Recent Discussions
PLEASE upgrade your phone number blocking feature!
When our phone service was recently upgraded with new equipment (a modem specifically for the phone) we were promised that there would be a new, easier method to block incoming calls by phone number (sales calls, etc.). Well this is apparently not the case (big surprise)! We are being harassed day and night by call after call; sales calls, scams, and so on. I know I'm not the only Cox customer experiencing this and I know that we have been after Cox for years to give us something better than their outdated "Selective Call Rejection" which is limited to 30 numbers and requires manual input of every number we want to block. I need to maintain an Excel spreadsheet just to keep track of the numbers I've blocked! Please don't tell me about the "Do Not Call" registry. It's a joke as most businesses ignore it. If Cox spent as much money on upgrading their phone services as they do on commercials trying to convince us that they are our "Friend in the digital age" then this wouldn't be an issue and they would have more happy customers. So how about it, Cox?NOMOROBO STOPS UNWANTED ILLEGAL ROBO CALLS - WHY DOES COX NOT OFFER THIS FEATURE?
Cox Communications does not listen to its customers I have been one over for over 25 years and they will not listen to me or anyone on this issue. I suspect once they see this thread they will immediately lock it so that the thousands of customers who have a problem with robo calls (for which cox offers ancient non working solutions) cannot comment. Cox claims they cannot offer "Simultaneous Ring" which they can but simply refuse to do, if they tell you anything to the contrary its complete fiction. Every other voip company has it and all of them also offer nomorobo so that the calls we get from India etc. are blocked. Cox will say "sign up for the national do not call list". That will not work for you because the calls are from outside the USA. Cox knows this but does not care they just spew garbage at us. Cox will also say they have selective call blocking (they charge for this feature) and you can block up to 30 numbers or some nonsense. That also will not work even if you could block unlimited numbers you would get the same amount of robo calls always from a different number so here we can establish that cox is not consumer focused they are revinue focused they want to sell us a feature that does not even work. COX Corporate customer service was not helpful either they spew the same garbage at us. Now COX, do what you do best and lock this thread. Hide your heads in the sand like ostriches. Hide under your desks and pretend this is all going to just go away...
Why no defense against spam calls, and robocalls??
I have a Cox account that includes both internet, and phone service, but I am slammed by constant, endless spam phone calls despite being on the "Do Not Call" list, and I am sick of answering the phone 20 times a day to find out that it is another robot, recorded message calling me. I would love to be able to defend against this with the NoMoRobo software, but Cox does not support it.... This is frustrating because Cox Cable has repeatedly raised my monthly rates for service, and they seem to be completely detached from the real world as far as features go. PLEASE Cox, join the rest of the world in the 21st century, and stop blocking EVERYTHING except spam!!PHONE FEATURE WISH LIST FOR THE HOLIDAYS 2015
1. Number of rings before voice-mail answers. 2. Do not disturb based on a specified time period. 3. Call blocking of at least 300 numbers with the ability to reject all calls with no Caller ID info, block by area code and all 0s. 4. All features manageable online.
VM Prices & Blocked Calls
Hi- I hate that we don't have voice mail on our phone. Is there an additional price to have voice mail? My second question is: I am SUPPOSED to NOT have our phone number listed on anything as well as I have blocked it on the DNC Registry, yet I still come home daily to at least 8 missed calls... all from businesses or telemarketing. If I have to pay additionally every month for my number to be blocked, then I expect not to be getting these types of calls on a daily basis. Where did I go wrong with this ? Also, am I able to block specific numbers from calling our home?
How to end robocalls
I saw a number of inquiries here expressing frustration with robocalls and political pollsters. Here's my solution which was born out of frustration with the telcos inability to regulate themselves and the FCCs feeble attempts at enforcement. I've always been registered with the DNC registry, but I re-registered all my numbers with the DNC registry and waited the prescribed amount of time just to be sure. Then I started talking to every telemarketer and robocaller who dares to call me. Yes, I actually talk to them. I think of it as taking one for the team. For every second I keep them engaged, I'm saving someone out there from a ringing phone. Rather than be upset, I just let them go through their script while injecting comments and questions to make them think I'm interested. I let them think that they are going to close the deal of a lifetime and hit their quota with a single call. In the end, I make up some excuse like, "hang on, my daughter is calling me". I set the phone down and walk away. My kids know what's up when they see the phone sitting on the kitchen counter with the line still active because they have been properly trained. In other cases I just stop them short after 5 minutes and explain that I was never interested and that they should honor the DNC registry. I've had a car insurance quote get to 4 vehicles before the guy asked me if they were for real... I take a long time to decide if I want to plunk down $89 for a trip to Hawaii, because as much as I want to go there, I need to make sure the accommodations are what I am used to... you get the idea. If it's a political polling organization, I can usually figure out their agenda after a couple questions and then answer completely opposite to what they are trying to "steer" me towards. I have to laugh when they go "off script" to try to sway me and I have to remind them that they are polling me and to go to the next question. And finally, if they get upset with you, just politely let them know they would not have wasted their time if they honored the DNC registry. They can be mad as ***, but the DNC list is really easy for them to access and they have no excuse for not using it. Just imagine if everyone did this? In the end it's a numbers game for the robocallers. They need to hit a lot of numbers in as short amount of time as possible. If they get tripped up on just a few percent of those calls their profit model falls apart and they start looking for a different line of work. So next time your phone rings... Smile and take one for the team! Cheers P.S. The thing that really disgusts me is when I hear of the elderly or handicapped being taken advantage of by these people. I honestly don't know how those people sleep at night.Cox feature *77 is easily defeated and virtually useless due hard core scammers (who are smarter than Cox techs)
Cox is well aware any number that comes in from "out of area" cannot be blocked by using their *77 feature but they do nothing about it. Ask them for that feature and they give you a line about how they can't do anything about it. **! They also say it is not possible to have more than 31 blocked numbers on your *60 list. Both assertions cannot be true, it is a matter of technology and if Cox is that far behind the curve, why do they charge for useless features? I've called Cox Tech Support numerous times in complaints about unwanted calls getting through in spite of my diligent use of *77 and *60. I was told to use *57 and that would go to the police as a phone trace. Just tried it, absolutely not true and does not work. All I got was: "The call cannot be traced as it is out of our service area." WHAM, Cox fails its customers AGAIN. Question: Can Cox hire some of the smart scam artists to set up an effective phone service for them? Their head techs sure don't know what they are doing.
