6307491660

We finally found out that it is a company called Telenet & Associates inc. or TAI for short. it says online that they have 2 offices in elgin, IL at 1595 weld rd. unit D and 551 tollgate rd. only number found is 847-760-5001. we assume they use fake unreal phone numbers and constantly change.

Caller mumbled something about how I should not hang up on him, but don't know that I have heard from them before.

No one is forcing you to pick up your phone dude. Seriously there's no agenda, no criminals making the calls; it's just a job. They are not disobeying any federal law and any donations are written to the charity itself. Because the charities are tax deductible they are allowed to re fill their call lists using phone books once they are released. Simply a professional contracted service paid a percentage to make the calls for the organizations. If they're calling and hanging up,  they're just kids (seriously, I used to work there) who just hit redial on most calls; they usually don't want to make the calls any more than you want to pick them up.

I used to work for them in homeschool and it is all homeschool kids that work there. The best way to get them to stop calling is to be very nice to the caller so they don't hang up then ask for a manager. Just tell the manager that you get to many calls from them and you would like to be put on their do not call list for all their deals because they have about 7 that the call for. Making a complaint will not do anything because they are legit and do not break any laws. You just have to deal with someone higher up in the company. Also being mean or rude to the caller will get you more calls cause its their way at getting back at you and not answeri Nguyen the phone will just get you a call back tomorrow. Just an FYI.

Honestly telenet doesn't  hang up its that people dont wait for a representative to get on the phone . Be patient you'll be able to hear about the amazing programs we help

they don't hang up just wait for  at representative to get on and talk to u

Why should anyone wait for a telemarketer to get on the line. You work for them, obviously, you don't understand direct marketing.

They asked my name and hung up!

Maybe a road trip to Elgin will solve the problem

tai is a total rip off they will never stop calling you , your number is in there computer the will be calling you many years to come they will even be calling after you are dead and asking your family for you, sorry to say, best never to give to these phone charities . lot of bs.

Telenet and Associates (TAI) is a predatory third party fundraiser that while mostly legal, is a shameful organization. Don't be mad at the people calling you though, most don't even know who they work for. They are often college kids, retired people, or people hard up that will do anything for a job. The commissions keep the sales people hungry enough to overlook the core problems.

The "fake" phone numbers aren't necessarily fake, just temporary. With VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) numbers they can buy a bank of phone numbers to show up on the outbound caller ID, then pay a few bucks for a new bank the next month to get past call blockers. It's the same office/guy/phone/line, but shows up as a different number.

Facts: On average, Telenet keeps 80%-85% of the money it takes it for making calls on behalf of the charities. You can look it all up on the Illinois Attorney Generals website for charity lookup. If they raise $500,000 for a charity, they keep $400,000 of it for themselves. Whether directly or indirectly, the charity generally loses another 4%-8% for "administrative costs."

I handle doling out charitable donations from my company, and deal with a few of these people a week. In northern Illinois it's usually TAI or another one of the predators. They will keep roughly 80% of what they make. Often a charity is used to only making something like $10k-$20k a year doing its own fundraising. In swoops TAI and says they can get them $50k a year, and do all the work for them. Many of these pop-up charities are more than happy to let them work their magic, and often aren't aware that they are actually fleecing people for millions only to turn around and give the charity pennies. They only see the bottom line. Sometimes they do know and just don't care as long as there is money coming in.

The second type of 3rd party fundraisers usually try and balance a 50/50 fee. Which should sound reprehensible, but compared to the guys like TAI, they look great. These people go after the charities that have popular sounding names that sell well and people want to donate to. Special needs kids, police and firefighters, autism awareness.. The margin is lower but the return is so much higher that it makes up for it. Still pieces of garbage with crappy telemarketing policies and corner cutting.

Rarely does a 3rd party fundraiser give up more than %50 of their earnings. Which is understandable in a way. Just sad.

Your best bet is to ALWAYS contact the underlying charity itself, and make a direct donation. I say underlying charity because sometimes they are crafty.

Take an example charity that TAI raises money for. The Police Athletic League of Illinois: Dupage Chapter. I requested their charity document so I can verify them. They sent a generic brochure from the Police Athletic League. The website that was superimposed on the flyer was policeathleticleagueofillinois.com, and the email it came from was policeathleticleagueofillinois.org, both redirect to illinoiscrimecommission, which is an actual charity. They are piggybacking on legit charities to convince you they are good. Even when it's a legit collaboration, they don't even bother doing the work of having a different flyer for each individual scam like fundraiser. By the way, the Illinois State Crime Commission/ PAL of IL isn't even very good with what little money they get after TAI takes their giant cut. The roughly $30k they are left with? Jerry Elsner, "president" of the charity, cuts himself a $23k salary. Somewhere between $6k-$10k go towards the actual charity programs.

The worst part is that this example is not even one of the really "bad" charities...