Talk about a weasel of a political survey group.
Today, I posted an article about a telemarketing call I got from a survey organization at the following link:
If you look at that website today, it looks totally unbiased and even touts itself that way on its home page. That page is TOTALLY DIFFERENT from the way it originally appeared Wednesday night, when it listed the following political views (among others) …
- They are for the repeal of “ObamaCare.”
- They will “fight to defeat anyone who supports class warfare (to interpret, conservative-speak for any effort to bring tax levels on the highest-income Americans back to Clinton-era rates).”
- They are opposed to “placing an unfair extra tax burden on a select group of Americans (the richest 1%).”
- They are for the reform of Social Security and encouraging Americans to just support themselves through their own means.
My lovely wife is my witness. I showed her the exact content of the survey’s website before the original article was posted. And now it appears that Political Opinions of America is covering its tracks.
That telemarketing call just gets more interesting.
The number of views on my original blog post about this has been wild, the reaction to it has gone beyond anything I imagined it would be. People have been finding my post on this by Googling the following:
- 253-382-9076 (with 22 views on this one alone)
- phone:”253-382-9076″
- (253) 382-9076
- “political opinions of america” cruise
- political opinions of america telemarketing
- political opinions of america free cruise
- caribbean cruise political survey
- “political opinions of america”
- political survey caribbean cruise line
I do believe I’ve hit a nerve at Political Opinions of America. Who knows, maybe I single-handedly forced them to change the tone of their website because they WERE biased, and blatantly so? Could it be?
By the way, it does appear that “Megan,” the lady who I talked to about the free cruise to the Bahamas, lied to me after all. This is a scam. No surprise there. Now, how legitimate is Caribbean Cruise Line? Hhhhmmmm? Can anyone answer that? Bueller? Bueller?
Copyright 2012, Daddysangbassdude Media
A View From The Middle (Class) 
It appears that POA rushed to put up new copy so fast that they skipped the editing process! The new copy reads like I’m listening to a telemarketer in India trying to convince me to buy something. Oh, wait…! That’s exactly what it is!
The following is from the BBB.org of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Be sure to go to the site and read everything. I wasn’t able to fit it all here. This company uses 10 different names, but are somehow not recognized as a cruise line in the industry on other general booking sites.The chances of loosing money here is quite high. They want to charge us a $14.00/day/person oil or gas fee if “the ship isn’t booked up completely or if there is an oil spill.” Another fraud victim was told the same thing but the oil fee was to be charged if the “price of oil per barrel went over forty dollars.” It’s been over $100.00/barrel for several years now. I shopped out Carnival Cruise just to see if the prices compare and they are about the same price. So it is better to initiate the sale from your end by contacting a reputable cruise line that you think has comparable prices. There are no freebees here. In my package, I got 3days/2/nights in Fort Lauderdale, the 2 day/night Bahama cruise and 3day/2night in Orlando, all with a rental car and meals. They threw in 2 other vacations to Vegas and Mexico for the $600.00 total cost plus gratuity, extra excursions off the ship and the bogus oil fee, which could be substantial for 3 people if we stayed more days on the ship portion of the vacation instead of the land portion.I compared room rates to Carnival and there is a loss of money here if the oil fees are billed at any more than 2 days worth for three people. I’m not even sure if they are in the cruise business or even own a canoe, so I am waiting for the vouchers/written information. My bank is ready to go after them if need be. i think the political survey was either a side job they picked up for additional cash or a scam just to keep people on the line and force them into buying.
Customer Complaints Summary
1240 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years | 478 closed in last 12 months
Complaint Type Total Closed Complaints
Advertising / Sales Issues 552
Billing / Collection Issues 131
Delivery Issues 12
Guarantee / Warranty Issues 6
Other 2
Problems with Product / Service 537
Total Closed Complaints 1240
Additional Complaint Information
Our file contains a pattern of complaints from consumers who state they were contacted by this company and told they won a free three day two night cruise to the Bahamas. The only fees mentioned are the port fees in the amount of $59 per person. Some consumers state they are not told of additional fees or that they must attend a two hour timeshare presentation as a part of the agreement. Consumers report the timeshare presentation is very high pressure as well as high pressure sales to upgrade their cruise. Some consumers complain they were told they have 30 days to review the travel packet and cancel for a full refund. Requests for a refund result in rude customer service and a refusal to issue the refund as mentioned in the sales presentation.
The company responds to complaints by issuing a full or partial refund.
If you choose to do business with this company BBB strongly encourages consumers to read and understand all the terms, conditions, and fees involved in the agreement. All terms of the agreement should be in writing with no verbal representations.
Complaint Details | Definitions | BBB Complaint Process | File a Complaint
I should mention that the initial contact with this company happened when I signed up for a dean Grasiozi Real estate seminar. I was switched to this company following my registration and was not looking for a heavy, pushy sales job for vacation packages. It was not the political survey gimmick.
I noticed that too. There was some pretty sloppy editing in there … misspellings, etc. It was a rush job, pretty obvious if you really look at it closely. I’m wondering if “Megan” might have given her people a “heads up, we’ve got a blogger on our tail!” 😀
I just got a call from them, and found your blog posts while googling them. I don’t doubt what you saw, but what’s really strange is that if you look at Google’s cached versions of their pages, they look exactly like they do now (except the “news” — which you may have noticed is a series of links to Gallup’s website). Same bad grammar and all.
My Google search also led to this: http://www.scam.com/blog.php?b=24625, which says that the person was asked to pay the “port tax” for the cruise right away. So not only are they lying about the cruise, they’re trying to rob you.
These Internets are strange tubes run by hampsters, I’m sure of it.
If the page was changed because of me, I may have given them enough of an alarm for their web page people to scrub this thing squeaky clean. I even tried going into my browser’s history for every time I clicked on it that first night, and it all points to the current page. Slick operators. This has been pretty fascinating.
I did a bunch of googling out there last night and saw a bunch of complaints on this outfit. In one site, someone was being pressured to pay $131 on the spot for some kind of tax or fee. The company was a bit relentless, from what I read.
