Business History Books » Small Business Consulting » Compensation for telephones sold programmed to call my mobile telephone.
Compensation for telephones sold programmed to call my mobile telephone.
Question:
> A lot of telemarketers has been fined. Just complain. It is working. To > bad there are exemptions for politians and charities. Man tomorrow is the > mayor election…
No, don’t complain, it is A WASTE OF TIME. The law DOES NOT COVER situations like the one described by the original poster. You’re trying to put a nail in a wall to hang up a picture, and using a screwdriver instead of a hammer to put in the nail – it’s the WRONG TOOL FOR THE JOB. 
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Response:
> I’ve had this number since it went into service (no one had it before > me). The number is on all my business material. My old clients have > this number & may call out of the blue. There are automated functions > set up to send data to my mobile phone. Changing my number really > isn’t an option.
Just got a terms of service document from my mobile network (Fido in Canada). It clearly states that the number does not belong to you and that should it be necessary, the network reserves the right to change your number (think area code changes for instance). Really, your best bet for both your life and the $ aspect would be to accept to change your number and the guilty company to pay all expenses related to that change. You could also pay to have the old number kept on some automated answering service that announces your name and your new number. (so people calling expecting voice mail wouldn’t bother with the second number, but old time customers would know how to reach you on your new number). > For calls at night, calls while working for another client, calls in > the shower, in church, movies, library? For time spent trying to > diagnose the original issue & hours spent trying to find the right > person in the company to understand the problem?
If you can show that the only inbound calls to that number are for business and emergency services only, (previous bills would help with this), then yes, you could argue that if in the past, you were getting few calls, but 100% important, which meant that you would step out of shower if it rang, and that now, it rings so often that you are constantly disturbed but must still take each call serously in case it is a serious one, then you should be compensated. But my guess is that paying for your number to be changed would be the type of action the guilty company would accept. It is much harder to quantify the costs of you having to step out of shower, or disturbing everyone at the church. What you could require though is that the guilty company immediatly put a block on all calls made from their network to your phone network.
Response:
Actually, that number belonged to my friends father. They didn’t get that many calls because he lives in Northern Ontario. How many people would have used area code 705 when calling? The problem was that most of the calls happened after around 1AM when the bars closed and some drunk guy thought it would be funny to call. He didn’t like the idea of having his number changed but that was the only thing that could be done. G M
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> There was a precedent in the 1980s with the phone number 867 5309 which was > used in a popular hit song. ( think 8675 3 oh 9 ). It was someone’s telephone > number in Ontario and that person got billions and billions of phone calls. > the phone number belongs to the phone company, not to you. > Where you have financial stake is if the calls do not stop and you are forced > to pay to have your phone number changed, including all your business cards, > letterhead etc. > If the company responsible for misrouting voicemail calls to your phone is > cooperative and has since stopped the problem, my guess is that the > compensation would be an amount corresponding to your hourly rate multiplied > by the number of hours you spent on the phone answering those calls. > (calculating the number of hours you lost due to those disturbances will be > the difficult part)
Response:
A lot of telemarketers has been fined. Just complain. It is working. To bad there are exemptions for politians and charities. Man tomorrow is the mayor election… > In alt.cellular.sprintpcs The Supreme Enchanter > Put your number on the dontcall list. www.dontcall.com or is it > www.donotcall.com? > won’t work, these aren’t telemarketing calls. > Some of us question whether the DNC list even works on telemarketers, > anyhow. > — > JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA > Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) /
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Response:
Dear The: TSE> www.dontcall.com or is it TSE> www.donotcall.com? www.donotcall.gov — Respectfully, John Thomas —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—
Response:
> Put your number on the dontcall list. www.dontcall.com or is it > www.donotcall.com?
won’t work, these aren’t telemarketing calls. Some of us question whether the DNC list even works on telemarketers, anyhow. — JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: C57E 8B25 F994 D6D0 5F6B B961 EA08 9410 E3AE 35ED Domain Names, $9.95/yr, great service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
Response:
Put your number on the dontcall list. www.dontcall.com or is it www.donotcall.com?
