It's simple from before you even answer the phone. Have caller ID and do not accept calls if you don't know the number that is calling and/or the name. It's real simple. If it is serious, they will leave a message and you can chose to call them back or not right away.

Evangelise them....lol

bore them to death..change the subject and start telling them your life story lol and its fun

Telemarketer phone tag. If your w/ some friends, you just keep handing the phone around and saying stuff like "well, you should talk to bill in accounting" and then they say "stephanie in marketing research would be able to handle this" eventually they hang up. That, or say you'll be right back, put the phone by the stereo and just leave

Jo's Crab Shack. We put the crabs right up in you. HAHA, it's make them hang up immediatly every time!

I usually say i like paying more for whatever they're trying to sell me.

I alway's call them back - Does it every time - Their History

register your phone number at: https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

I got on the do not call.gov list and I hardly ever get them anymore

Just say that you never purchase anything or donate over the phone. Then immediately tell them that you'll let them go now as you don't want to waste any more of their time. Say goodbye sweetly and politely and hang up. It works like a charm for me.

i have told the telemarketers that called that have a raspy voice that they probably have throat cancer with very little time to live. I tell them that I am a pulmonolgist

Tell them you don't have a telephone. This gets them really confused and they will say something like.."I'm sorry, but what am I ringing you on then?" and you say, "I have no idea, I'm really sorry I can't help, but I don't have a telephone."

Request for the caller, in a polite but firm manner, to remove you from their calling list.

Is it a foreign number ? If so do this - gently lay the receiver down on the table and walk away. They are paying for this expensive call and on some networks, they will not be able to call another with the line still open. It will save someone else an unwelcome call. If you are feeling like wasting their time, go along with it and then back out at the last moment, again saving others a call. Other ideas are asking for their name and the company you work for - very often the phone just gets put down. In the UK you can go to TPS -Telephone Preference Service online, stops all calls save the foreign ones in 28 days.

"Sure, I'd love to fill out your survey!" This usually catches them so off guard, they hang up. The one time I did fill out out, the guy asked the same questions over and over, 'cause he never did it before.

Answer with "City Morgue. Spare parts division..."

1. My grandmother usually picks up the phone when they call, and just when they're about to start speaking, she yells into the phone, "I am very sorry, we are not interested in your product and are not going to be, so please take us off your calling list, we are not interested!!!"-This works 90% of the time. 2. I've picked up the phone once, and before the telemarketer could speak, I said, "City Morgue, how can I help you?"-Didn't call again.

Just go on asking them personal questions.

I am on a "No Call" list and supposedly if I tell them to not call again, they are not supposed to do so.

I tell them... "Let me think about it. How about giving me your home phone number and when I make a decision I'll call you and let you know... What's the matter? You don't like getting calls at home? Now you know how I feel!". Then I hang up on them.

Whenever I'm in England and get one of those calls, I tell them i live in Tanzania (which i do)and that I'm leaving England in two days time, and therefore it becomes pointless for them to carry on talking seeing as in Tanzania the *amazing offer* doesn't exist...

I don't make fun of them. Their lives are horrible enough already or they wouldn't be doing that kind of job. :( I know every second they spend talking to me is a second wasted for them, so I usually say, "No thank you" and disconnect before they have to launch into the script their employer forces them to use when the victim says no.

Tell them I'm busy, but I'll be glad to call them at home later to talk about it. haven't gotten a home phone number yet.

