Terminix

[cornbread]

Over the last few years I have used Terminix for pest control and Trugreen for lawn care, both part of the same company. Anyway, as everyone knows with the downturn in the economy everyone is trying to save funds, I am as well.

About a month ago I decided to cancel these two services and have a friend who just started his own pest control business take care of pest control for me and I decided to take care of the lawn care myself. Before I was always away from home, so treating my lawn was kind of hard, now I'm home more and it's easier to maintain.

Anyway, every since I cancelled these two services I am bombarded with telephone calls WEEKLY. I have asked them repeatedly to stop, which the live person calls did, now I get automated messages which are just as bad.

Anyway, I just wanted to give folks a heads up.

[Nebulous]

Hmm, there's gotta be a way for them to stop those automated calls somehow. I would try their corporate office and ask them to stop the harrasment calls.

[Badbonji]

Isn't there away to directly block certain numbers? I hate people who constantly phone wondering why you stopped buying from them :P

[FudgeNuggets]

I hate that. When I lived in Knoxville a long time ago the newspaper was really bad about that. No means no at 5pm Sunday, 5pm Monday, 8pm Tuesday and so on and so forth

[JoT]

Could file with the FTC about it, see if they get fined :)

[MadMan007]

Put your number on the National Do Not Call (https://www.donotcall.gov/) list and tell them you've done so. If they continue to call report them. Since you no longer have a business association with them it should work, you can read up more on the details on that webpage.

[orion25]

Put your number on the National Do Not Call (https://www.donotcall.gov/) list and tell them you've done so. If they continue to call report them. Since you no longer have a business association with them it should work, you can read up more on the details on that webpage.

I think the relationship has to be over for 2 years or so before DNC applies

[Pinky]

You can also press buttons on the phone when you answer to make the autodialer think the line is disconnected. One solution I found online:

I would like to add that if you get a computer generated call, continually press the # or * button quickly. It makes the computer think that the number is disconnected and it releases the call.

We were getting a call/day average for a prior owner of our phone number. We use our home phone as a secondary line and cell as our primary. One day we discovered our incoming calls were not working, only to discover they hadn't been working for quite some time (about 2 weeks). Callers were getting "number you dilaed was incorrect..." message. Got it fixed, and noticed the automated calls stopped and haven't returned (been months since this). I figured it was the Beep-Beep-Beep tones that preceed the "the number you have dialed is not in service..." message that got logged by the automated system and removed our number from their dialing list. If you can figure out what that series of tones are on the keypad, I guess that would solve the calls. I think that's what the # and * options in the quoted solution above is getting at.

The do not call list works but takes a while to kick in.

[Pinky]

http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/sci.electronics.design/2008-06/msg03594.html

Looks like you have to generate or record the tone, then play it back or one of the other suggestions mentioned in that above link. It's not generated by a button on the phone...

I'm sure someone has a digital file of those tones somewhere.