When I first looked at the survey site the other night, there were a number of pages still under construction that aren’t any longer. There’s been quite an overhaul on that site.
Wow, i am really shocked with all i am reading. I am working with this company and it really bothers me to know this can be a scam. 😦
I’ve always followed the belief that if it sounds too good to be true, it has to be a scam. They’d just be giving away too many cruises to too many people.
If I had the manpower and resources, it’d be exciting to do more digging and see where this leads politically. They have covered their tracks relentlessly on their political views.
I hope things turn out okay for you. If there’s a problem, maybe contact Better Business Bureau on Caribbean Cruise Line?
got a call from today 3/20-12 from political opinions of america(19172179562) today and pressed 9 to have me removed from their list. i have been on the do not call list for over 3 years for both cell and land line. i was afraid that i just gave them controll of my phone so i called windstream and reported what had happened and they said that there was nothing i or they could do to stop them from useing my phone, and that if i got billed for its use later to call them (windstream) back.good luck on getting done . the politicans both sides are owned and do what the money people want. get out and vote them all out both sides or it is going to get worse
Sad that we can do what we think are the right things and ask that we not be called on garbage like this, and yet it still happens and people we go to looking for help when it does happen throw up their hands.
i type with one finger and i cant spell i am old and dont say much or blog any this is my second time to post anything on any blogs and i am just to busy with grand kids and family and all but after getting that call i decided to see what i could find out about them and so here i am. this took me 10 minutes to type so i will be reading mostly
Anything you can do is better than nothing at all. Thanks! 😀
I have received calls from them too. Pushed 9 to be removed from list. Got another call today. Pushing 9 doesn’t work.
Well, that figures. Spread the word on what a slimy place Political Surveys of America seems to be. The response to this here has been nothing short of amazing.
I pushed 9 to be removed, but today’s call came from 971-220-1118 in Oregon. Just hang up- there is no survey, and no free cruise. The Do Not Call list does not apply to them, because they are “just conducting a legitimate survey”. I use the same theory now on my cellphone as on my land line: if you will not show me your name when you call, I won’t answer.
Good advice, Stephen. Thanks.
The law offices of Joseph W. Sanscrainte at 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10036 gave the usual bull about Political Opinions of America being exempt from the Do Not Call list. After I told POA to stop calling they still call. FCC, here I come with a complaint about POA and Sancrainte.
Thanks for having this out there! I live in California and got the same call – last 4 digits 1183 – just now for the first time. I usually follow the ‘no name, no answer’ policy, also, but … well, you know. I pushed 2 to be removed from the call list, but then called the number back to see what the answering message was – the same POA. Hope I’m not now in for a stream of calls like this – ugh! Back to rule number 1 – no name/no answer. Glad to find your blog; thanks!
Thank you as well. In case anyone wonders, I’m not trying to be a snob in this by not replying any longer. I have been advised not to, for legal (and good) reasons that may someday be revealed. 😀
Thanks to all for commenting and adding to the discussion!
This website exists soley to con you into paying the “port tax” on the fake cruise… All the opinions are fake, the website is fake and they don’t care about your political opinion.. It is nothing but a complete scam. They didn’t “cover” their tracks because the site was bias, the opinions are fake and serve only the purpose of appearing to be a legitimate website. You will not find a political party at the end of the rainbow, only scammers. As they are not legit, they also do not care about the Do not call list. Pressing 9 won’t do anything. Just hang up or don’t answer until they move on..
The frustrating part is that people are getting repeated calls, even after having gone through the survey once before. This could go on for a while, this blog post has become my single-most-viewed individual post in this blog’s four-month history simply because people are googling a variety of things related to the survey and/or any phone number associated with it and coming right here.
Yes, the best advide is to just hang up. But it also helps to spread the word to let people know what’s up with this.
If we could find out this outfit’s legal name and address, we could sue them under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. A flood of lawsuits in local small claims courts follow by enforcement of judgments would put them out of business. Why doesn’t some state AG set up a sting where somebody responds to this so we can find out where the money goes and hence who they are?
Great idea! I may just follow up on this by trying to contact the Utah AG’s office. Thanks!
I just hung up on one of their calls. Thanks for the heads up.
My pleasure! Good move!
Does anyone have an address on them???
I haven’t seen one yet.
Today they called from 503-468-5198. Same deal. We probably get them twice a week from various numbers.
Which would explain why this blog post has been exploding because of Google hits ever since I first put it out there almost three weeks ago. I figured they were calling people repeatedly, and people are looking them up. I think a federal or state investigation(s) should be warranted.
Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP is a Boston-based law firm specializing in consumer class actions. We are currently investigating The Berkley Group, Inc.’s violation of the Federal Communications Commission’s Do Not Call List, which prohibits unsolicited commercial phone calls to any number that is on the Do Not Call List. We are conducting this investigation with the aim of potentially bringing a class action against this company and some of its affiliated companies. We believe these companies make unsolicited calls, purportedly as a political opinion poll being conducted by “Political Opinions of America.” Then, one is offered a “free” cruise, which is really designed to expose people to sales pitches for vacation timeshares. If you received such a call, you may have a claim against these companies, whether or not you paid them any money. We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you about your experience. To discuss this matter, please contact us at http://www.shulaw.com/About-Us/Investigations/Unsolicited-Telephone-Calls-From-Political-Opinions-of-America/.
Hallelujah!!! Amen!!! Thank you so much!
Um, if you are really a law firm, then you would know the DNC list is under the Federal Trade Commission’s watch, not the FCC. I wouldn’t click on the link.
Geez, it takes all kinds.
My husband received a call tonight on his cell phone. When you give an answer supporting President Obama they hang up on you.
Interesting. Their ways seem to change. I gave an answer supporting President Obama, and I was able to stay on until the very end. That’s how this article came to be. And now it appears there will be an investigation. Great news!
I was able to go all the way to the end of the call, but perhaps they hang up occasionally on Obama supporters because we don’t usually fall for as many scams.