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Contact the FCC and Mr. Powell.. maybe your local House of Rep rep. > I do intend to be reasonable. While I appreciate that they are > attempting to do something about it, I continue to get these calls. > The problem is that I get these calls night & day. > If I get a call at night or during church, its almost certainly a > client with an emergency. Because of this, I am vigilant to answer > calls. When I get a work call, it’s a TWO HOUR minimum charge. > The company has offered to pay for the airtime charges for the calls. > However, the REAL cost of these calls is my time & the potential that > I may miss a work call because I don’t stop my shower to answer a call > because I’m getting so many of these calls. > I’ve had this number since it went into service (no one had it before > me). The number is on all my business material. My old clients have > this number & may call out of the blue. There are automated functions > set up to send data to my mobile phone. Changing my number really > isn’t an option. > Another issue is that I sometimes can’t even get the callers to speak > to me since it sounds like the phone doesn’t give them a chance to do > so, just hangs up. I’m not sure if this will be resolved. > 1) Should I expect to be compensated for my time? > For calls at night, calls while working for another client, calls in > the shower, in church, movies, library? For time spent trying to > diagnose the original issue & hours spent trying to find the right > person in the company to understand the problem? > 2) Is there a law/regulation against what they have done? I intend to > be fair. If if I’m only asking for for a small fraction of what could > a fine or sanction, that would help in choosing a fair compensation > amount. > Thank you for your advice. It is for the very reason that I want to > be fair that I ask for your input. I don’t want to unfair, but this > is taking a toll on my business & my life.
Response:
This might be obvious but, why don’t you just ask them to pay for airtime charges and get a new number? If you are losing business out of it, change your number. BTW, what does this have to do with "alt.cellular.fido,alt.cellular.verizon" that were crossposted to? Scotty – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> The company has offered to pay for the airtime charges for the calls. > Sorry, I didn’t catch that point in the original post. You’ll have a hard > time arguing for more, and I do agree that that’s reasonable. (I jumped in > here in the middle of the conversation and didn’t read all the way back) > However, the REAL cost of these calls is my time & the potential that > I may miss a work call because I don’t stop my shower to answer a call > because I’m getting so many of these calls. > GMAFB. Even when I was on call at an ISP I wasn’t expected to spring into > action the second I heard my pager go off. Are you expected to answer your > phone on the toilet, too? I don’t care how much you’re paid, if you are that > tightly tethered to your phone, you need to find a new job. That is ridiculous. > I’ve had this number since it went into service (no one had it before > me). The number is on all my business material. My old clients have > this number & may call out of the blue. There are automated functions > set up to send data to my mobile phone. Changing my number really > isn’t an option. > I’d argue that the company needs to make sure their phones get reprogrammed, > but financially speaking, I don’t think you can justify asking for more than > reimbursement of airtime, and I’m sorry, but your argument won’t hold water. > 1) Should I expect to be compensated for my time? > You can and should ask, however if they’re not willing to do it, I would not > pursue this particular angle in court. > 2) Is there a law/regulation against what they have done? > Not really. IANAL, again, but did they do it intentionally? If not, well, > mistakes are made. That’d be like when I worked at a company that had a > tollfree number ONE DIGIT different from the one for Blue Cross and Blue > Shield of Texas’s tollfree number for their Human Resource department, and > an idiot operator who always gave the number in such a thick accent that it > was impossible to figure out what she was saying. > Better yet, I had a number that was apparently very close to that of a > department at Revenue Canada — Canada’s equivalent of the US Internal > Revenue service. It was probably for an office in Quebec City or Montreal, > because I got a lot of people calling and leaving voicemails who were > apparently pissed off about their taxes. Of course, *they* were flaming > idiots for not being able to put two and two together – if you’re a citizen > of Quebec, it’s generally reasonable to expect that companies doing business > with you will answer the phone in *both* English and French, and I didn’t > have a French message. But that’s not the point… > is taking a toll on my business & my life. > No, dude, what’s taking a toll is you jumping out of your shower to answer > business calls, which — forgive me for being blunt — tells me that you > *need* a life. Is there anything unreasonable about expecting your clients > to leave a message, especially if you can be counted on to return it within, > say, five or fifteen minutes? > I do think you should be compensated, however — asking to get compensation > for your time is a slippery argument that you aren’t likely to win, and — > well, arguing that you should be compensated for not answering your phone > when you normally shouldn’t be answering your phone ANYHOW is just silly. > — > JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA > Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) /
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Response:
There was a precedent in the 1980s with the phone number 867 5309 which was used in a popular hit song. ( think 8675 3 oh 9 ). It was someone’s telephone number in Ontario and that person got billions and billions of phone calls. the phone number belongs to the phone company, not to you. Where you have financial stake is if the calls do not stop and you are forced to pay to have your phone number changed, including all your business cards, letterhead etc. If the company responsible for misrouting voicemail calls to your phone is cooperative and has since stopped the problem, my guess is that the compensation would be an amount corresponding to your hourly rate multiplied by the number of hours you spent on the phone answering those calls. (calculating the number of hours you lost due to those disturbances will be the difficult part)
Response:
> There was a precedent in the 1980s with the phone number 867 5309 which was > used in a popular hit song. ( think 8675 3 oh 9 ). It was someone’s telephone > number in Ontario and that person got billions and billions of phone calls.