These came from another site so I take credit for none of them, but I just had to post them as some are very funny. I especially like the house arrest thing..... If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy and you could sure use some money. If they start out with, "How are you today?" say, "I'm so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems; my arthritis is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died. When they try to get to the sell, just keep talking about your problems. If they say they're John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is located. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for as long as necessary. This works great if you are male: Telemarketing: "Hi, my name is Judy and I'm with XYZ Company...Wait for a second and with a real husky voice ask, "What are you wearing?" Cry out in surprise, "Judy! Is that you? Oh my God! Judy, how have you been?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of terror as she tries to figure out where she could know you from. Say "No," over and over. Be sure to vary the sound of each one, and keep a rhythmic tempo, even as they are trying to peak. This is most fun if you can do it until they hang up. If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up for the Family and Friends Plan, reply, in as SINISTER a voice as you can, "I don't have any friends...Would you be my friend?" If the company cleans rugs, respond: "Can you get out blood? Can you get out GOAT blood? How about HUMAN blood?" After the telemarketer gives their spiel, ask him/her to marry you. When they get all flustered, tell them that you could not just give you credit card number to a complete stranger. Tell the telemarketer that you work for the same company, they often can't sell to employees. Answer the phone. As soon as you realize it is a telemarketer, set the receiver down, shout or scream "Oh my Gosh!!!" and then hang up. Tell the telemarketer you are busy at the moment and ask them if they will give you their HOME phone number so you can call them back. When the telemarketer explains that they cannot give out their HOME number, you say "I guess you don't want anyone bothering you at home, right?" The telemarketer will agree and you say, "Now you know how I feel!" Hang up. Ask them to repeat everything they say, several times. Tell them it is dinner time, BUT ask if they would please hold. Put them on your speaker phone while you continue to eat at your leisure. Smack your food loudly and continue with your dinner conversation. Tell the telemarketer you are on "home incarceration" and ask if they could bring you some beer. Ask them to fax the information to you, and make up a number. Tell the telemarketer, "Okay, I will listen to you. But I should probably tell you, I'm not wearing any clothes." Insist that the caller is really your buddy Leon, playing a joke. "Come on Leon, cut it out! Seriously, Leon, how's your momma?" Tell them you are hard of hearing and that they need to speak up...louder... louder... LOUDER...

"I'm so sorry, I really need to go use the restroom.....now"

Before caller ID, I used to pretend I was the nanny or a babysitter. They could hear the kids in the background, so it was believable. Of course, they can call back...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG7TsDMWy-o listen to this bloke. warning , SWEARING.

Caller ID is great for these types of calls-I don't answer anything that says 'unknown caller.' I have friends who will start trying to sell the telemarketers something, or asking them rather personal questions. Also, my number is on the Do not call registry. Not as perfect as it was just a few years ago, though!! Ah vell, we all have to make a buck somehow!! In His service, <:))))<>< "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

If you have time and want to be a bother, ask them lots of questions (where are you calling from, how's the weather, what kind of car do you have, whatever). Otherwise, tell them no thank you or I'm not interested, ask to be removed from their list and hang up.

Try to convert them to the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Only during dinner.

Personally no, but I hate the job they do. I feel rather sorry for them..but I sure don't want to talk to them.

Personally, I don't really care, they are just doing their job, albeit an annoying job but I've always wanted to blow up a balloon, pop it and yell really loud"ahhhhh! I've been shot!!!" whenever one calls me

I don't hate telemarketers, but I sure hate getting those calls. I usually just pretend to not speak English. It flusters them. XD

Yes I sure do. But there is an easy way to avoid them, just don't answer the phone when and unknown number shows up on your call display.

Actually, I don't hate telemarketers..I hate being called by them though. I used to do all sorts of things to mess with them. Say "hold on a sec" lay the phone down and continue doing what I had been before they called. Trying to sell THEM something, pretend to be very hard of hearing, etc. I am on the do not call list..if they call now I just hang up and report them.

I usually just say straight away "no thanks im not interested" and put the phone down before they start to rattle off what they are selling.

I usually just say straight away "no thanks im not interested" and put the phone down before they start to rattle off what they are selling.

If the same ones continue to call, I start asking them questions. That usually deters them. For a long time I kept getting calls from 888-888-8888. I was VERY annoyed, because they would call, ask me questions and then hang up when they didn't get any answers that they liked. They usually called back, and I could never understand what the hell they were saying. I finally started googling about it, and I found some disturbing stuff. Calls to people at early hours of the morning. Even one teenage girl who said that they'd threatened to kill her. Scarey.

Answer in another language and say random words that I actually know until they give up ^.^ This is very fun in Japanese.

Also, I only do that if I recognize the same people calling again after I've said "NO"

What usually works for me is singing any show tune at the top of my lungs-if they can last through that,I'll give them a bonus track

sometimes if its a scam and you can tell its a scam its good to learn as much as you can so you can tell the RCMP. or i say excuse me, Excuse Me, I have to go. but get them to take you off their list. Oh Man, I get a lot of callers who ask for the male version of my name, they get an earful, that is not excuseable. But the most annoying is when the machine calls you and then you have to wait for the telemarketer to pick up. why am i waiting for them? "oh, its the computer" I didnt want you to call me in the first place.

