12/13/05 No calls

The Christmas season is in full swing and if you are like me after a hard day of work and a hard day of shopping it is a true gift to sit down to a quiet dinner. Then invariably the phone rings and it is those horrible telemarketers. What is up with that! I registered my number at donotcall.gov a couple of years ago and here I am again receiving those calls! I recently learned that there is a slippery provision in the do not call registry that allows any company that you have ever done business with to call you for up to 18 months, given my shopping prowess my phone should be ringing off the hook. One thing I never do though is give my phone number to the sales clerk If I do receive a sales call from a company or non-profit group I ask the caller to put me on their "do not call list" and if the calls continue I will file a compliant with my do not call registry. To find yours log onto AARP. /consumer web site at aarp.org/bulletin/consumer and there will be a state and federal listing. This season may your phone ring bring joy not harassment. Source: New York Times Sat. November 26 2005