It wasn’t just in Ontario. 867, for example, is one of the exchanges in common use in Akron, Ohio, in area code 330. Akron isn’t a big town, but it is large enough to have a downtown area, and 330-867-xxxx services a relatively busy region of West Akron. I remember reading about the Akron number (back then it was still part of 216, but you get the point) in the _Cleveland Plain Dealer_… I don’t recall who had it, I think it was a residential number at the time. — JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: C57E 8B25 F994 D6D0 5F6B B961 EA08 9410 E3AE 35ED Domain Names, $9.95/yr, great service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
Response:
> I don’t why anyone, with the possible exception of P, would go the > litigation route. All llitigation does is make the OP seem like an ass and > it may even leave him out in the cold collecting nothing. The OP contacted > the telecom, the telecom wants to compensate him. They are being > reasonable. I would simply request they compensate me for my cell bill for > the months it was affected. if I lost business then sit down with them and > figure out a realistic and reasonable amount.
If they don’t respond to the request, court MAY be warranted. Note that I said MAY. I’ll take people to court when I need to. I only do it when I have been caused financial damage and ONLY as a last resort. — JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: C57E 8B25 F994 D6D0 5F6B B961 EA08 9410 E3AE 35ED Domain Names, $9.95/yr, great service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
Response:
> The company has offered to pay for the airtime charges for the calls.
Sorry, I didn’t catch that point in the original post. You’ll have a hard time arguing for more, and I do agree that that’s reasonable. (I jumped in here in the middle of the conversation and didn’t read all the way back) > However, the REAL cost of these calls is my time & the potential that > I may miss a work call because I don’t stop my shower to answer a call > because I’m getting so many of these calls.
GMAFB. Even when I was on call at an ISP I wasn’t expected to spring into action the second I heard my pager go off. Are you expected to answer your phone on the toilet, too? I don’t care how much you’re paid, if you are that tightly tethered to your phone, you need to find a new job. That is ridiculous. > I’ve had this number since it went into service (no one had it before > me). The number is on all my business material. My old clients have > this number & may call out of the blue. There are automated functions > set up to send data to my mobile phone. Changing my number really > isn’t an option.
I’d argue that the company needs to make sure their phones get reprogrammed, but financially speaking, I don’t think you can justify asking for more than reimbursement of airtime, and I’m sorry, but your argument won’t hold water. > 1) Should I expect to be compensated for my time?
You can and should ask, however if they’re not willing to do it, I would not pursue this particular angle in court. > 2) Is there a law/regulation against what they have done?
Not really. IANAL, again, but did they do it intentionally? If not, well, mistakes are made. That’d be like when I worked at a company that had a tollfree number ONE DIGIT different from the one for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas’s tollfree number for their Human Resource department, and an idiot operator who always gave the number in such a thick accent that it was impossible to figure out what she was saying. Better yet, I had a number that was apparently very close to that of a department at Revenue Canada — Canada’s equivalent of the US Internal Revenue service. It was probably for an office in Quebec City or Montreal, because I got a lot of people calling and leaving voicemails who were apparently pissed off about their taxes. Of course, *they* were flaming idiots for not being able to put two and two together – if you’re a citizen of Quebec, it’s generally reasonable to expect that companies doing business with you will answer the phone in *both* English and French, and I didn’t have a French message. But that’s not the point… > is taking a toll on my business & my life.
