Pintmaster

T-mobile doesnt let you block phone numbers from calling. Im not sure if Verizon, Sprint, Cingular etc… do. So, basically, I just have to sit and listen to my phone ring 10 times a day as some idiot from france tries to send me a fax on my phone. I know they are from france because it is country code +33 - well that is what the caller ID says anyway.

So, after being awoken by the phone ringing this morning, I looked over and it was the same damn number! So, being completely sick of this crap, I called up T-mobile waited on hold for only 5 mins or so after the stupid machine couldnt understand that I wanted to block a phone number, not check how many minutes I had used. I then talked to a rep who proceeded to tell me that they are not able to block a number, they can only change mine. That is ridiculous! That’s like the doctor saying - sorry, we cant treat individual cuts, we can only amputate limbs!?!?!

One would think that in this day and age, a company like t-mobile would be able to block individual numbers that are harassing their customers. Get your shit together tmo! You are on notice!

We’ve been getting some phone calls at the office on one of our lines from Johnny Demarco - not this guy - at first it is a recorded call with some high energy guy saying that Johnny DeMarco predicted last weeks game perfectly blah blah blah. Well, it’s annoying.

The way this guy does it is he has a bunch of screeners who answer the calls after the recorded message (if you press 0) and then they ask you “are you betting on the games” and you say something like “I’ve been know to place bets occasionally, what do you guys have to offer” and then they say - please hold because you look like a potential sucker.

Well John L. Edens of Atlanta, GA aka Johnny DeMarco - email is john@johnedens.com - Here are all your forum posts on bettorsworld.com one of your haunts
An article I’ve found exposes the scam (mirror):

Atlanta’s John L. Edens alias Johnny DeMarco, the Babe Ruth of 900 sales pitchers, will make you wish Alexander Graham Bell had never been born. According to published ads and taped phone calls, Edens:

	Got on his 800 line and told listeners to call his 900 line for $25, “and if the game loses, there’ll be no charge.” That, of course, is a lie. Once a call is made on a 900 line, the charge is automatic.
	Told customers of one of his phone services that his special guest-selector that day was “a former six-time NBA basketball All-Star who wishes to remain anonymous due to security matters.” The anonymous “All-Star” then got on the line and offered his inside information on “three big plays, tonight.”
	Told his customers on another occasion, “Sporting Illustrated magazine calls the Handicapping Hotline the Number One value in sports.” Remarkably, there is no Sporting Illustrated.
	Wrote in a print ad, which appeared in the schedule of games he sent out to customers in early 1991, that his service was rated “the very best available by the Interstate Sports Commission, the nation’s only legitimate monitoring service.” The ad failed to mention that the ISC is owned by a company with which, DeMarco acknowledges, he is “affiliated.”
	Got on his 800 line in March 1989 and said he had spoken with then N.C. State coach Jim Valvano and had “key” information on the Final Four. Valvano says he has never spoken to DeMarco.

Some other links
http://forums.therx.com/showthread.php?p=1171734
If you’ve had experience with this scourge on society, I’d love to hear from you!

I got a postcard from Awards Verification Center - 2400 W. Pioneer Pkwy, Suite 210 Arlington, TX 76013 and found a hilarious post by a guy who went there just to mess with them. The company seems to be Silverleaf Resorts who also doesnt seem to respect telemarketing laws, got busted by the FCC and has numerous complaints at the Dallas Better Business Bureau (BBB)

I really like how this guy dealt with them. It never astounds me at how stupid American society is to aid and abett a company as corrupt and greedy as this one grow to a Market cap of 88 million. This should be a penny stock, not a $2 stock. These guys have 23 million in net income. This crap drives me crazy.

Edited 2006-01-16 - Here are some more links for your reference:

• Silverleaf Resorts - home of the scam
• Epinions user from 2000 (check out the comments)