I just got a phone call from 250-649-7428. The lady went right into a spiel about insurance. Some kind of stupid survey. I asked her who the sponsor of the study was. She didn’t know, so I asked for her supervisor. A few minutes later Eric came on the line. The name of the company was Synovate. He didn’t know who the sponsoring company of the survey was either. Supposedly telling me that would bias the results I give. Yeah, because if it was the insurance company I use, I’d be switching companies! Eric agreed with me that they should run their list through the DNC list, but they don’t. He then said he would remove my phone number from their list for all clients.
I’ve been on the Do-Not-Call List since the first day I could sign up. According to Eric, Congress exempted “surveys.” I’m sorry, but a marketing survey is a commercial call, so marketing companies should be required to follow the Do Not Call list. I am disappointed by Congress allowing such a large loophole to exist. A survey that could be exempt would be true non-profit organizations (not the fake ones like the one in Georgia that rips you off by soliciting money for the state police.) Actually, I think there should be two Do Not Call lists: one for commercial entities (which would be broader than our current list), and one for the currently “exempted” groups (political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors). If I don’t want to be bugged by political candidates recording looong messages on my answering machine, I should be able to choose that up-front. But I do realize the futility of getting any politican to make it easy for citizens (you know, the ones paying their salary) to not receive unsolicited political phone calls.
I have a filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission about the survey call I got.
i got two of these calls in the last 3 days. the funny thing is that they are calling from Prince George, BC Canada. long distance to pester me. i have not been home, but at least i now know who they are.
Yea, I too have gotten a few of these in the past 5 days. I answered the other day and I cut the lady off before she could say anything because a hornet got into my house!
I,too,have been getting these calls (Moss Bluff Louisiana) and as many others probably have also. I’m sure it is someone defrauding people out of their monies. I always let the machine answer it. AND modern technology isn’t advanced enough….call block does not work with the out of the country phone number!!!
I also got one of these call while I was on computor, so my call wave took the call and I got the number… The Prince Charles BC is what really threw me… but I will watch for the number in the future.. I also am on the No Call List..
I got this call too, in Phoenix, Ariona. It’s interesting that it’s coming from Canada. Perhaps the company believes it can’t be prosecuted for violating DNC rules because it is outside the United States.
I got a call last night from the same number mentioned above and it was an entirely different message. It was very weird. The guy said, “this is Agent Johnson from the FBI and I’m calling about the test tubes”.
I said you have the wrong number and he said, “no I don’t dude” and I said, “yes, (long pause) you do”
I just got a call from this number at my office. I looked it up on 411.com and the report said it was private or not listed. I get hammered by salespeople all the time in my job (Information Technology) to the point that now, if I don’t recognize the number or name, I don’t answer. Oddly enough, right before this call came in, I got one from 208-906-1006. I couldn’t find any info on that one.
Hmm…the past 2 days i received a call from the same # as greg, 208-906-1006. I decided to google the number and it lead me here. i’m guessing another telemarketer? i doubt greg and i are connected by anyone in any way.
I’ve received numerous calls over the past two weeks from the number listed above (208-906-1006), sometimes twice a day. Caller ID lists it as belonging to Contact America. After ignoring so many calls, I’ve answered the call thirce to give them an ear-full, but no one responds to me. I’ve even waited until they have disconnected the line (about 30 seconds), but still no reply. I plan on listing this with DNC, but am curious if anyone else has?
You can and should report Do Not Call violations to the FTC. But in my opinion it does no good. And the telemarketers know this. The few times the FTC has gone after a “Bad” telemarketer, they settled for pennies on the dollar instead of fining the company the full $11,000 per violation.
i just got that number calling me for three days now and here i am looking it up on google. 208 906 1006, and i am calling it back to see where it takes me, nowhere. they hang up. i wish i could get their house number and call them and bother them when it is not convient.
I just got the 208 906 1006 call as well, and I too called them back just to get hung up on as well!
I have been receiving calls from this 208-906-1006 number for the past month, two or three days a week. I have attempted to call back and get no answer or just they just hang up on me..
I have been receiving a call from this number 208-906-1006 for the past month, everyday at least three times a day. I too am on the NO CALL LIST for our state. I have attempted to call back and keep getting no answer, or hung up on. I am going to report this to my Attorney Generals Office.
i have just started getting calls last week from the (208)906-1006 number and thinking i had missed a clients call, rang it back to get a message saying the office was closed. when i googled it i found this blog site. i called my provider t-mobile, who said they cannot block it but confirmed that it was a t-mobile number. is anyone else receiving these calls on t-mobile as that would be interesting if its network-specific. the t-mobile operator said that there is nothing they can do to stop the calls from this number as its ‘illegal’ for them to call it for any reason (something i find highly unbelievable).
can everyone else who received this nuisance and has anyone else complained to t-mobile.
sorry i need to correct myself – i talked to a different person at t-mobile who said this 208 906 1006 number is not a t-mobile number. still it would be interesting to find out what networks other people receiving this are on. i am getting the calls religiously every day around midday PST.