I would appreciate all the information anyone has on POLITICAL OPINIONS OF AMERICA, CARIBBEAN CRUISE LINE, THE BERKLEY GROUP, INC, and if any payment was made and the payment is listed as paid to NATRESV CRUISE SVCS. I have contacted their counsels and am preparing a Complaint to be filed in District Court, Las Vegas. Thank you, Paul D.S. Edwards
Time to start calling Senators and finding out with the FCC if these so called exempt organizations really are exempt. Here’s a nice e-mail from their attorney:
My client, PoliticalOpinionsOfAmerica.org, has shared with me your email in which you threaten legal action against it based upon the “Telecommunications Consumer Privacy Act,” the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and/or the Federal Do Not Call Registry.
PoliticalOpinionsofAmerica.org does not engage in any activity that falls under Federal telemarketing/telephone statutes (i.e., the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule). PoliticalOpinionsOfAmerica.org delivers political opinion and survey calls, and these are exempted under these federal statutes/regulations. In addition, PoliticalOpinionsOfAmerica.org does not engage in any activity that falls within the pertinent statutes of the State of Colorado. Accordingly, any action that you file against my client would be frivolous, and thus subject to a claim by my client for its costs associated with defending against same.
My client also immediately complies with any request to opt-out of any future calls delivered by my client, even though under Federal and State law, it is under no obligation to do so. Accordingly, if you have asserted an opt-out request, your telephone number has already been added to my client’s internal Do Not Call list. In any event, as of my writing of this email, your phone number has in fact been placed on my client’s internal Do Not Call list.
This correspondence in no way provides you with permission or authorization to serve notice upon me or my office with regard to any action you may file against my client.
Law Office of Joseph W. Sanscrainte
1120 Avenue of the Americas
4th Floor
New York, NY 10036
(212) 626-6934
See the comments above pertaining to an investigation into this by a Boston law firm, including a link to them if you have been contacted. This legal run-around you’ve received would probably be welcome in this investigation.
There’s some real “money” behind this, I can smell it, and I’d love to follow that “money trail” and see where it goes. Resources, need resources!
Is it possible to get a copy of that missive. Although I am not an attorney, I have brought a number of successful actions in Nevada’s courts, including the Nevada Supreme Court. If you want to verify who I am you can GOOGLE me…”Paul D.S. Edwards”…I intend to bring an action against Political as soon as I gather a little more info.
Paul D.S. Edwards
http://www.shulaw.com/About-Us/Investigations/Unsolicited-Telephone-Calls-From-Political-Opinions-of-America/
Hope this helps Paul. i’m in on this now.
James
You mean other than the fact you’re not allowed to robocall cell phones, period?
SICKUM GO GET UM , GIVE UM HELL IT LOOKS AS IF YOU HIT A RAW NERVE MR. Edwards
If the POA calls aren’t stopping (they didn’t for me), contact their legal counsel:
Law Office of Joseph W. Sanscrainte
1120 Avenue of the Americas Suite 4188
New York, NY 10036
Office: 212-626-6934
Cell: 516-841-6535
Email: jws@sanscrainte.com
More information here: http://blog.stupidhead.org/2012/03/29/political-opinions-of-america/
Just got a call from this shady outfit ….. Phone number:(971)220-1315. I was curious how they could tie a political survey to such an obvious telemarketing call. Well …. I took the “survey” and held the line for the sales pitch. As I explained to the sales rep …. If I have to pay Caribbean Cruise Lines anything than it’s not FREE. After asking the sales rep too many questions she put a “promotions director” on the phone. He tried to sell me on a cruise until I mentioned the “Do Not Call List” and then hung up. How they can they claim this is an actual political survey when tied to a sleazy boiler room scam? Hmmmmm ….. This site has been very helpful and I hope the good folks at POA are reading this ….. POA you have just made another person very determined to find out more about your organization and I will do my best to let as many as possible know what kind of pond scum you are.
N.M.
I haven’t read all your posting but, this sounds like the same people : I just got the call for the Cruise Incentive survey. I knew it was B.S. but I think these people need *more* attention and not to be just dismissed. They *count on* dismissal. After the survey of three questions (LOL, I bet it would have been longer if I had answered differently), I was transferred to a’ Travel Consultant’ who was apparently hard of hearing because they kept saying ‘Hello?’ and hung up. (Probably a recording.) Call back (from any phone) -> “time expired” message. The website POLITICALOPINIONSOFAMERICA.ORG’s contact form has a (permanent-looking) error generated upon submission.
The site is hosted via DomainsByProxy.com (Scottsdale, AZ) which registers domains ‘Privately’ … I called the tech number and was told I could get information about the client only via subpoena.
Spread the news far and wide.
By the way, carribeancl.com has this ‘whois’ information:
Registrant Email:POLITICALOPINIONSOFAMERICA.ORG@domainsbyproxy.com
So, they are one and the same.
nojo….
Where did you find the “whois” info???
Paul D.S. Edwards
Whois is a protocol for finding out information about domains, registrants, etc and it also the name of a command in unix and macos to query the default whois servers on the internet using the ‘whois’ protocol. By typing ‘whois carribeancl.com’ in a terminal window on a mac, for instance, you will get back long display of information about the domain. There are web interfaces as well (like the one at http://www.internic.net/whois.html) but they are usuall not as detailed or comprehensive as the the command-line ‘whois’ method tends to be.
But I should say, I must have misread the output when I posted that information above, I mean I must have been reading the output for the other domain: POLITICALOPINIONSOFAMERICA.ORG and I can’t currently see the connection between the two domains….based on the whois output and it looks, if carribeancl.com is indeed the website for this ‘non-business’, like you may need to talk to an attorney familiar with international law. SInce that domain is registered to someone in Vietnam:
whois carribeancl.com
Whois Server Version 2.0
Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.
