3103888021

They must be calling from the "DO NOT CALL LIST". They have been calling for a long time and they call on all of my lines. I have made appointments to fictitious addresses.  I am glad there is a record here. Maybe there are some legitimate carpet cleaners that have been approached by the referral service that could help track them down. I was concerned that pressing 1 or 8 when they call would trigger a charge on my telephone bill. It hasn't.

an recorded voice asked if want to be removed from the list or a carpet cleaning. I selected carpet cleaning so i could tell the manager to remove me from the list. when a person answered, i said i was going to report them and the woman hung up.

I received a call from the same outfit with the prerecorded message saying it was Allison...- but at the 8185551000 number on the caller ID. So I did some sleuthing and found all this information, which is Fabulous.! All those phone numbers-  so I  entered all those numbers in my Skype account and did a conference call on them. Same person answers at all the numbers. It is easier than dialing one at a time- so if you have a Skype account (go to Skype.com for free download) you can multiple call them as well! I think that I will do that from now on for any of those telemarketers who call me when I am on the do not call registry!

Received first call on a Sat. evening. Does the FCC take reports seriously? I like the abandoned house idea...   It surprises me that they made the choice to be not only an annoyance but that they also chose to be so rude. So, why not schedule an appointment for every call you receive? Just don't make it so close that it's not an inconvenience  for them. Thanx to original poster, saved a lot of time searching!

Allison called, from Best Carpet Cleaning.

I tried to get more information from her, and she hung up

They called for the 8th time but I was prepared. I scheduled an appointment at an apartment I know that is empty.

These poor slobs who pay a fortune for these leads will soon find out how unreliable this lead source is.

I've been dealing with this for MANY months as well, and I too have tried talking to someone on the other end only to be hung up on. And I too an on a 'Don't Call' list. I contacted a lawyer friend of mine (who was able to successfully sue a junk fax company) and this was his response (I personally think they have DEEP pockets, having run this scam for over a year now - and taking in $ for the referals):  
"I cannot take another large project.  The case you reference is a "do not call" case similar to the junk fax case I handled (under the same federal law in fact).  The law is clear and the judges are reluctant to enforce it.  Makes for a very frustrating lawsuit. The people cold calling you know they are violating the law and so hide it.  While you have done a lot already, in order to make the case workable more is necessary.  I do not have the time and am not prepared to invest the $ in the legwork.   Someone needs to find out more about the callers and the advertiser.  The  advertiser is ultimately responsible so the goods\services might be ordered and then  the company questioned about their advertising practices. Usually, a fly by night marketing house does the work from the spare bedroom in some mansion.  It is apparently very lucrative, if illegal. Also, the defendant must have resources to pay whch can be located.  That is, if its a fly by night operation, then there is not much point to bothering. A complaint can be made to: Complaints// www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints_tcpa.html"
- I disagree, I think with all the information on this site and the list of people here that have been 'damaged', there IS a good case. I'll keep hitting up lawyers until I find one, this Carpet Company has pissed off the wrong guy now.

Caller ID said 415-555-1000, obviously a spoofed number. I didn't pick up.
I first looked on whocalled.us and found the related phone numbers, that led me to this site.  
I'm in the East Bay area of SF.

HERE'S WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO DO:

I have a case filed with the FTC.  Everyone needs to call the FTC and file their own report and LINK it to my case.  Make sure you give the FTC my case number.  The FTC told me they will NOT investigate unless there are a bunch of complaints all linked together. To get the FTC to move, there has to be many innocent people being affected; I can't stress this enough.

The FTC needs to know we are all complaining about the same person/company and there is no way to do that except through linking our case numbers since none of us know who is behind this scam.  So everyone link to my case and thus we will all be linked.

Call the FTC and go through the prompts to make a report.  A live person will come on the line rather quickly after you get through the prompts.  Give them your complaint AND tell them to LINK your report to my case.  Giving them my case number is critical to get the FTC to move on these scammers.  The more people who call the FTC and make a report, the faster something might get done.

The FTC phone is (877) 382-4357  and my case # 109 823 33

I do not have any other info to give at this time.  More information might come later and perhaps if we are all banned together, it will make a difference.  Anyone wanting any future info when it comes up, email me and just get on my database.  I will contact you when I know anything more or if something comes up where the FTC needs witnesses etc, I can contact you.  stopcarpetscam@yahoo.com

Keep in mind, this is probably not about carpet cleaning.  These people are likely trying to scam the public for something else.  I would suggest do not hit 8 to remove your number, it won't remove your number,  and hitting a button on your phone might be doing something or giving them something more.  I'm guessing here, but better safe than sorry.

The Do Not Call list does no good because none of us know who is doing this yet.  So these people can't get fined until they are identified.  The only way to possibly identify them is to get an agency like the FTC involved.  Everyone needs to call the FTC to make this happen.