To Rachel: I don’t know if its “illegal” for T-Mobile to call a number, but it kind of makes sense. If that number were a T-Mobile #, it could be seen as an attempt to use up someone’s minutes.
Definitely file a complaint with the FTC at http://www.donotcall.gov and your state’s Attorney General’s office. Although neither will give you any kind of immediate response. If the FTC gets enough complaints about a specific telemarketer, they will give them a slap on the wrist (nowhere near the $11,000 they could fine them for each violation), but around a dollar per reported offense. ($1 million fine for 64 million hang-ups, and over a million DoNotCall list violations).
I finally got them to answer! I’ve been receiving calls daily for weeks from 208-906-1006. When I do pick up, there’s no one on the other end–ever. I tried calling the number back and was repeatedly put on hold–then it would hang up after about 30 seconds. I finally got a human on the line, explaining that they (Contact America) are a call center outsourcing agency and often make calls on behalf of your own credit and mortgage companies / providers, etc., –who do have the right to call you, by the way, regardless of DNC, since you are already their customer. Not very effective if they don’t even pick up when THEY call YOU! Anyway, I asked to be put on their own DNC list, and was told that I would be. Hope this helps!
I have been getting hang ups for a couple of months and finally star 69’d to get the number. 208-906-1006 Instead of calling I decided to google it and found this blog. Thanks for the insight!
Here is the company website that is placing these calls.
http://www.contact-america.com
Here is the number they have listed on their website.
(800) 887-6837
I have sent them a message in the contact us page but it crashed when I submitted my comments.
I just called the number listed on the Contact America website. 1-800-887-6820. I got a real person right away. I explained how I was getting repeated phone calls from 208-906-1006 and there would be noone on the line when I answered. She proceeded to apologize and explain how they were apparently having problems because I was probably the 20th person to call today. I went on further to explain how I had googled the number that appeared on my caller ID and found several blog sites with numerous people complaining about getting calls from this same number. She took the number and said it would be looked into. As well as my own to make sure it wouldn’t be called again. Lets hope this fixes the problem. I would encourage others to call them too. Good luck.
Who would make repeated calls from an unmanned number, leaving blank messages or leaving you on a phone line with nobody on the other end? Contact America, the so-called “Highest Quality Call Center Service In The Industry” (according to its Website). This has happened enough times, over a long enough period of time, that I don’t think they are having a “problem.” I don’t know what they are doing, but it smells really fishy to me. We are on the DNC list and this is a violation.
I am in ND and I too have receive calls from this number 206-906-1006, on my cell phone…thanks for all the other entries, so I know not to call it back or answer it.
Why not call the phone 1-800# on their web site repeately…they have to pay for each call! I know it’s alot of trouble, but it’s one way to get “even”!
I’ve been getting these annoying calls for quite some time on home phone which I never answer, still annoying because it fills my machine up w/hangups 4 times a day. I found this site and called the (800) 887-6837 listed on here. Got someone and was told their system would be updated and should not be rec any more calls and if I did to call and complain. Hope it works if not they will be hearing from me!
These – – – – people are calling daily, sometimes twice each day. The worst part is you answer the phone and 9 times out of 10 it’s dead air!! You sit there for a few minutes and the thing will finally click and whir and suddenly you are on the receiving end of a fast busy. I’ve called them back TWICE and spent over 20 minutes on hold each time. After finally reaching a real person I complained about the calls, told them I was on the DNC list and that I did not want to hear from them again. The receiptionist (or whatever) said it would take 24 to 48 hours to get me through the system – but I’ve gotten calls through today – more than a week after she said they would stop. Can I sue them???? Can they be arrested??? Where do I complain!!!!
Patricia, For all the good it will do, the only place you can officially complain to is at the “file a Complaint link at http://www.donotcall.gov.
Unofficially, you should file a complaint with your Congressman, both of your Senators, your state representative(s), and your state’s Office of Consumer Affairs (may be called something else, each state calls it something else – start by checking with your state’s Lieutenant Governor).
The reason I say “unofficially” is all of those people will say the National Do Not Call List is already managing the problem of telemarketing; plus all of those offices are elected; and elected officials are exempted from the DNC lis, and they want to be able to harass you, thus they will never add politicians to the list.
As for the complaint filed on the DNC web site, the FTC never really fines the violating companies all that they could, it ends up being only a few bucks per violation, instead of $11,000 per violation that it is supposed to be. They’ve had less than 100 fines levied since the list came into existence 5 years ago. But still file the complaint, if the FTC gets enough complaints maybe they’ll start doing what they should be doing: protecting citizens/consumers and fining companies breaking the law.
