Do not call

(October, 2007)

Ring…

ring… (those unbearable calls again)

·         Hello, am I speaking with Gonzáles Gastón?

(new strategy, couldn't have picked a more common name)

·         No, wrong number.

·         Am I reaching -?

·         Yes.

(of course, since you got it from the phone book or some database)

·         And no Gonzáles Gastón lives there?

(well, live he must live somewhere, but not here)

·         No, wrong number.

·         Well, let me take this opportunity to tell you about the benefits... look, my name is Tomás, from "blah blah" bank, and I wanted to tell you about the benefits of the "blah blah" and "blah blah" credit cards…

·         No, thank you, I'm not interested.

·         You're not interested in what, sir?

·         In the benefits.

·         But how do you know about the benefits if you haven't even let me tell you about them yet? (still trying to be a wise guy)

·         Because when you tell me about them, I'm not going to be interested. Goodbye. (I hung up, end of story)

And so, they happen in huge quantities: calls that disturb peace and quiet, annoying, that no one asked for, but they show up anyway. In this recorded case, it was an actual live person, but in many other cases, they just use a prerecorded machine—they don't even bother to speak, just a machine and that's it. Some well-known local celebrities even lend their voices to these calls, recording the message that companies and/or organizations then blast out unsolicited.

And this has been repeating for years.

Now, at the beginning of 2015, and perhaps as a consequence of multiple claims and complaints from telephone users unhappy about being bothered by these messages, they have created a Registry so that those who sign up won't be disturbed.

An article published in the newspaper Ámbito, titled "The 'Do Not Call' registry opened to avoid sales or advertising calls," whose link is http://www.ambito.com/noticia.asp?id=773814

“For landlines and cell phones. The national "DO NOT CALL" Registry, created by law 26.951, protects owners or authorized users of telephone services in any of their modalities from the abuse of unsolicited contact, advertising, offers, sales, and gifts of goods or services.

In fact, as of today, the website of the national Ministry of Justice and Human Rights is up and running so interested parties can register their numbers (http://www.nollame.gob.ar/).”

Indeed, I visited said webpage, and it is that simple: you enter your phone number, they send a code to your email inbox, and it tells you they will call you to confirm.

The next day, an automated machine calls you with three options:

1.      Confirm

2.      Reject

3.      Repeat options

And in 30 days, it should take effect, and the registered user should stop receiving those unsolicited calls.