Domain Name: CARRIBEANCL.COM
Registrar: APRIL SEA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
Whois Server: whois.maprilis.com.vn
Referral URL: http://www.maprilis.com.vn
Name Server: DPNS1.DNSNAMESERVER.ORG
Name Server: DPNS2.DNSNAMESERVER.ORG
Name Server: DPNS3.DNSNAMESERVER.ORG
Name Server: DPNS4.DNSNAMESERVER.ORG
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 28-oct-2011
Creation Date: 04-jun-2009
Expiration Date: 04-jun-2012
>>> Last update of whois database: Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:50:22 UTC <<<
(deleted some long notes about usage, what expiration means, etc here – n0j0)
The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Registrars.
Registrant:
Vietnam Domain Privacy Services
Viet nam Dich Vu Bao Mat Ten Mien
Room 606, Indochina Park Tower
04 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Str, District 1
HoChiMinh City – Viet Nam
Email: baomat@dichvubaomattenmien.vn
Phone: 84-8-2242-3641
Fax: 84-8-2220-2013
Domain Name: carribeancl.com
Administrative Contact:
Vietnam Domain Privacy Services
Viet nam Dich Vu Bao Mat Ten Mien
Room 606, Indochina Park Tower
04 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Str, District 1
HoChiMinh City – Viet Nam
Email: baomat@dichvubaomattenmien.vn
Phone: 84-8-2242-3641
Fax: 84-8-2220-2013
Technical Contact:
Vietnam Domain Privacy Services
Viet nam Dich Vu Bao Mat Ten Mien
Room 606, Indochina Park Tower
04 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Str, District 1
HoChiMinh City – Viet Nam
Email: baomat@dichvubaomattenmien.vn
Phone: 84-8-2242-3641
Fax: 84-8-2220-2013
Record expires on 06/04/2012
Record created on 06/04/2009
Database last updated on 10/28/2011
Domain servers:
dpns1.dnsnameserver.org
dpns2.dnsnameserver.org
dpns3.dnsnameserver.org
dpns4.dnsnameserver.org
Thank you….I understand what you typed…When I looked up whois carribeancl.com I found what you found and could not find any connection with Political Opinions…Thought maybe I missed something….Thank you
Paul D.S. Edwards
I forgot to add the number they called from: 971-217-9562
I got a call today. It sounded like a great deal and almost fell for it up until they tried to ask me for my CC number when I proceeded to hang up. The number that called me was (425) 658-8994
Frank….Can you provide any more info…My CID displayed 425.658.8928…Close enough…I am preparing to file in District Court here in Las Vegas – naming POA, CARIBBEAN CRUISE LINE, and amongst others, THE BERKLEY GROUP.
Paul D.S. Edwards
Yeah email me at fwmeese@hotmail.com and I’ll forward you what they sent to me plus give all my notes.
I received a call this morning 4/17 from 425/658-8952 on my cell phone. I just hung up, but it’s a new number for them.
Dee
Dee…Was that the first time they called your cell? If you hung-up how do you know who it was??? Did you listen to any of the msg.??? What displayed on your Caller ID???
Paul D.S. Edwards
Just got a call on mythe cell phone from the same number. Political opinions of america. Heard it was a servey and hung up. My cell phone is unliated and on the Do Not Call list. Did not press any other buttons.
i just got a call too 4256588952.
Will al those that listened to the travel offer please let me know what you were asked to pay.
We were told that a port tax of $118.00 for 2 people was required. A CC was asked for to pay for it. They also said gratuity at the meals was required and $10.00 per day to park our car. That is when I went online as I was talking to them. When I saw the words scumbag as I quickly read some posts, I told them I wasn’t interested, they asked why, and I hung up. They called from 503.468.5986. I have the name of the guy who called me and his senior travel coordinator number.
Thank you for the info…I may want your information at a later date. The number on my CID ended in 5012 (close enough). Did any name show on your Caller ID???
I’m a conservative and I likely agree with a good many things they supposedly claim to support. But, I have ethical issues with such a means to collect political information. I don’t believe any legit opinion company would provide such a “prize”.
I am particularly interested in the richest folks keeping as much of their money as possible. That way, they can spend more on my services and products. I sure as heck can’t make a living off welfare recipients! Well, unless I worked at a welfare office?
I would like to speak with/chat/e-mail/communicate with any person[s] that went thriough the entire process of listening and responding to POA’ survey, and with Caribbean Cruise Line. You can either reply in this blog, or e-mail me at pauldsedwards@yahoo.com. If you refer speaking with me, please reply to this msg., and I will provide my telephone number, or if you prefer, I will call you. Disclosure- – I do record my telephone conversations for accuacy.
Thank you,
Paul D.S. Edwards
PS- I may also ask that you allow me to take your deposition – – if it becomes necessary.
I’ve gone through the entire survey a couple of times. It’s obviously fake (for example no demographic information is collected). It’s got to be nothing but a false-front to try to bypass do-not-call laws. (Survey takers don’t have to obey the do-not-call list, but these crooks are trying to use that as a loophole to do a survey followed by a telemarketing call.)
These same crooks have called me twice that I’ve bothered to go through the survey:
May 4, caller ID 360-474-3926
May 3, caller ID 206-496-0951
… and about 3-4 earlier times besides. Paul, if you want to contact me, I can be reached at zanz01@ninjasoft.com
My husband just gave our credit card number to these people thinking it was legit. I just looked on our online statement and it is still pending, it is $118.00. What should I do?
Can you call the card company/bank and cancel the transaction? I’d be more concerned about them having your credit card number now.
I’ve received multiple calls over the last several weeks. House phone, cell phone, family members’ cell phones. Most recent number is 253-382-9912. Recording: “Hi, this is john from political opinions of america. You have been carefully selected…blah, blah, blah”. Obvious scam.
If any lawyers are out there, POA’s web site is hosted at Liquid Web (info below). I’m sure Liquid Web doesn’t have any affiliation with POA…they’re just a hosting company. Maybe some calls/e-mails from enough people will get them to pull the plug on POA’s web site.