Before I got your response I got yet another call from these wahoos. I went onto their website, “contact us” and sent a message that I was on both the Federal and Colorado DNC lists, further that I had recorded my last 3 requests that they NOT call me again and that if I received one more call I would contact 1) the FTC, 2) The Colorado Attorney General, 3) My private attorney to see if I could sue for pain & suffering and I would then start contacting my State Senators. I also informed them that, this being an election year, I was certain some action against them would be taken.
This morning there was an incoming message from Contact America. It stated that I should NOT be contacted by them again and that they were sorry for any inconvenience.
We shall see!!
I just got the (208)906-1006 number on my cell last night. After being on hold with them for over 30mins.. I got a woman on the line who said they were a representative of the mortgage and/or credit card companies that I use.
She wanted to let me know about a new program they offer.. it is a telemarketing scheme, but done so in a way where we cannot put them on the DNC. uuugh!
I just got the (208)906-1006 number on my cell last night. After being on hold with them for over 30mins.. I got a woman on the line who said they were a representative of the mortgage and/or credit card companies that I use.
She wanted to let me know about a new program they offer.. it is a telemarketing scheme, but done so in a way where we cannot put them on the DNC. uuugh!
dreamlyn williams is my name
I have been receiving calls on my cell for about a week from this number that everyone is commenting about. I will try what is suggested here and see if it helps. Thanks.
I’ve looked up the address listed on the “Contact America” website after receiving the same calls and reading the entries posted here. The address listed (7777 Girard Avenue La Jolla, CA 92037) comes up as My Place Bistro. This Contact America is completely bogus. Not sure where to go from here, but I’m definitely going to do something!!
Phone number 208-906-1006 belongs to a company called Contact America. Their website is http://www.contact-america.com and they are the company responsible for phone number 208-906-1006.
They have called me every day for a week and a half, many times a day (four and upwards). When I pick up they disconnect. Their goal was to verify that it was a viable phone number for telemarketing purposes. When I originally called back to attempt to identify the caller, I received a message stating that “Our business office is now closed, please call back during normal business hours.” After the message played, the call was terminated.
Today when I called back, I was placed on hold with the same message that another individual had, saying “Contact America, please hold. A customer service representative will be with you shortly.” I remained on hold for an extended period of time (approximately 30 minutes) prior to having a representative pick up, to whom I demanded to remove my number from their call list. She stated that I would be placed on their do not call list within the next 24 to 48 hours. I stated that should they call me again, I would be pressing harassment charges against them.
Be patient, and be clear about being removed from the list when you do finally speak with a representative.
To Contact America, I do not intend this as a threat, but as a statement of consequences for your actions: I have a list of all the days and times you have called. I have requested that you remove me from your list. If you do not, then I will be pressing charges for the next call from your 208-906-1006 number, or any other number from your company. I do not take kindly to being harassed at all hours of the day and night, and as I am on the Do Not Call registry, I will ensure that you are fined for your actions.
Caller ID: 208-906-1006
Caller: Contact America
Caller Type: Telephone Surveyor
To “Harassment Victim:” Definitely file a complaint to the FTC at http://www.donotcall.gov. File one complaint for each time they contacted you. Use your records wisely, don’t submit one complaint about the many times you’ve been bothered illegally.
Since apparently the “do not call people” are incapable of doing their job I suggest everyone return the favor to CONTACT AMERICA by leaving their webmasters email address on every porn sight they can find.
Wouldn’t one think the CONTACT AMERICA webmaster would be interested in porn like they think we are interested in their crap they are selling?
When you get bored with that then you can check out their very own links page at CONTACT AMERICA to find even more companies to return the favor too!
http://www.contact-america.com/partners.html
Comment #35’s suggestion to spam the heck out of the poor person stuck with the webmaster address at contact-america.com is misguided. Do not do this. It could be seen as fraud (distributing the email address, or signing up for stuff with an address that isn’t yours).
However, I think calling Contact America would be ok. After all, they called you. And yes, file those complaints with the FTC at http://www.donotcall.gov. It can’t hurt, although the FTC settles DNC violations for pennies on the $11,000 per violation.
I just contacted Verizon and they recommend calling their Unlawful Call Center directly at (800) 518-5507. Well, I can only say don’t waste your time. I was redirected to 4 different phone numbers, and then when I finally got the right group on the line, they said there is nothing they can do. Contact the FTC. Even the police have no jurisdication. However, be forewarned the police do have full jurisdiction if an individual calls and harasses another individual. What an aweful joke!!!
Not a lot new to add. Been receiving calls from Contact America/208.906.1006 almost daily for the past few weeks. I finally answered a few days ago & no one was there. The frustration has sent me to the internet & landed me here. The only difference I’m seeing in my situation is that I’m getting the calls on my Vonage home line. Guess I’m going to the “Do Not Call” site next. & I’m going to see if there is anyway for me to “block” a number through Vonage. I remember when you could block numbers on real land lines. Wish the new lines still had this feature.