Lost my temper & did something about it

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

My DH will be 65 in February. It is too early for him to sign up for Medicare, but apparently not too early for the solicitations to have begun.

For the past two months, our phone has been ringing off of the hook for callers claiming to be from Medicare and those who admit to being brokers selling supplements and Advantage Plans.

We have an unlisted number and are on the Do Not Call List and it is illegal for insurance companies to cold call anyone to sell them insurance,

i have blocked the numbers, but they call again on a different extension. I block that number too. My phone rings once for each blocked call, annoying me.

This week i answered a few calls and gave the caller a piece of my mind and asked them not to call. The next day, they called again.

Today, I received seven calls from different numbers in about an hour. Some called back a couple of times within that hour after their number was blocked.

Having had enough, I called the Federal Trade Commission. They took my info and the numbers and entered them into their data base. I looked at their website too. There is a lot of information there that was helpful about illegal trade practices and fraud by phone.

i have no idea how these people got our phone number. They know my DH's age and name, so they are getting this info somewhere.

i will be 65 fifteen months after him.... Oh my! I can't imagine even going through this all over again,

hoosieroriginal · ‎03-04-2012

I think you did the right thing - we need to stand up for ourselves and the nonsense that is thrust upon us all the time with these robocalls. Next one that calls, tell them you are reporting them immediately - bet the calls stop. This is why I just have a cell phone. I received not one call from insurance companies this year.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

Medicare still begins at 65 even though ages for full retirement benefits are 66 or 67, depending on the worker's age. Some people still do retire at 65. That's why your husband is getting all those solicitations. I doubt that it's illegal to offer insurance by phone and the DNC list never worked well and doesn't work at all now. They are even calling on cell phones now, I probably get 30 junk calls a day on my cell phone. I never answer numbers that I don't know but that doesn't stop them. Block a number and they just call you on another number. It's not people...it's robo calling. Aggravating but I'm not about to get all bent out of shape over it. My cell phone provider shows "likely a scan call" for some calls and I appreciate that. I'm sure that's because people have called and reported but honestly, I don't have the time for it. The calls are annoying but they do not impact my life in any way. It's like junk mail....another annoyance.

LTT1 · ‎03-09-2010

@Carmie

I turned 65 last spring.

Starting in about December, we started receiving these calls (to purchase their plans).

We turned off the sound on the land-line and only a few (but persistent) callers dialed the cell.

Also, my email in-box often gets the ads. And the companies probably sold my email addy.

Top this off with the fact that at some time my email program was changed to somehow not allow batch deletions so I have 600 junk emails. AARGH

Really all the companies have to do is search birth records to come up with the 65 year olds.

~Have a Kind Heart, Fierce Mind, Brave Spirit~

Katcat1 · ‎07-21-2011

@Carmie, So sorry you had to go through this. Thanks for the information on the Federal Trade Commission which I did not know about. I get calls all the time not related to Medicare. I answer and hang up. Or, I let it ring and the answering device answers and they never leave a message. These people especially pray on older individuals 80's &90's and ask for personal information. We need to help any older individual we know and tell them NEVER, NEVER give out any personal informaton. Thanks for your thread.

kindness is strength

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

@chrystaltree It is illegal to call to sell insurance over the phone. Large companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, United Healthcare and the like NEVER call unless you fill out a form asking for information. They will even come to your home to sign you up, as they can.'t do it over the phone. It must be in person, or you need to send an application in. They will send you mailings only...because they know better.

Brokers are small firms who usually sell many different Plans from a couple of insurance companies and they think they can get away with it... and it appears that they do.

Not everyone who is turning 65 will need to buy insurance. Everyone has to pick up Part A, but not everyone needs Part B if they are still working. Somethimes your work insurance is Primary over Medicare, if so, you can hold off getting Part B until you don't have that insurance. There is no penality for this.

In our case, my DH will have insurance with the company I retired from, it will be group insurance and our out of pocket payment for it is very little. It's part of my benefit package. He will have Part A and B from Medicare.

i don't mind the junk mail, but the calls are crazy. It is harassment. Every once in a while, companies get punished for this type of calling. I can only hope.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

@LTT1 But where did they get our unlisted phone number?

Tribesters · ‎03-10-2010

@Carmie

Frustrating how many calls we receive anymore. Used to have the "do not call" list but that's useless any more. They can program their phone #'s to anything they want. Last night I answered a call because caller ID showed it was the local florist calling. It was a foreign sounding telemarketer. I then compared the numbers & they used the name of the florist but the number had the local exchange but different number. They're getting trickier!

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

@Carmie wrote:
My DH will be 65 in February. It is too early for him to sign up for Medicare, but apparently not too early for the solicitations to have begun.

For the past two months, our phone has been ringing off of the hook for callers claiming to be from Medicare and those who admit to being brokers selling supplements and Advantage Plans.

We have an unlisted number and are on the Do Not Call List and it is illegal for insurance companies to cold call anyone to sell them insurance,

i have blocked the numbers, but they call again on a different extension. I block that number too. My phone rings once for each blocked call, annoying me.

This week i answered a few calls and gave the caller a piece of my mind and asked them not to call. The next day, they called again.

Today, I received seven calls from different numbers in about an hour. Some called back a couple of times within that hour after their number was blocked.

Having had enough, I called the Federal Trade Commission. They took my info and the numbers and entered them into their data base. I looked at their website too. There is a lot of information there that was helpful about illegal trade practices and fraud by phone.

i have no idea how these people got our phone number. They know my DH's age and name, so they are getting this info somewhere.

i will be 65 fifteen months after him.... Oh my! I can't imagine even going through this all over again

@Carmie

Google your husband's name. Most likely you will find some info on him, and the deeper you look, the more you will find. They help you narrow it down to the state and area where you live. Most likely you will also find your name connected to his.

Your callers know how to scan those sites for age, address, etc.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

@hoosieroriginal wrote:
I think you did the right thing - we need to stand up for ourselves and the nonsense that is thrust upon us all the time with these robocalls. Next one that calls, tell them you are reporting them immediately - bet the calls stop. This is why I just have a cell phone. I received not one call from insurance companies this year.

These are not robo calls. If I answer, there's a person on the other end. Sometimes they tell me that they are calling from Medicare, which I know is not true. I usually tell them off in a sweet voice reminding them that they are breaking the law, and they hang up on me and quickly. I usually say " Guess where I work, go ahead and guess." When I say that, they do not call back.