Name: politicalopinionsofamerica.org
Address: 72.52.215.160
Owner of 72.52.215.160:
Liquid Web Inc.
http://www.liquidweb.com/
4210 Creyts Rd.
Lansing, MI, 48917
Phone +1-800-580-4985 (Office)
Email – abuse@liquidweb.com
Just got a call (Colorado) as well, from 206-496-0971, pressed 9 to remove from list and the spiel seemed to loop back… At least the first few sentences were identical to the initial script. I hung up at that point and hopped online to do some research on POA. I actually own a timeshare that I’m (relatively) happy with and I get these sort of calls all the time. Sometimes I Scambait sometimes not… I would be most pleased if something was done about this. Personally, I think these people should be strung up by their toes and left to rot.
Second time I have been called this time from (253-382-9937). Hung up since I knew they were bogus. Complaining to the do not call web site doesn’t seem to work. Credit Servic, another scam, have been calling me for over 3 month, different numbers from different states. Again complaining doesn’t stop these bogus calls.
I recently received a call asking me to complete a 30 second survey and a free cruise for participating. The survey asked four questions. The fourth question asked if I approved or disapproved of the president’s performance. The responses were entered by pressing “1” for approve and “2” for disapprove. I tried to press “1” five times and the robo caller kept repeating the question. Out of curiosity I pressed 2 and that response was instantly taken and I was transferred to a representative to receive my “free” cruise. Definitely a biased organization. Did you see the super moon last nite??
I took the survey (4 easy questions) and got connected to their operator Justin (“corporate ID # CU025). He informed me up front of the $59/person port tax, and the $12/day gratuity. And obviously, air fare to Florida is not included. According to the following link, “Carribean Cruise Line” is not a cruise line but a wholesaler, and “Celebration Cruise Line” is a well-known line that runs the ships – no connection, other than Celebration has bulk deals with many wholesalers. The article says you may have to sit through a timeshare presentation. None of this is especially alarming. I’m not averse to playing the timeshare game, and I’ve done deals like this before successfully. So I wouldn’t call it a “scam” exactly. BUT I am not about to give my credit card number to some random joe who cold-calls me. And he wouldn’t let me do research and call back, it was a “one time deal”. So, sorry Justin, I don’t do business that way. But if anyone is interested, they should read this: http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1185
They are at it again. It’s not so amazing our overburdened Consumer Protection Agencies are too busy to shut down low-life marketers like POOA who deny responsibility for unsolicited calls under the guise of “political survey.”
Obviously they use auto-dialers so the calls cannot be traced back to the source.
The owners are laughing all the way to the bank, while the people who work at these unscrupulous call centers are generally clueless to their culpability in these activities.
http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/2533829953
I just got the robotic call as well. Couple things wrong here, one it called my cell phone. It has been calling dozens of times per day for the past couple weeks. It never leaves a message. Finally tonight it called again, at 11pm!!!! I answered and it had five questions for me to answer. One of the questions stated, “Are you voting for OBAMA, MITT Romney, or Undecided” HUH? Ron Paul is still in the race and INFACT has won more delegates than either. So they are trying to say that Obama and Mitt are the only ones still running? Then it gets more interesting. If you stay on the line and ask about the free cruise (I did this out of my own curiosity) they ask for a credit card number. I asked, “but I thought it was free” The guy said, no its $60. When I said that is not free, he hung up. But it gets better, their webpage now looks identical to the Obama campaign page! And it has all this pro-Obama stuff streaming on the side! What the hell is this? And who is running this operation? As well, reading about it from others at the other “scam” sites, if you do pay, you get nothing. Where is that money going? If it is government sponsored, which it appears to be now having the same page, what is the Obama campaign doing with that money? Not to mention as well, my phone is on the do not call list and my number has never been given to anyone but my work. I am seriously irritated by this.
Just got the robocall from 206-496-0986 to my DNC registered cell, did the survey with all fake answers, then got transferred to the sales pitch. At no time was I offered a chance to opt out. Interesting that their number doesn’t show up in my recent callers list. Also be interesting to know where they got my cell, as I rarely give it out and almost never to businesses.
Filed a complaint with the FTC within 2 minutes of the call! Do it! Now!
I was just contacted by these wonderful people and took it upon myself to research on the internet while taking the survey. After completing the survey I was transferred to a kind young lady who read the details of the trip so fast I didn’t understand a word she said. She then asked me what my name was and I kindly replied with my first name only. I think this caught her off guard as there was a 10-15 second pause. She then asked which state I resided in and I replied. She told me she was going to put me on hold for a moment while she prepared my package. I was on hold for about 30 seconds before being disconnected. It’s funny because a few days ago I received another call from an unknown number and as soon as I answered they hung up. The worst part for me is I have been applying for several new jobs recently and am not sure whether these calls are HR people or scam artists. The number this time was 360-474-3948 from Marysville, WA. The previous number was 207-230-0803 from ME, USA. It is frustrating knowing that there are probably people out there who have been malicously taken advantage of through this scam, but I was able to get a good chuckle out of only giving them my first name and getting hung up on!
Get the word out, I just posted a message on Facebook, and referenced this blog. I also left a complaint with the FCC. Easy to do.
Thanks for the reference, Jeff! This article has been getting google hits like crazy for weeks.
Found this link on 800notes, looks like they’re expanding quite a bit lately, using a bunch of 360 numbers.
360-529-6924 is the # they call me from…I have a prepaid phone just for emergency’s and POA has been burning my mins off of it. Calling everyday for the last 3-4 months. They just called again ,so I googled. I am now on the no call list, all 3 of my phones are. The others are not prepaid.
http://www.facebook.com/PoliticalOpinionsOfAmerica
My husband and I have both been hit with these calls several times each in the past 10 days on our Do Not Call cell phones. I too hesitated to touch 9 to be removed from their call list because I was afraid it would alert them to a ‘live’ one. Out of desperation, I dialed 9 today but, after reading these comments, I don’t believe it will help. I went on-line at the Do Not Call registry and filled out a complaint for each of the phone numbers that called me, and each time of day they called me. These calls were from 360-474-3989, 360-474-3971 from Political Opinions of America, and today was from 360-529-6924 from Political Survey Group, https://www.donotcall.gov Maybe if enough people complain, someone will haul these roaches off the court.
