TeleZapper TZ 900

I actually have the earlier model of the TeleZapper -- the one that's the size of a small answering machine. The product does exactly what it is designed to actually do, and it does so reliably. But the real question is does what the product actually do stand up to it's marketing as a way to stop telemarketers from calling you.

The answer is, to some degree, sort-of.

The way it works is this: The telemarketer calls you. You (or your answering machine) answers the call, and the TeleZapper beeps. If the telemarketer is using the right equipment to recognize that tone as being a non-working number, the telemarketer will automatically disconnect from the call, and theoretically delete your phone number from the list it is using.

So let's look at this closer. Your phone still rings. If you (or your answering machine) does not answer the ringing phone, the beep-tone is never heard by the telemarketer's equipment. The result of not answering the phone is the same with or without the TeleZapper.

Okay, so we have to answer the phone once. But after that one time aren't we deleted from the lists they all use? Well, no. There are lots of lists out there. Some are used only once. Doesn't do much good to be removed from a list that will never be used again. But in all fairness, you will be removed from a few lists that might have gotten used again.

My personal experience was that initially there was no change in the number of calls. It took some time before any of those beeps my TeleZapper made had any effect on whether or not I was going to get called again. During this first period, I still got to talk to a lot of telemarketers because they weren't using equipment that the TeleZapper had any effect upon.

After about three or four months, I realized that there were far fewer times that I answered the phone, and no one was there. That could mean one of two things: Either the TeleZapper was working, and I was really was being taken off the lists, or telemarketers stopped using the kind of equipment that's stopped by the TeleZapper.

It's been over a year now, and it's just been in the last two weeks that things changed again. I'm now suddenly again getting lots of calls with no one there. My speculation is that the TeleZapper worked, and I was taken off of quite a few lists, but now there are new lists out there that include my name.

You can't really control who calls you on the phone any more than you can control which people you pass on the street will say something to you. But just as there are things that you can do to discourage people you pass from saying something to you, there are things you can do to discourage telemarketers from calling you. The TeleZapper can be a part of your arsenal, but don't expect it to be the best tool you can use. And since the TeleZapper doesn't start to do anything unless you (or your answering machine) picks up the phone, don't expect this tool to take the lead, either.

So the TeleZapper functions. It does have some effect. Is it worth the price? Well, I don't have any regrets about spending the money, but I wouldn't do it again. If your state has a no-call list, the fee to be included on that list is probably going to get you a better bang for your buck.

On the other hand, if you're not as assertive as I can be with Telemarketers, the TeleZapper saves you from having to speak directly to sone telemarketers, so the price may be worth it to you.

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Update, July 1, 2003: Sign-up for the NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY. Also, check your state government's website for any state sponsored "do not call" list to fill in the gaps. Signing-up for both the Federal and your state lists will do far more than the TeleZapper does. Combine all three, and you'll only be bothered at election time by the political candidates.