So lately we've been getting a very persistent telemarketer. Eventually, when mom seemed at her wits' end, I took the phone from her.
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you're looking to sell us something, I can tell you I don't have any interest. But what I do have is a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you stop calling and erase our phone from your registry now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."
"[long pause] ...we won't be calling again, sir. *hangs up*"
Having been in the industry making cold calls for charities (against my will), let me tell you how to avoid this in the states. When these people call you they have a screen, and they click one of several buttons when they end your call. They have call completed, call again later, and do not call again. They're only allowed to click call completed if they got what they want from you. They're told by the employer not to click do not call again unless you specifically say the words "Under state and federal law it is illegal for me to call me if i tell you to stop doing so, and I am doing so at this time." See under the law they cant call that number again for 10 years, and you could move potentially losing them access to whoever moves in. So if you make a request "please stop calling me" or a statement of anger "Fuck you guys, quit calling me", they click call again later. You have to specifically declare "I am using my rights under the law, blah blah blah" because all those calls are recorded for the dozens of metrics they use to micro manage their employees.
It's basically the same here, but you can also request them to erase your number from their database, as well as figure out where they're getting their information from, all legally. It's called Habeas Data, and it's a constitutional right to have free access to your personal information stored in any database, with exceptions for ongoing criminal investigations and a few others. If anyone, anywhere, has your personal information stored in their database, you have the right to know, and request that information, while also having the right to request them to take down that information. Sometimes, that's linked to some site you inadvertedly subscribed to, or a newsletter, that has fine print on it allowing them to sell or distribute that information to their partner, which you automatically agree to when you subscribed. BUT, that can also be argued in a courtroom.
All in all, getting call-centers to stop calling you is very much easier than it was a couple of years ago, because the courts have now a wealth of cases regarding the matter, and a consolidated view on such cases, which is always in favor of the consumer, as per Brazilian Consumer Law.
There's no 10 year limit, or ban, but unless they acquire your personal information again from a new source, they cannot call you again. And if they don't stop, then it's harassment and liable for a civil suit. You can always get a restraining order against them if you are being harassed hardcore, and that often entails a daily fine for every day of violation, which is often very very high.
BUT! And there's always a but... The amount of red-tape involved here is WAY, WAY, WAY bigger than it is in the USA, and it involves being aware that any action you bring to justice is a FULL TIME commitment on your part, and it may take YEARS before the process is concluded. Even if you go to small-claims, it's upwards to a year before your request is granted by the judge, even if you require immediate effect on your requests. That's because of the courthouse backlog, and not always the judges are to blame.
Of course, Kuro already knows all this because his mother is a Judge, so he has way better legal representation than i could provide even if i was already a bachelor.
