Posted by Priscilla Witman on 1/28/13 2:16pm
Msg #452717

Regarding repetitive phone calls...

This is in reference to Msg #448260 written by Brenda/TX in regards to Nations Direct and their repetitive phone calls.

Shortly after this thread, maybe a week or so ago, I received about 5-6 phone calls from Nations Direct in one 20-minute time span. (For history, I have asked them repeatedly for over a year to stop calling me, apparently to no avail. I did complete one signing for ND when I was a brand-new notary, when I learned my lesson about low-balling.) They called my business line, my personal line, and my home phone. The calls woke up my husband who was on nights that week and sleeping at the time. I was fed up. I looked this thread back up and drew insight from Brenda's post. I called back, got disconnected a few times, and finally talked to a scheduler. I asked that they remove my name and phone numbers from their database. I took down her name and recorded the time.

Then, I made a list of all the phone calls they'd made that day, and in the recent past, and printed unofficial phone records (I have Vonage; they make it very simple to do, Verizon is a little more time-consuming). I researched the company principals, and wrote a letter. I outlined the calls they'd made, and my repeated requests to be removed from their database, culminating in that day's events, and my explicit request to "Jane Scheduler" to remove my information. I wasn't nasty, and I told the CEO that I simply didn't want to work with or for Nations Direct again. I ended my letter with a simple request: remove my information from the ND database and stop harassing me with calls. If my written request was then ignored, I would follow up with a formal complaint to the Department of Consumer Affairs for California. I sent the letter certified and tracked the delivery.

Today, I received an email from the President of Nations Direct. He apologized. Said he removed my information. Asked that I let him know if I needed anything else. Will this actually end the Nations Direct/Priscilla Witman saga? I don't know. But I have the DCA complaint form tucked away safely in case it doesn't. For now I will have faith that the right steps were taken and the president will keep his word.

I thought this information might prove useful to others who feel they are being harassed by Nations Direct. I have all of the pertinent business information; should anyone need it, just PM me for the details. And just FYI...I have never done anything like this before. I am usually polite to companies I don't want to work with, if I don't just send the calls straight to voicemail. But enough is enough and I took a stand. Some of you may enjoy working with ND, and if that's the case, to each his own.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 1/28/13 3:10pm
Msg #452739

That's a good way to handle it, I just hope that they don't end up putting you back on their list through research... especially in our area where there are so few of us, and neither one of us would ever dare work for them.

I have it handled so that I never even really know they call anymore until I see it on a call log. All of their numbers are set to go straight to voice mail. But as an additional step, they don't even get my regular voice mail prompt. They are sent to a special recording where in I state that I'm not interested in taking assignments from their company. It doesn't let them leave a message. I love Google Voice's ability to do that.

Since I started doing that, the numbers of calls from them have gone way down in my log. I still get one or two a week, but I'm not bombarded with 5 or 6 a day like before. I don't mind seeing that they've called... but I'm otherwise never bothered by it because my phone never rings from one of their known numbers.

Reply by Priscilla Witman on 1/28/13 3:18pm
Msg #452743

From my DROID, I can decline numbers so that they go straight to voicemail. Through Verizon, I can also block up to 20 numbers (I think it's 20) indefinitely. I use my block list very sparingly because there's so few spots. The problem became them calling MY HOUSE. That's not a business line. My husband even answered once and told them, stop calling this number, it is a residence. They hung up on him. It's the principle of the thing.

If they call me again, I have every intention of filing a formal complaint. I don't care if they can't find anyone around here to do their jobs. Maybe they should pay a decent fee and stop with the ridiculous hand-holding. Apparently, they're finding someone, because they would call-call-call, and then either just give up or find somebody willing to do their work. I won't even negotiate with them, because no amount of money is worth the hassle of the 15 phone calls and 20 emails that go along with one single job. I know there are people out there who need the money, and ND capitalizes on that.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 1/28/13 3:53pm
Msg #452754

Oh, they're finding someone alright... and I'm sure you and I both know who it is they're finding. I mean... there aren't too many of us in our area. I'm fine with that... I don't deal with that nonsense. All day Saturday I had 4 companies calling me desperate to get me out to Ridgecrest and Trona. I couldn't.... I was booked up... but a lot of it was, "Well, we need you because the notary we originally had...." And I know they weren't referring to you. Even with that, all their whining and last minute desperation they wouldn't meet my fees. I'm thinking... you want me last minute to travel an hour+ the opposite direction of where I need to be later today and you're trying to get away with keep the fees down? I quote them outrageous amounts knowing they'll never call me back. Thankfully, they don't.

I'd rather take the jobs like I had on Saturday where the mortgage company hired me directly. The docs were ready well in advance direct from the escrow officer. No fuss, no hand holding... just hand it over and, "We know know you'll get it done right... just ship it back and email me your invoice."

A $2XX assignment with no fuss and chances are pretty good I'll have my check within a week when it funds on the 31st. Why would I bother or worry about the lowball handholders or the notaries who work with them when I have companies like that who call me instead?

I hope they really do stop calling you. Let them prey on the ones with no business sense who don't know what they're doing and who will be gone in 3-6 months. Better for the both of us.

Reply by Priscilla Witman on 1/28/13 4:19pm
Msg #452762

I honestly hope they don't prey on anybody. Nobody deserves their hand-holding, low-paying, round-and-round. I hope they either increase their offers and stop playing notary patty-cake, or just shrivel up altogether.

That's better for everybody.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 1/28/13 9:35pm
Msg #452825

"Through Verizon, I can also block up to 20 numbers (I think it's 20) indefinitely."

Unless you have a different Verizon account than I do, you can only block those numbers for 90 days - not indefinitely.

The Do Not Call Act does not apply to business-to-business calls. And you may argue that they're calling your home number rather than a business number, but if you provided that number to them (how else would they get it?), it's still a business-to-business call.

The reality is that the FTC only gets involved if the calling company is ticking off a LOT of people - which is why some telemarketers are just ignoring the law at this point. Filing a complaint is going to get you nowhere.

Your best bet, now that you have the ear of the CEO, is to send him an email every time you get a call from them. He will probably get so tired of hearing from you that he'll actually do something to stop it.

Reply by Priscilla Witman on 1/28/13 11:48pm
Msg #452854

I pay extra to Verizon to have the ability to block up to 20 numbers indefinitely. It's an extra $4.99/month. They call it a usage control.

I didn't say I would involve the FTC, I said I would file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs in California. It has nothing to do with the Do Not Call Act. (I have found the DNC Act doesn't do much good for anything anyway. I still get calls from telemarketers, and I report them. Doesn't stop anyone.)

Would the DCA actually do anything if I actually filed a complaint? Who knows. I hope so. But if it gets them to stop calling me, then it worked. I don't have the slightest clue how they got my home number, honestly, but that's beside the point. They'd been asked to stop calling it, on more than one occasion. I am hopeful the president actually did what he said he would, and that's remove my numbers from the ND database. But we'll see.

Reply by JABFL on 7/1/13 7:53pm
Msg #475344

That's a really good idea. They have called me 17 times in a row. All within a 20 minute time frame.