by Edward Raymond

Created on: January 23, 2007   Last Updated: April 16, 2011

It's inevitable. You just had a long day at work and completed yet another commuting odyssey only to open your door and hear it. The phone has started ringing as if alive and aware that you have just passed the threshold. Whether you pick it up, glance at the caller ID, or let it go to voice mail, it's usually the same. Someone has your number and wants you to buy from, donate to, or participate in his or her latest scheme. I have encountered this frustration to such a degree that these solutions have been discovered and strenuously put to the test.

Get out your notebook and pen; bring up your favorite web browser; and get ready to give these after work and during dinner, just a minute of your timers' that brow beating that they are paid for. Let's start with your internet resources.

Put the address, http://www.rejectionline.com/, into your address bar and select a phone number that would be local for you. Make a record of your chosen number in your notebook. If you have caller ID, look through its history and right down all 800 and unrecognized phone numbers along with the date of the call.

Next, point your web browser to http://www.google.com. You can put in a search for each phone number to get the affiliated business or organization's name and usually come up with an address as well. Make sure to write down the name and address of each organization next to the number in your notebook. If a search result comes up empty or you would like additional confirmation, you should call the number back yourself. It is usually an automated system that you will get and identification of the owner should be given in the message.

Finally, point your browser to https://www.donotcall.gov. By filling out this form, you will be off of solicitation call lists for a period of five years. The clincher is that charities and other non-profits may still call you if you are on their list. Further, banks and credit companies have a disclaimer that they can refer their partners to you unless you explicitly notify them that they are not to share your information. You should contact both and find out what their process is to formally request removal from their marketing lists. After going through these steps, wait for thirty-one days and review your call list (if you have caller ID or a voice over IP service such as Vonage).

The techniques that I have found to be the most effective are The Time Waster' and Interrogation'. There are few things that phone solicitors can not get past and

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