I did decide to answer the survey, to see what would happen, and see if maybe they would quit calling, because I have gotten about eight different calls from them. (Sara (or sarah), short political survey, free cruise!) Their survey is pretty obviously biased (but not too completely) and multiple choice with no option for “none of the above” or “other”. (Which campaign issue is the most important campaign issue for the 2012 presidential election? four different things that didn’t sem too favorable to Obama. Now there I would like to answer “none of the above”, because my opinion is that we need an intelligent government that can do its best to solve a myriad of severe problems all at once, for the best of all the people, not just pin-headed Republicans!) I see there is a place on the web site for “Remove”, so I guess I will try it and see if it stops, because if it doesn’t stop, then I think they are harrassing me, and that probably would be grounds for a lawsuit. – I stayed on the line, the survey took significantly more than 30 seconds, at least 90 seconds I think. – I asked the operator if I could get them to stop calling, and she pointed me to the web site and said now she was going to get my information, so I hung up.
It’s all about getting your money and has nothing to do with politics. They have called me from four different numbers, and each time with the new number I add it to the blocked call list on my phone. I have reported them to the FCC and have been on the DNC for years, so what are you going to do? One thing you can do if you have unlimited minutes on your cell (like me) or it is a land line that you can tie up is to put down the phone and leave the line open. I have left calls open for over an hours, and not only does it tie up the line it costs them money. *uck em’ if they can’t take a joke.
I have contacts in my cell phone with the name of SPAM. The ringer for these contacts is set to silent or none. I just add these fools to one of these and no more interruptions. I never answer a call from a number I don’t know but do look it up here and add it to SPAM if it is junk. I also file a FCC compliant ( http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm ) but have little faith our worthless government will ever do anything until we vote out all the long term politicians and limit total combined time in elected office at all levels to 10 years or less. Then they might do something useful rather than worry about getting re-elected. I’m not holding my breath.
Note I have Magicjack for a home phone with an app called magic features which allows me to individually block number or even series of numbers with wild cards. I’ve cut the crap to practically nothing.
Maybe one of the no contract cell phone companies will offer this as a feature to their phones, when they do it will probably double sales.
The FCC explicitly prohibits robodialers from dialing cellphones FOR ANY REASON (including Political surveys).
I can’t get them to stop calling me! I’ve probably gotten 10 calls in the past week! Any suggestions?!?
I have been receiving countless calls from 360-474-3939 for a couple weeks now, claiming to be from POA, have lodged complaints with the FCC and the BBB on the cruise line. I have submitted the request to have my number removed on the POA web site, but the calls continue. Hopefully someday, someone at both the POA and the cruise line will pull their heads out of their proverbial rears, and stop these harassing nuisance calls!
I have been getting these calls all week long each time from a different number but its always megan. Below is a link about this phone terrorist group POA. It has a lot of info about them especially their law representative. I think we should record the POA survey and call the lawyers office 24/7 with it. Personnally I think im going to contact my local news station and report it or maybe some investigative reporting show who has unlimited resources.
http://blog.stupidhead.org/2012/03/29/political-opinions-of-america/
I got my 4th or 5th call from this group today. They changed their name to Political Survey Group, but it is still Sarah (Hi Sarah! Leave me alone, okay?) and the questions are the same. I have filed a complaint with the DNR every time, and I am surprised they are still up and running. They seem to have changed locations: today’s call was from area code 206 (206-496-0948, for anybody keeping score).. Soooooo tired of this. 😦
Oops, I meant DNCR.
Don’t like this company they are moving around like a cat on a hot tin roof. I have dialed 1 to be removed repeatedly, some say 9 some say 2 whatever it does not work, so I have sent my information to a law firm on line investigating this bunch of scam artists asking that they file harassment charges. They definitely don not fall under the do not call law but harassment is a different matter. By the way do some research on that NY lawyer seems he is not on the up and up either.
My better half and I have been recieving phone calls on both of our land lines and our cellphones for weeks. I always hang up without listening, but they keep calling. The phone numbers they appear to be using for us are 206-496-0948 and 206-496-0950. They are both call centers, when my wife answered the landline this evening there was somebody on the phone actually laughing out loud, when she demanded to know what he thought was funny, and who they were calling her, he hung up.
I have been getting these calls repeatedly but I do not answer. I know there is little I can do by myself but I find it comforting after reading these blogs to know that I am not alone. Hopefully, someone will find away to put POA down for good.
I’m sure it’s no mistake that the domain name for their website was registered by proxy to hide the identity of the true registrar.
How do I sue POA or at least make their lives hell. I’m sick of it. They’re calling my cellphone at 2am now. It never stops. All I do is hit 11111111111111111111 until I get the stupid fake cruiseline JUST so I can yell at someone!!!
like all things that involve politics we the people have no more rights. the rich now controll everything even the laws and the courts and we cn not do anything . the now cotrol even your voting. rights, and theyare exempt from being prosecuted. good luck on getting anyone of your fellow americans to join in to help , it has become everone for him/her self and to hell with everyone else nobody isgoing to do anythingeven when it happens to them
signed
MBV
There is a law firm in Boston looking into this. Look through previous comments here and you will find more info.
I guess I am the only person that thinks that EVERYONE here is over reacting. As a long time phone sales consultant, the first thing you should know is that they certainly DO fit under the exemption status of the DNC. Second thing that you should know is that the more IRATE and belligerent you are, the MORE you are going to get called.
The company I work for does roughly the same thing. The only difference is that you have to come pick up your vacation from our office and you pay NOTHING until you book the cruise. (ours also includes airfare). The survey is legitimate (may be a little biased), and the vacation is offered by a separate company, and it is COMPLIMENTARY!!! that does NOT mean FREE !!!! look it up in the dictionary. and that is the word Sarah uses … COMPLIMENTARY!.Taxes port fees and gratuities = roughly $189 per person. That INCLUDES airfare.
So in closing: If you don’t want phone calls, then don’t have a phone. If you want them to stop calling, be polite and nice, and most importantly, make sure you have ALL the facts before you cry SCAM. NOT ONE PERSON that is complaining went far enough to receive their cruise. Would I give my CC info over the phone to a stranger??? Nope. Does that make it a scam? Nope. It is someones job to talk to you. As hard as jobs are to come by these days …. how can you blame them?
