently getting CIDs as

V398223098274938275726482301928 (numbers are made up but they all are the Vxxxxx.... format).

Are you serious right now?

 

[MannyE]

I honestly don't understand why an average person (like me, for instance) would even want or have a landline. My parents do but they are in their 80s and stuck in the 1990s and are constantly changing their 'unlisted' phone number because of unwanted and telemarketing calls. My mother in law has a landline and is constantly freaked out and worried about crap robo calls and telemarketing calls that amount to nothing but scams.
Way back, I went from landline to VOIP to strictly cell without activating voice mail. The reason I purposely don't have voice mail is because, if I did, it just adds another layer of commitment to having to respond to whomever is calling and leaves a message.
"Hell man, why didn't you call me back?? I left you a voice mail!!"

While you are right and normally a land line is no longer needed in the same way these days as in the past; in some places like out here in hurricane country a landline can be (and has been) the only way to communicate when the power is out for more than 24 hours. And if my internet goes down, as it has, I still have a phone.

 

[dosmalo]

 

[beat_truck]

I honestly don't understand why an average person (like me, for instance) would even want or have a landline.

We don't have any choice but to have a landline, unfortunately. The biggest reason is that cell service is basically non existent at our house. And like OvenMaster, we have to have a landline for our DSL internet, which is the only option available.

 

[Ethan25]

only if they text me first to let me know they are calling

 

[hi*ball]

I don't answer my phone if the number is not already programmed into my phone. I simply let it go to voicemail.

If it's a legitimate and important call, they'll leave a message. No message? Must have not been important.

 

[JediDude]

Lately, with caller ID on at least one phone on each level, it depends on who's calling. If it's someone I know, of course. Otherwise, they can talk to the answereing machine. Most telemarketers don't bother.

Years ago, before caller ID was common, I had a robocall that wouldn't let me hang up and disconnect. No problem, I thought. We were justabout ready to step out for a bit, so I balanced the phone handset on top of the speaker, with the stereo playing. When we came back an hour or so later, they had finally hung up. Fast forward a couple of months, and I get a phone call, from a real person at the same outfit, thinking they've got a potential mark. Once It hit me that their outfit was responsible for the phone call which could not be hung up on, they got an earful: along the lines of what if I had needed to call 911 because of an emergency and they wouldn't get off the line, how would they like to be sued for millions, yada, yada, yada. They couldn't hang up fast enough then, and I never heard back from them.

 

[beat_truck]

I had a robocall that wouldn't let me hang up and disconnect......the phone call which could not be hung up on......

I don't get it. I've never seen or heard of that happening. I've had calls like that, and after hanging up the phone for a bit (30 seconds maybe?), the call was gone.

 

[MannyE]

I don't get it. I've never seen or heard of that happening. I've had calls like that, and after hanging up the phone for a bit (30 seconds maybe?), the call was gone.

I've had calls like that too, where if whoever is on the other line doesn't hang up, it stays connected regardless. This may not be an issue with a digital line.

 

[beat_truck]

What a seriously piss poor design/flaw. I'm glad that they seem to have done away with that.

 

[Bill Ferris]

While you are right and normally a land line is no longer needed in the same way these days as in the past; in some places like out here in hurricane country a landline can be (and has been) the only way to communicate when the power is out for more than 24 hours. And if my internet goes down, as it has, I still have a phone.

Yes Sir. Manny !!

 

[Ronald1973]

We don't have any choice but to have a landline, unfortunately. The biggest reason is that cell service is basically non existent at our house. And like OvenMaster, we have to have a landline for our DSL internet, which is the only option available.

I get fine cell service, but our antiquated phone company, the only provider for now, makes you have a home phone in order to have Internet.

 

[Archguy]

I honestly don't understand why an average person (like me, for instance) would even want or have a landline. My parents do but they are in their 80s and stuck in the 1990s and are constantly changing their 'unlisted' phone number because of unwanted and telemarketing calls. My mother in law has a landline and is constantly freaked out and worried about crap robo calls and telemarketing calls that amount to nothing but scams.
Way back, I went from landline to VOIP to strictly cell without activating voice mail. The reason I purposely don't have voice mail is because, if I did, it just adds another layer of commitment to having to respond to whomever is calling and leaves a message.
"Hell man, why didn't you call me back?? I left you a voice mail!!"

Yes. Though it's not a 'layer of commitment' for me, it's just the time sink of retrieving voicemails. An incredibly inefficient way of transmitting what is usually very simple info on the order of "hey will you give me a call" etc. I cancelled voice mail several years ago and don't miss it one bit.

only if they text me first to let me know they are calling

Now, what I would like is a way to have an outgoing message saying "Please text your message" without it then being able to accept voicemails.

 

[MaxxVolume]

I signed us up last year for the National Do Not Call Registry, and for several months, we`ve been free of the 20 or so per day "nuisance calls". Just recently, though, I`ve noticed that the phone scammers are switching over to a new tactic....somehow, their calls are showing up on the Caller ID with a (very) local exchange, which would lead one to believe that it`s probably a friend, neighbor, etc.
Upon answering, they launch into a tirade about how they`ll save us SO much money by servicing our oil burner (we have GAS heat ! )

 

[ScottFan355]

I do. It's kinda fun actually.

If it's somebody selling something, I usually cuss them out and tell them never call again. They usually don't.

I've even gotten robo calls that give you a speech and say press 1 or whatever for more info. I've waited through the message and got the real person on the line and THEN cussed them out and told them to never call again.

The one day I answered a call, thinking it may be important because it was a local number. It ended up being the Indian scammer saying how my Windows computer is infected, yada yada yada. I told him no it's not and to leave me alone. You know that scammin' SOB actually had the nerve to raise his voice to me? I let him have every insult and cuss word I could think of until he hung up on me.

Doing this has worked better than the Do Not Call List ever did. A person should have the right to peace and not have the damn phone ring constantly.

Just have to reply to this. For the record I don't accept calls from strangers but to cuss out some poor chump who just needed a job is pretty harsh. Years ago I was that chump. One day someone asked me why I didn't get a real job? I said 'I'd be happy to sir, are you offering me employment at a rate equal or higher to my current compensation?'. He laughed and said 'ok, you got me there'.