Action 9: Complaints soar for telemarketer calls in N.C.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Consumers may have put their phone number on a do-not-call list, but that doesn't mean telemarketers will quit bugging

The number of complaints about telemarketers is growing in North Carolina.

Ron Trull is haunted by telemarketers most nights.

"I don't want their calls. I want it to stop," he said.

One company pitches credit cards.

Trull thought that by joining a government "no call" years ago he was safe.

'They flat just won't quit," Trull said.

Action 9 checked with the FTC and found "no call" complaints soaring in North Carolina.

Last year there were 50,584 complaints and so far in 2012 more than 96,000. That's a 36 percent increase.

Consumer groups said technology is partly to blame.

"They can open up, start calling, start receiving money, credit card and they can shut down literally overnight," said Holly Salmons with the Better Business Bureau.

A telemarketing company in Florida has used several names and has many "do not call" complaints.

Experts say many companies use spoofing software to create phoney numbers that show up on your caller ID.

"The telephone company told me they're using fake numbers. The numbers were not registered to anybody," Trull said.

One phone room manager who wanted to remain in the shadows said he never worried about a crackdown.

"There is no fear of that whatsoever," he said.

He claimed the telemarketing operations he managed did not avoid people on the "do not call" list.

"Absolutely not," he said. "Couldn't make money. It'd be impossible."

An attitude that leaves consumers like Trull angry.

"You don't hear about them finding anybody," he said.