Thank you for not Calling

I’ve had more than my fair share of unwanted calls. Having been a loyal Suncellular subscriber since its first year of operation, I understand all too well that unlimited calls provides many opportunities for abuse. There’s a reason I don’t answer calls when it’s from an unknown number, especially if it’s a Sun number. There’s that great chance it’s another desperate and lonely person looking for absolutely anyone who will actually be crazy enough to want to be his phone pal. Just this weekend, I was caught offguard and I answered a call from an unknown Sun number. I was actually expecting a call from a friend who was on vacation and I figured he may have borrowed someone else’s phone. As I had feared, it was this random guy asking to be my friend in the creepiest voice imaginable. I immediately ended the call, feeling already violated from that 10-second encounter. Unfortunately, he has not stopped calling. I get an average of 6 missed calls a day from this number, at the most inconvenient hours of the day. I didn’t even bother calling Suncellular for any assistance anymore. I already did this before and much to my chagrin, apparently, they do not block calls. And so, it seems that people like me who want to live in peace and want to be protected from such incidents will just have to grin and bear it. My friend, a Globe-subscriber who has had a far worse experience of an ex-boyfriend turned stalker calling her incessantly, called Globe to ask for the guy’s number to be blocked from calling her phone. Much to her inconvenience, she was asked to personally go to the office and prove her claim. Due to regulations and whatnot, the company claims they cannot just easily block off numbers and the process was rather tedious such that she opted to just have her phone number changed.

I am on day 4 of receiving unwelcome calls from this person who obviously has nothing better to do with his sorry life. Thankfully, my brother is one very resourceful person. He obtained this software which allows one to block certain numbers, such that the cellphone won’t even ring when these blocked numbers call. The missed call will just be registered in one’s phone log. If it was that simple, please, somebody just explain to me why the telecommunications giants made it seem as difficult as performing brain surgery. Service-providers need to put a little heart and thought into their business. There are legitimate concerns of consumers that need concrete solutions -- not motherhood statements, and certainly not feel-good commercials of “connecting people” “24/7.” That just won’t cut it. It’s times like these when we ought to take matters into our own hands.