[goodgrief]

Okay 8am this morning three welcome calls pretending to chamber of commerce. Going through the caller ID these were the three companies that called back to back to back. And they addressed us by name!

GE PRO ELITE
LCRG Enterprises
ALL About Water

All trying to get you to test water and sell you a water system.

HOW DID THEY GET OUR UNPUBLISHED NUMBER?? I would like to know who gave it out if anyone knows the culprit because I'll be going after them.

Even the Villages does not have this number as it was not the number we had when we bought this and we didn't update them with it either.

Anyone have a clue??

[coach]

My guess is that the number came from your cable and internet provider. We changed from Comcast to Century Link and started getting the "Welcome to your new home" calls. We aren't new. Been here seven years, so it had to be the change in provider.

[Patty55]

It is the cable company, they got my last name wrong on my account, most solicitation calls I get ask for the wrong name.

[Mack184]

Originally Posted by Patty55

It is the cable company, they got my last name wrong on my account, most solicitation calls I get ask for the wrong name.

Everytime you sign up for some store's "discount" card, everytime you give your number to most ANY business for any reason, that store, buisiness or service is going to sell their client list to somebody. It is SO easy for somebody with some basic knowledge of internet searching to find your address, your phone, your car registration & your underwear size. So-called "unpublished" & "unlisted" phone numbers are about as hard to crack as the seal on a beer can if you know what you're looking for. In this internet age, you can run, but it's pretty darn hard to hide.

[batman911]

It is definitely the cable company. I recently changed from the telephone company to cable telephone and started receiving sales, charity and other calls on my unlisted number. I asked the cable company about it an they denied selling the numbers. It could be someone working at the cable company doing it on their own. I have used the cable company web site to block calls from the offenders and wrote not so nice emails to the heads of the charity organizations asking them to remove my number from their data base. All the charity heads responded saying they subscribe to a service that provides the numbers. I'm pretty sure these number service companies are paying someone for the numbers.

[karostay]

My story is differant.
We closed on our home July 2011 by mail.
We had no phone or cable at that time . We arrived Mid Sept ready to furnish our new home first we had to stop at Citizens First Mortgage Co to sign a few papers and get our Id's.We weren't in our new home and hour and the solicitors started pouring in.They kept it up for 2 weeks .During that time we had our phone installed
I think when there's new meat in the neighborhood the village's send the lions out to feed.

[Patty55]

Originally Posted by Mack184

Everytime you sign up for some store's "discount" card, everytime you give your number to most ANY business for any reason, that store, buisiness or service is going to sell their client list to somebody. It is SO easy for somebody with some basic knowledge of internet searching to find your address, your phone, your car registration & your underwear size. So-called "unpublished" & "unlisted" phone numbers are about as hard to crack as the seal on a beer can if you know what you're looking for. In this internet age, you can run, but it's pretty darn hard to hide.

Yup, and two can play this game. I sleuthed out the owner of those IMO "bogus" charities. I have his (unlisted) home phone number, his home address, his AKA's and the next time I get woken up with his BS robocalls I'm waking him up.

[Ooper]

If you have caller ID, why did you even answer the phone?? That is why I have caller ID... if I don't like or know who is calling, it doesn't get answered!

[Patty55]

Originally Posted by Ooper

If you have caller ID, why did you even answer the phone?? That is why I have caller ID... if I don't like or know who is calling, it doesn't get answered!

Whether I answer or not I am still woken up, aren't I?

[Ooper]

Originally Posted by Patty55

Whether I answer or not I am still woken up, aren't I?

Wasn't trying to be smart but you said in the 1st post you were called at 8 AM. I suppose if one was still asleep, then one would be irritated.

[Patty55]

Originally Posted by Ooper

Wasn't trying to be smart but you said in the 1st post you were called at 8 AM. I suppose if one was still asleep, then one would be irritated.

Yep, and just so you know, those robocall auto dialers keep calling back until they connect. I received 5 calls from the bogus (IMO) charity within 2 days.

[bdabob]

As a sidebar to this thread, my wife and I closed mid September and for the next 3 weeks we were inundated with door knockers trying to sell us everything from curtains to water treatments! I eventually put a sign on the front door saying "If I didn't call you, please don't knock". It didn't work as far as I could tell because they just kept coming.
We had to answer the door each time as we had many deliveries of furniture and visits by our selectwed service providers (landscapers, pest, home watch etc.) so the interuptions were most unwelcome.

[GOJODO]

It happened to us, 3 days after closing as the movers were unloading our furniture. Here comes the "Welcoming Wagon" followed by the "Water" fellow to sell you water treatment.
Run away from him! He is obnoxious pushing a system for $8,000., hubby asked him to leave and he kept talking. Finally left after a few words only to call me back ( cell phone) to see if we changed our mind. He and the welcome wagon could only have acquired our numbers from the closing office.

[goodgrief]

Luckily the closing office only had our cell and old phone from the leased house. The door knockers have been minimal, maybe because we're in pretty finished neighborhood..think there were only a couple houses left. If that starts up the no soliciting sign will go up.

[Patty55]

My neighborhood has been finished for years, the only canvasser I've had lately is from Century Link. The phone calls never stop, I get at least 6 or 7 a week from A/C companies (I now have fun with them and tell them we don't believe in A/C), the fake Sheriff collection calls a few times a week and of course the one that REALLY PUT ME OVER THE EDGE, the breast cancer rip-off artist who preys on the good nature of people.