Well, then, Kevin, if it doesn’t mean “free” then why do they most often specifically use the word “free?”
How happy should people be when they receive phone calls like this, at all hours of the day and night? If a person gets a call at 2 a.m., do they not have the right to be irate?
I did my absolute best to follow all the way through on my original phone call to see if they’d follow through with a free cruise, made sure they had my email address to enable them to maintain contact that way, but all they wanted was a credit card number that I wasn’t going to give them.
I’ve asked them not to call any more. The calls continue, as they have with so many others here. After a while, anyone is bound to get irate.
How can you blame us for wanting to break free of the harassment?
So, in closing … “If you don’t want phone calls, then don’t have a phone.” Are you serious? lol
Thanks for speaking up from a telemarketer’s point of view, Kevin.
For me, I consider my phone to be VERY PRIVATE. Only a few trusted people have my cell number, so when it rings, I answer. Like most people in my generation, to me a phone call indicates either urgency (otherwise the caller would send me a text message) or a business call. So if I am reading with my daughter, I put down the book. If I am cooking, I put down the spoon. If I am in the shower, I get out. Very few people have the power to interrupt me IN MY HOUSE and get my complete and urgent attention. Just business contacts, family, close friends…and Sara. And of that list, only one of them is abusing the privilege. 😦
Very well said! Our homes should be the one place where we should be given the choice to say that we don’t want these kinds of interruptions in our lives, and when we make that choice it should be respected. There are a lot of people here who’ve made that choice, and it’s not being respected.
Yes, there are many phone calls that I get at home that require business-like attention. But they’re not trying to sell me something. If there’s something I’m wanting to buy, I’ll go looking for it myself — even if it means finding a number and calling on the phone. I’d rather have that phone call be MINE, not THEIRS. That’s where people like telemarketing reps can still earn a living … customer service. Maybe if that approach was taken, we as customers wouldn’t run into quite the long waits on the line that we find now when we’re trying to conduct business of our choosing now, at places where you hear the words “All of our customer sales reps are busy, please stay on the line” all too often in the same call.
Again, it comes down to CHOICE, not having things shoved at us, especially in the comfort of our own home.
OK fair enough lol. First of all this wasn’t directed to you the author. It was also probably a little frustration from reading complaints on the internet all day. BUT … years ago one of the largest sales groups were door to door sales. Nobody wanted that, so we moved to phones. Nobody liked that either, so we tried e-mail (that was worthless), so we came back to the phone. THEN the DNC. What most consumers do not realize is that telemarketing is a necessary evil. Without it our economy would be in a much worse state. The more people that block their numbers using the DNC the harder it is to conduct business (unless you can afford tv commercials,oh BUT WAIT… with DVR you skip those too) So if a company finds a work around the DNC it is probably out of desperation to stay afloat. There are over a half a million PLUS telemarketer out there trying to put food on the table. Can the country handle 500,000 more unemployed people?
With that said … I do feel sympathy for those that get called at all hours of the night (time difference from state to state). If you politely (some people think they are polite but are not) ask to be removed it will go a lot farther than screaming at them. As far as the cruise offering .. a fwe might be a scam, but these posts tend to pool everyone together and say they are all out to rob you.
Just an opinion from a telemarketer … thought SOMEONE had to stand up for us.
“time difference from state to state” … Is not a valid argument … The owner of the robodialer knows which state a phone is in, by the area code. It doesn’t take much to figure that a 212 number is in New York City, and therefore on Eastern time… If you can’t do that, then figure only dial between 12pm and 6pm … then it doesn’t matter what time zone the robodialer is in …
OH and to address Free vs. Complimentary. I got a call from Sara at 3:30 pm 6/18/2012. At that time Sara (at least now) says complimentary cruise. taxes, port fees and gratuities may be incurred,
Now the only statement that doesn’t set well with me is MAY be incurred. They most certainly WILL be incurred.
I hope you understand the point I am trying to make … in a nutshell THEY are making ME look like a crook, and I am far from it. The cruise we offer for survey completion includes airfare and it works out to $378 per couple. Are they luxury accommodations? Not even close … is it worth the money? of course it is. $378? .. you can’t even get one round trip ticket for that.
I absolutely LOVED it when I got this scam call. I played along with “Jake”, made him think I went for it hook , line and sinker, kept him on the phone for an hour or so while I “looked for my VISA card” (why not, I was not paying for the call), all the while every 10 minutes or so telling him “now dont hang up, I am still looking for the Visa card”. When I finally “found” my card, I started reading bogus numbers to him (also gave him a bogus name, address, email address, etc), stopped half way to “answer my door” (and imagined him hanging on to his seat (barely), then kept him on line until he finally caught on and hung up. Less time for him to try to scam so one else.
OK ….. even I found that funny. You go Betty!!!!
On another note. I stopped using the political survey on our companies end. After reading these posts, I understand the point everyone is trying to make. I have changed it to an opinion poll. Opinion polls are exempt from the DNC list. I have to get around that list to keep the company afloat.
“… Opinion polls are exempt from the DNC list. I have to get around that list to keep the company afloat.” … At the expense of the consumers who wish to not be bothered at home.
Tell us, Kevin, what company do you work for? I’m curious. Better yet, how about sharing your home telephone number here? I’m sure there are people who’d like to call you there at all hours for a chat. 😀
So, again, if there’s such a need to keep these calls going to keep people employed, how about switching those people over to taking customer service calls that are phoned in BY THE CONSUMER so the consumer doesn’t have to sit through the annoying automated systems before they have to wait a half-hour or so to get to an actual person who can help them?
Actually Gary, you made my point. The more you ignore or protest advertising, the harder that companies have to push.
I will not divulge my company name, but we are members of the BBB with an A+ rating. We have a 98% customer satisfaction rating. Also 84% of the people that purchase from us, purchase again
You can all rant and rave (I have tried to be very friendly) but it is simply those that want to whine about every inconvenience that make this necessary. DO we piss a lot of people off? Yes. Once they give us a chance, most become happy customers.
