Not everything you hear about telemarketing is true.
Many claims have been made about how telemarketing firms obtain phone numbers that simply are not true.
One common telemarketing myth that has frequently been circulating as of late is the myth regarding telemarketers and cell phone directories.
The false claim that has been made is that cell phone users must register their phone numbers with the national Do Not Call registry by a specific deadline, in order to prevent their cell phone number(s) from being released to telemarketing companies.
If they don't register before the deadline, their mobile phone number will be released to telemarketers, who will then proceed to make sales calls that the cell phone user will have to pay for.
The panic that started the false claim seems to have stemmed from a misunderstanding regarding the proposal made by wireless companies to establish a wireless directory assistance service or cell phone directory.
Cell phone numbers have typically been excluded from printed telephone books and directory services due to the fact that not a significant number of people owned mobile phones.
However, this is no longer the case, as it has come to the point where cell phone use has grown so much that many people don't bother with landline service anymore.
Many national wireless companies (I.
E.
AT&T Wireless, Nextel, T-Mobile, etc.
) have joined together and hired Qsent, Inc.
to establish a Wireless 411 service.
Their goal was to combine all their listings to create a comprehensive directory of their mobile phone customer's names and phone numbers, and make this available to directory assistance providers.
Thus, once it became public knowledge that the wireless companies were aiming to create a cell phone directory, someone misinterpreted what the companies were attempting to do and thought they were giving cell phone numbers to telemarketers, which is essentially how the myth began.
If you want to find out more about the wireless 411 myth, you can check out this caller complaint website under the "Stop Telemarketers" section.
The cell phone companies actually had no intention of making their wireless subscribers names and numbers available to telemarketers, and the Wireless 411 service was to strictly be a no-charge "opt-in" service.
This meant that cell phone users would only be included in the directory if they specifically requested to be added to it, and could remove themselves from the directory at any time.
Those wireless customers who did not request to be added, and did nothing, would not be included.
When the directory is ready and available, it will only function as part of the 411 directory service that already exists, and can only be accessed if a person calls in and asks for a specific number.
The Wireless 411 directory will not be published on the Internet or in a book, and it will not be sold to telemarketing companies.
For those cell phone users who still want to list their number with the national Do Not Call registry they still can by visiting http://www.
donotcall.
gov.
However, there is no deadline to get on the list, and wireless subscribers should be aware that the national Do Not Call registry will not provide significant additional protection against telemarketing calls, because the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has already blocked the bulk of telemarketers from making calls to cell phone users.
Many claims have been made about how telemarketing firms obtain phone numbers that simply are not true.
One common telemarketing myth that has frequently been circulating as of late is the myth regarding telemarketers and cell phone directories.
The false claim that has been made is that cell phone users must register their phone numbers with the national Do Not Call registry by a specific deadline, in order to prevent their cell phone number(s) from being released to telemarketing companies.
If they don't register before the deadline, their mobile phone number will be released to telemarketers, who will then proceed to make sales calls that the cell phone user will have to pay for.
The panic that started the false claim seems to have stemmed from a misunderstanding regarding the proposal made by wireless companies to establish a wireless directory assistance service or cell phone directory.
Cell phone numbers have typically been excluded from printed telephone books and directory services due to the fact that not a significant number of people owned mobile phones.
However, this is no longer the case, as it has come to the point where cell phone use has grown so much that many people don't bother with landline service anymore.
Many national wireless companies (I.
E.
AT&T Wireless, Nextel, T-Mobile, etc.
) have joined together and hired Qsent, Inc.
to establish a Wireless 411 service.
Their goal was to combine all their listings to create a comprehensive directory of their mobile phone customer's names and phone numbers, and make this available to directory assistance providers.
Thus, once it became public knowledge that the wireless companies were aiming to create a cell phone directory, someone misinterpreted what the companies were attempting to do and thought they were giving cell phone numbers to telemarketers, which is essentially how the myth began.
If you want to find out more about the wireless 411 myth, you can check out this caller complaint website under the "Stop Telemarketers" section.
The cell phone companies actually had no intention of making their wireless subscribers names and numbers available to telemarketers, and the Wireless 411 service was to strictly be a no-charge "opt-in" service.
This meant that cell phone users would only be included in the directory if they specifically requested to be added to it, and could remove themselves from the directory at any time.
Those wireless customers who did not request to be added, and did nothing, would not be included.
When the directory is ready and available, it will only function as part of the 411 directory service that already exists, and can only be accessed if a person calls in and asks for a specific number.
The Wireless 411 directory will not be published on the Internet or in a book, and it will not be sold to telemarketing companies.
For those cell phone users who still want to list their number with the national Do Not Call registry they still can by visiting http://www.
donotcall.
gov.
However, there is no deadline to get on the list, and wireless subscribers should be aware that the national Do Not Call registry will not provide significant additional protection against telemarketing calls, because the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has already blocked the bulk of telemarketers from making calls to cell phone users.
Source...