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Viewing How to Eliminate Junk Faxes and Fax Advertising: Top TipsHow to Eliminate Junk Faxes and Fax Advertising: Top Tips
By Kathy Steinemann
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Broadcast faxes, fax advertising, junk faxing - nobody wants to receive unsolicited faxes. This form of telemarketing involves sending advertisements to multiple recipients, and is the equivalent of spam or junk mail. Need some help to get rid of it? Are you fed up with all the junk faxes that flood your fax machine - faxes for which you have to provide the paper, toner, and other materials? Broadcast faxes, fax advertising, junk faxing - whatever you call them, nobody wants unsolicited faxes. This form of telemarketing involves sending advertisements to multiple recipients, and is the equivalent of spam or junk mail. There are several ways to combat unsolicited faxes. • Save every single junk fax you get, and make sure that the date and time show clearly. If your fax does not provide this information at present, reconfigure it. • Never call the fax removal number at the bottom of any fax. As is the case with spam e-mails, this just confirms that your fax number is active. After you call the 'removal' number, you usually end up being flooded with garbage faxes from several additional companies. • Phone the toll-free switchboard number. Very politely begin a conversation. It can be something like: 'Hello! My name is Sam. What's yours? Greg? Ok, Greg. Right now, I have dozens of faxes from your company. If you don't stop faxing my number immediately, I will be suing you in small claims court at the rate of $500 for each fax that I have here. Here is my number: (state your fax number slowly and distinctly) and here it is again: (repeat your fax number). Did you get that? Have a good day!' Do not allow the person at the other end of the line to intimidate you. Be polite, and follow up if necessary, being sure to mention all previous dates that you notified the company of impending legal action. Every time you call, it costs them money and reduces their profit margin. If you are extremely polite and creative, you can usually get the company to stop faxing the first time you call: 'Say, Greg. I don't know why you are faxing this number. It is a private home and my dying mother is in the bedroom next to the fax machine. You are disturbing her every time you fax.' Do not lie - but use whatever ammunition you have to make the person on the line empathize with you. If you have called the offenders multiple times threatening legal action and the faxes persist, you must be prepared to take them to court. Many people have successfully sued. In many areas, it is illegal for someone to fax you unless the originating fax number, organization name, and name of sender is displayed on each page. Do some research and determine what is legal in your area. Other Approaches • If you have call display and a fax machine that will support blocking of unwanted faxes, follow the instructions in your manual to bar repeat offenders. • The telephone company can block certain numbers. However, like everything the telephone company provides, there is a fee associated with this service. • Getting an unlisted number can help - but if telemarketers already have your number, you will need to change it. The phone company gets rich at your expense. • An electronic device like the Telezapper will eliminate a huge percentage of calls. If you have multiple phone numbers, you can purchase one unit, leave it on one line for a few weeks, and then move it to the next line when unsolicited calls dwindle on the first one. • Some people use repeat dialers to call the toll-free switchboard or fax removal number from the same line as the fax machine, or continually call the main toll-free number and hang up the phone when they answer. The problem with this approach is that it does not seem to work. Additionally, it is easy for the telemarketing company to block your number. Do Not Call Registries Registering all your phone numbers in a do not call registry for your country, if available, will help immensely. • Canada Canadian Marketing Association: www.the-cma.org Use Canada's 'Do Not Contact' service to reduce faxes, telemarketing calls, and mail offers. Members of the Association adhere to the list on a voluntary basis. It takes about six weeks to go into operation, and is valid for three years. Registration is free. • United States National Do Not Call Registry: www.donotcall.gov Enter up to three phone numbers. It takes about a month for the service to activate, and your phone number remains on the list for five years. Most telemarketers will not call your number once it has been in the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at the website. Registration is free. • United Kingdom Telephone Preference Service www.tpsonline.org.uk The UK's TPS service starts about four weeks after registration. You can register your fax number separately via the Fax Preference Service (FPS). Individuals may register once to remain on the list permanently; however, other entities are required to re-register annually. Anyone calling on behalf of a UK company, even those based overseas, must screen their calls through the TPS and FPS databases. Registration is free. • New Zealand NZ Marketing Association Name Removal Service www.marketing.org.nz New Zealand's service is for personal mail as well as private telephone and fax numbers. Businesses may not register. The website does not give information about the length of registration, but there is an e-mail address provided if you have any questions. Participation by marketers is optional. Registration is free. • Australia Do Not Call Register www.donotcall.gov.au Australia's Do Not Call Register takes about 30 days to begin working. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) manage it. Unfortunately, it does not cover faxes or business numbers - including home-based businesses. Your private or mobile numbers (up to ten) stay in the registry for three years. Registration is free. • Other Countries: Search the Internet for 'do not call registry YOUR COUNTRY'S NAME'. Use a combination of the above methods, and your junk faxes should decrease dramatically. (c) Copyright Kathy Steinemann: This article is free to publish only if this copyright notice, the byline, and the author's note below (with active links) are included. About the Author: Kathy Steinemann writes articles for 1st Rate Articles, travel articles for 111 Travel Directory, and language articles for A Language Guide. She also provides articles for several other websites. In her spare time, she composes German-English short stories and poetry. Article Source: 1st Rate Articles - http://1stRateArticles.com |
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