If you can come up with a better way for us to advertise, I am all ears. I would love to find a better way.
“There are millions of us out here that completely ignore advertising of any kind.”
So with this being the mindset, how is any small business with a new service or product supposed to get the word out?
“Advertise” through improved customer service, for one thing, by putting more live people at the other end of the phone line when a customer calls with a question or concern and let “word of mouth” do its thing, for one thing. How much would it eliminate customers’ frustration when they call a company and go through automated menus, and still end up having to sit on a phone for maybe a half-hour before talking to a live person. There’s part of the problem as far as these jobs that you talk about right there — it’s cheaper for the “job creators” to automate things and cut their customer service staff or just send the calls to someone overseas and still end up with ticked off customers because they have to deal with confounding automated menu systems or someone speaking a thousand words a minute in a foreign language that’s difficult to understand.
Come on, Kevin, share your home phone number with us and we’ll see how far your tolerance level goes before you start to “whine.” 😀
Look, Kevin. I appreciate your support for a form of employment which I had the dubious honour of participating in long ago. I also appreciate the argument, in the abstract, that ‘jobs are jobs’ … but I disagree with the presumed conclusion that however that job is executed is therefore inevitably honorable, necessary, and trumps any concerns.
A colonoscopy is, arguably, a necessity. However, doctors execute the exam with resonable care and compassion. I don’t expect them to attempt to make it pleasurable, just forthright and human. They do not, for example, try to tell you the scope is tiny when in fact it is not. Nor do they, try to call you in their offices claiming that they just want to ‘talk’ when secretly, they prepare the examination room for you.
Further, history bubbles with people who have tried to argue that deception is a necessary part of selling things. This argument relies a conflation of the epistmomological aspects of buying and selling with outright deceit on a the part of participants. That is, a person can know only so much about a transaction….something that both parties can use, and should use, to benefit the outcome (note the lack of dualism). However, deceit attempts to add knowable, essential things to the catagory of ‘unknowable’. The outcome usually leads to poor agregate results, even while one party may escape with profit.
You know what Kevin? Back when the soliciting was door to door I hated it. Then I hated the telephone calls. Don’t worry about what companies spend on television advertising, I don’t pay any attention to those either. I never look at an advertisement on the Internet. And If I want to take a cruise, I will research it and buy it myself. There are millions of us out here that completely ignore advertising of any kind. So if someone has to be unemployed, let it be telemarketers. My response to a phone call from a telemarketer? A loud police whistle.
I am in Canada. I haven’t listened to the survey so I don’t know if they will ask me questions about the American election? I have been getting calls from them day and night for days now. From different numbers the latest: 15144478034 I am on my countries DNC list as well.
Out of curiosity, Kevin, why do you think this country has a National Do Not Call Registry in the first place? You seem to be spending a lot of time trying to get around a public institution that most Americans (72% as of 2007) love. And in addition to the DNCR, FCC regulations make it illegal to call a cell phone with an automated dialer; so technically every time she calls me, Sara is violating 2 laws. These laws aren’t just some fickle anti-small-business barriers that the government put in place to make your life harder. They were enacted because even the Bush Administration could see that the American people’s right to privacy in their own homes trumps your need to use the worst possible tactics to sell your shitty cruises.
OK OK OK 🙂 The masses have been heard. As of Monday the auto-dialer has been laid to rest. I am also now having all my numbers “scrubbed” by the FCC. I would like to say thank you John! If it wasn’t for you and this blog, I would have just let it continue. I did an internal audit and found that only 2.6% of our sales came from people on the DNC. I can afford to lose 2.6% to keep people happy.
Some advice.
First off, anytime you are at a truck show/art festival/concert etc. and someone wants you to sign up for a $50,000 dollar raffle, or any giveaway/raffle you WILL be called. Nobody does a “giveaway” WITHOUT an agenda.
Second: Be beyond pleasant, no matter how pissed you are. I know from first hand experience that if you are rude or hostile you will get twice as many calls. Be kind and simply ask to be removed from their call list. If you are nice, then you have a good chance of ending the calls.
Third: ANSWER THE CALL!!!!!!!! If you do not, the calls will never stop. Companies will call the same number for YEARS until they get a response. And again … if you are hostile/rude/or even just short with them, they will just put you on redial.
Remember, the person that is calling you is NOT evil!!!!!!! They are just trying to make a living, and mean you no harm. If you are that angry, ask to please speak with there supervisor. (NICELY) and tear the supervisor a new ***hole.
Last thing I would like to say is this, there are a large number of telemarketers that are handicapped or disabled. I myself have been in a wheelchair for almost 12 years. I used to be a car salesman, but they didn’t think it would look good having me sell cars, therefore I went to the only job I could find that would accommodate my needs. I am not using it as an excuse, just simply saying that I put a pretty high priority on feeding my family.
I hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Kevin Noteboom
My elderly sister was just scammed by this company today when she responded to a diet pill ad that was on TV!!!
Yikes –
Appreciating the time and effort you put into your website and
detailed information you provide. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material.
Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your RSS
feeds to my Google account.
Wow, what a great compliment! Thank you very much! I’m not publishing new articles here on as regular (daily) a basis as I once was, but I’m still putting new ones out there when I can or when real inspiration strikes. In the meantime, there’s still a variety of posts out there to choose from. And if you’re a music fan, you can check out my music blog at thecrossovermusicchannel.com. Thanks again, I appreciate the compliment and the following!
Fastidious replies in return of this difficulty with firm
arguments and explaining all regarding that.
Can I just say what a comfort to discover a person
that truly knows what they’re talking about on the net. You definitely realize how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More and more people ought to check this out and understand this side of your story. I was surprised that you are not more popular because you most certainly have the gift.
What normal people need to solve this situation is to be able to push a single button on the phone during one of these calls, and a lawsuit is automatically initiated against the caller, and the local police are notified to serve papers the same day. The penalty should be $500 per incident, paid to the victim, not to the “system”.