I say , Hello, is Alice there etc etc

Tom Mabe phone solicitation video ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S7FXI4Bd3c Andy Rooney Tips for Handling Telemarketers Three Little Words That Work !! (1) The three little words are: 'Hold On, Please...' Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt. Then when you eventually hear the phone company's 'beep-beep-beep' tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task. These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting. (2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end? This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone. This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a 'real' sales person to call back and get someone at home. What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible. This confuses the machine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer! (3) Junk Mail Help: When you get 'ads' enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these 'ads' with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away. When you get those 'pre-approved' letters in the ma il for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope. Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them more than the regular 37 cents postage 'IF' and when they receive them back. It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 50 cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-paid return envelopes. One of Andy Rooney's (60 minutes) ideas. Send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back! If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them. You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 37 cents. < BR>The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice! Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea! If enough people follow these tips, it will work ---- I have been doing this for years, and I get very little junk mail anymore.

We have a no call list here. If the person calls again after I have informed them of my displeasure, then I can and will take legal action against them.

I either say Hello? Hello? Hello? over and over again and wait until they hang up or say 'I'm sorry. I don't speak English' with an accent, I used British once ;_; fool xD

The no call list works pretty well -occasionally a call slips through, and I am very polite in my refusal as I understand that the person at the other end of a line is only trying to make a living, and that his or her job is very difficult, and that being rude or hanging up is just another way of stressing an already stressful life. It's a tough world and I don't want to make it worse for anyone. (well, except trolls)

if you work in telecommunications (be it telemarketing, collections, customer service, or otherwise) you probably have a few scripts of your own that you can give to customers, and when i worked for AT&T i sometimes liked to unload a few of mine on telemarketers when they called me at home. usually they'd hang up, but once i had a guy who just kept talking right on through it. we basically had a whole conversation in script; it went something like this. "hello?" "hi, my name is mike from the whatever company. do you have a few minutes to participate in a survey?" "thank you for calling the new AT&T regarding your wireless service, my name is j-- v-- and i'll be assisting you. are you calling in reference to wireless number 555-1234?" "uhh..." "and can you provide the last four digits of the social security number on the account, sir?" "first question. are you over the age of 18?" "sir, you may be interested in utilizing our new star services, a new toll-free service offered exclusively by AT&T wireless." "alright. and what is the yearly income of your household?" "i'd like to have you power the device off for roughly thirty seconds, then power it back on and tell me whether the number of bars has increased." and it went on like that. for about ten minutes. eventually the guy couldn't hide the fact that he was laughing and what the hell, i laughed too. i don't mistreat telemarketers, but i do like to screw with them sometimes.

No call list=no telemarketers Now please give me a No Politicians List=no political calls...

DO NOT CALL list. I used to listen to the spiel, then explain that I couldn't afford it, even with any payment plan. (Hey... Giving the caller experience in the spiel and rebuttals, was the way I looked at it.)

I ask them the name of their company; I write it down; I tell them, "I'm on the Do Not Call list and you're looking at an $11,000 fine."; and then I hang up on them. After that I file a complaint against them with the DNC registry.

Dont use landlines.I disconnected mine and only use a cell now.Never had them call since.

act like you are going through a tunnel even though you are on a land line.add sound effects if necessary

I would tell the telemarketer that I am not interested. I would indeed be telling the truth, as I am rarely interested in what the person is selling.

i usually cut them off and say "i am not interested" ... it gets them shocked for a moment ... and they just end it themselves ... maybe it has to do with the tone of my voice ... i sound rough on the phone

I'm not interested.

I might ask them the name of their company and to spell their name several times.

One of the (very few) great advantages of smart phones is the ability to block unwanted caller numbers. I always block telemarketers since (a couple of years ago) acquiring a smart phone. It's cut down on "spam" calls probably by about 90%.

ask them to hold on a minute and then walk away from the phone for an hour or more

i say not interested

AFTER they're off the phone (you can be as polite as you please), just block the number. As far as I'm concerned, that is the best feature of "smart" phones.