No, dude, what’s taking a toll is you jumping out of your shower to answer business calls, which — forgive me for being blunt — tells me that you *need* a life. Is there anything unreasonable about expecting your clients to leave a message, especially if you can be counted on to return it within, say, five or fifteen minutes? I do think you should be compensated, however — asking to get compensation for your time is a slippery argument that you aren’t likely to win, and — well, arguing that you should be compensated for not answering your phone when you normally shouldn’t be answering your phone ANYHOW is just silly. — JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: C57E 8B25 F994 D6D0 5F6B B961 EA08 9410 E3AE 35ED Domain Names, $9.95/yr, great service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
Response:
Contact the FCC and Mr. Powell.. maybe your local House of Rep rep.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I do intend to be reasonable. While I appreciate that they are > attempting to do something about it, I continue to get these calls. > The problem is that I get these calls night & day. > If I get a call at night or during church, its almost certainly a > client with an emergency. Because of this, I am vigilant to answer > calls. When I get a work call, it’s a TWO HOUR minimum charge. > The company has offered to pay for the airtime charges for the calls. > However, the REAL cost of these calls is my time & the potential that > I may miss a work call because I don’t stop my shower to answer a call > because I’m getting so many of these calls. > I’ve had this number since it went into service (no one had it before > me). The number is on all my business material. My old clients have > this number & may call out of the blue. There are automated functions > set up to send data to my mobile phone. Changing my number really > isn’t an option. > Another issue is that I sometimes can’t even get the callers to speak > to me since it sounds like the phone doesn’t give them a chance to do > so, just hangs up. I’m not sure if this will be resolved. > 1) Should I expect to be compensated for my time? > For calls at night, calls while working for another client, calls in > the shower, in church, movies, library? For time spent trying to > diagnose the original issue & hours spent trying to find the right > person in the company to understand the problem? > 2) Is there a law/regulation against what they have done? I intend to > be fair. If if I’m only asking for for a small fraction of what could > a fine or sanction, that would help in choosing a fair compensation > amount. > Thank you for your advice. It is for the very reason that I want to > be fair that I ask for your input. I don’t want to unfair, but this > is taking a toll on my business & my life.
Response:
I do intend to be reasonable. While I appreciate that they are attempting to do something about it, I continue to get these calls. The problem is that I get these calls night & day. If I get a call at night or during church, its almost certainly a client with an emergency. Because of this, I am vigilant to answer calls. When I get a work call, it’s a TWO HOUR minimum charge. The company has offered to pay for the airtime charges for the calls. However, the REAL cost of these calls is my time & the potential that I may miss a work call because I don’t stop my shower to answer a call because I’m getting so many of these calls. I’ve had this number since it went into service (no one had it before me). The number is on all my business material. My old clients have this number & may call out of the blue. There are automated functions set up to send data to my mobile phone. Changing my number really isn’t an option. Another issue is that I sometimes can’t even get the callers to speak to me since it sounds like the phone doesn’t give them a chance to do so, just hangs up. I’m not sure if this will be resolved. 1) Should I expect to be compensated for my time? For calls at night, calls while working for another client, calls in the shower, in church, movies, library? For time spent trying to diagnose the original issue & hours spent trying to find the right person in the company to understand the problem? 2) Is there a law/regulation against what they have done? I intend to be fair. If if I’m only asking for for a small fraction of what could a fine or sanction, that would help in choosing a fair compensation amount. Thank you for your advice. It is for the very reason that I want to be fair that I ask for your input. I don’t want to unfair, but this is taking a toll on my business & my life.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> > What do YOU think? >> If you suffered damages from their negligence thats what courts are for. > I would give them a chance to correct the mistake. > If they pay you fairly, then there is not need to go to court. > If they will not properly compensate you, that is when you go to court. > IANAL disclaimer applies, but.. > I will go further – if you go to court FIRST without trying to resolve > the issue out of court, they can use that against you. It’s a very valid > argument, in this case… they probably will never know what’s happening > unless you talk to them first. And if they use that argument in court, and > you DIDN’T talk to them first, it’s likely that you will lose your case and > have wasted your money. > If you can get what you want by asking nicely, why beat it out of them? > Courts are a last resort, not the first resort, like so many people think > today.