PEOPLE DO NOT PRESS ANY BUTTONS ON YOUR PHONE WHEN THEY CALL.

I just read the post from July 30 on the thread for the number 1-818-555-100.......that person is likely correct and what these scammers are doing is getting access to all your phone conversations.

It is the only thing that makes sense.  These scammers do not come to clean carpets and they dont ask for credit card info - their deal is to hang up on you.  I believe by pusing a button to talk to them you are letting them get access to all your phone conversations. Maybe all you have to do is pick up the phone for them to get access; I do not know.   The post from July 30 from Goldie is below at the end.

Also the 555 prefix is a blank prefix.  There are no phone phone numbers starting with 555 like: (xxx) 555-xxxx .   This is why you see in movies for example, they will use the 555 prefix, so no one watching the movie calls anyone.  

So the July 30 post (on the other thread) makes PERFECT sense and these scammers are probably tapping into our phones.

GOLDIE - 30 Jul 2007
SUBMITTED ON SUNDAY, JULY 29, 2007.

RECEIVED A CALL FROM 818-555-1000

I HAVE GOTTEN THIS NUMBER AND OTHERS LIKE IT FOR OVER FIVE YEARS.  IN ADDITION, WITH THE HELP OF AN EX-COP - NOW PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, WE DETERMINED THESE NUMBERS ARE A WAY FOR CRIMINALS TO OPEN YOUR PHONE AND LISTEN INTO YOUR HOME/BUSINESS - EVEN THOUGH THE RECEIVER IS ON THE HOOK.  

THIS IS CALLED "HOOK SWITCH BYPASS" AND IT'S REAL.  THAT'S WHY ALL THESE PHONE CALLS DON'T MAKE SENSE.  THAT'S WHY YOU GET HUNG UP ON, ETC.  TRUST ME - I'VE EXPERIENCED THIS FOR FIVE YEARS.  

IT IS FAKE CALLER I.D.  WHEN YOU CALL IT BACK, EITHER THERE IS NO RINGING, YOU GET AN ERROR REPORT, OR A BUSY SIGNAL.

IT IS ALSO USED BY COMPUTER HACKERS AND JUST PLAIN STALKERS WHO HAVE ENDED UP ON THE "DARK SIDE" OF LIFE.  IT MAKES THEM FEEL IMPORTANT WHEN THEY FRUSTRATE YOU.  IT IS DANGEROUS FOR THESE MUTANTS AND STRANGERS TO HEAR THE PRIVATE DETAILS OF YOUR LIFE.  WE SHOULD ALL REPORT THESE NUMBERS TO THE POLICE.

I EVEN SUSPECT IT IS USED BY ORGANIZED CRIME TO TERRORIZE.
Caller ID: 818-555-1000

Yup, FTC at 1877-FTC-HELP

Please call them and they will proceed if there are enough complaints. Be patient with the menu prompts. I finally got through and they were quite eager to help.

I called the FTC after getting another call from Alison at Best Carpet (about 6th time over past few months), although the Best Carpet caller ID showed up as "out of area" - so now they aren't even spoofing the wrong caller ID number. I pushed 1 to schedule an appt. and got hung up on when I asked where there are located.  The 888-279-6050 number they used to answer is now disconnected.  I called 1-888-229-9795 and spoke with a girl who was nicer than previous girls and said she would remove my number.  

I still had in my notes the old caller ID number that I've Googled to see everyone else's complaints and when I called the FTC they said they can not link cases based on case numbers, only on names of the business.  I used Best Carpet as the business name.

i've been getting calls from alison for several months - but i didn't get annoyed until this outfit called my cell phone this morning - yes! my cell phone! i can't even imagine how they got that - i'm very careful about giving out. anyways, like the rest of you, i googled what little i knew, and found this site. the information has been helpful. like the last poster, i called 1-888-229-9795. i gave them my home phone number (which they already have, so what's the harm!) and they promised to take me off their list.

we'll see if it works. but i'm still really steamed about my cell phone - that's a huge violation for telemarketers - they are forbidden by law to make calls to cell phones.

thanks everyone!

Called my cell phone, at least twice - a recorded voice from a guy named "Dave."  Number comes up "Unknown Call," but so do my parents' numbers so I usually answer.  Same story... pressed one to speak to someone and got hung up on after they answered "Carpet Care" and I complained that they were calling a cell phone.  

Can anyone else testify to the accuracy of stopscam's post above referencing the "hook-switch bypass?"  Sounds plausible to me, and then my paranoia truly kicks in, thinking that perhaps it IS the government doing it, what with all the wiretapping scandal in DC and all.  Which means complaining to the FTC does nothing at all.

Peter Brown is a bad and dodgey carpet cleaner, he is a total sham.

I would not trust him,  Peter Brown n , the cleaner carpet cleaner yeah right

Robo call trying to get me to call them about a subscription I supposedly have but do not.