I don’t why anyone, with the possible exception of P, would go the litigation route. All llitigation does is make the OP seem like an ass and it may even leave him out in the cold collecting nothing. The OP contacted the telecom, the telecom wants to compensate him. They are being reasonable. I would simply request they compensate me for my cell bill for the months it was affected. if I lost business then sit down with them and figure out a realistic and reasonable amount. -F
Response:
>> > What do YOU think? > If you suffered damages from their negligence thats what courts are for. > I would give them a chance to correct the mistake. > If they pay you fairly, then there is not need to go to court. > If they will not properly compensate you, that is when you go to court.
IANAL disclaimer applies, but.. I will go further – if you go to court FIRST without trying to resolve the issue out of court, they can use that against you. It’s a very valid argument, in this case… they probably will never know what’s happening unless you talk to them first. And if they use that argument in court, and you DIDN’T talk to them first, it’s likely that you will lose your case and have wasted your money. > If you can get what you want by asking nicely, why beat it out of them? > Courts are a last resort, not the first resort, like so many people think > today.
– JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: C57E 8B25 F994 D6D0 5F6B B961 EA08 9410 E3AE 35ED Domain Names, $9.95/yr, great service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
Response:
> > What do YOU think? > If you suffered damages from their negligence thats what courts are for.
I would give them a chance to correct the mistake. If they pay you fairly, then there is not need to go to court. If they will not properly compensate you, that is when you go to court. If you can get what you want by asking nicely, why beat it out of them? Courts are a last resort, not the first resort, like so many people think today.
Response:
> What do YOU think?
If you suffered damages from their negligence thats what courts are for.
Response:
> What do YOU think?
I would consider it an honest mistake. I would want them to correct, or remedy the problem. But I wouldn’t try to be a pain in the butt, as long as they try to do something about it. You should only be a pain in the butt when they do nothing about it. Here is what I would ask for. Them to compensate me in part for the mobile phone bill during the affected time. That is if it was a moderate inconvenience and inflated the bill above normal.. Or for them to totally compensate me for the bill if it rendered the phone useless. Be honest!!!! I would want them to work with my cell phone company to change my number to a non conflicting one, and get my phone company to restrict my old number so no one else would accidentally get it, and have the same problem. I would want them to pay for any cost that would be incurred by changing my phone number to another one. And, if you think you lost any business from the phone calls, then request to be compensated for the approximate lost amount. Don’t make up some ungodly amount!!!! If you do, they will just let you deal with their lawyers. If it was a slow month, and you lost about nothing, then say so. If you were bugged by the calls, but didn’t think you missed any important ones, then don’t ask to be compensated for lost business. If you are reasonable, and they see that you are, they should pay promptly, and do their best to help you. If you are an A$$, then they will forward you to their lawyers.
Response:
A USA Telecom company sold phones that were programmed wrong so they call my mobile phone instead of voicemail. The problem is the number that was programmed in was only valid for one place in the USA. When that phone is used in my state, people call my business mobile phone (instead of their voicemail). I have had HUNDREDS of these calls to my mobile phone. It took me some time to get one of the callers from these seemingly random numbers to let me know they were trying to reach voicemail. I put enough pieces of information together that I called the telecom company & spent several hours getting to the right person who would understand what I was saying. I had to ask callers who called me for more information before I diagnosed exactly what was happening. Yesterday someone from the company called & said they would like to compensate me. The people I’ve dealt with at the company have been nice. I don’t want to be unfair in dealing with them, but I’m wondering what should reasonably request as remuneration (especially since I’m still getting more of these calls). Is what they did illegal? Would the FCC consider this any sort of violation? Could this be considered harrassing calls (even though the telecom company didn’t actually place the calls, simply provided the incorrectly programmed equipment)? What do YOU think?