anti206

I get one every other day it seems
 

What message and caller ID do you get? Is it some kind of survey? Have you filed a complaint with your Attorney General? Thanks for posting.
 

Googled "pacific crest" telemarketer
and found this.

Pollsters push Ratner arena
Atlantic Yards critic gets call promoting Nets agenda

The Brooklyn Papers / Tom Callan


By Jess Wisloski
The Brooklyn Papers

An advocacy telephone poll promoting Brooklyn’s biggest potential development project collided with the project’s fiercest opponent while canvassing the borough’s telephone lines this week.

Patti Hagan, an outspoken opponent of developer Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards plan, said she received a phone call on Sunday at 6:30 pm from a pollster asking about her political inclinations and thoughts on the project and its supporters.

[Hagan taped the call; read excerpts from the transcript.]

Hagan, who has had the same phone number at her St. Mark’s Avenue brownstone for 26 years, gave the pollster an earful.

“He started laughing at a certain point,” she said, after she repeated her strong opposition following long, explanatory and leading questions.

Forest City Ratner Companies, when asked if they commissioned Pacific Crest Research to perform the study regarding their plans to build a 19,000-seat Nets basketball arena and 17 high-rises with more than 4,500 new units of housing and office space to Prospect Heights, declined to answer the question.

“We don’t discuss our internal research,” said spokesman Barry Baum.

Pacific Crest Research was not listed in the area code or city provided by the pollster to Hagan, however, searches on the Internet found the firm to be connected with political and investment research.

Hagan, who has spoken out against Atlantic Yards since she first heard of Ratner’s plans for the mega-development just blocks from her home, said several of the questions featured “leading” or inaccurate and biased language, a key feature of “push polling.” Push polling attempts to influence — rather than measure — public opinion — by using questions worded in a manner intended to spread information that is often incorrect about people and positions that run counter to the position of the poll’s client.

“Supporters of this project say [it] will bring great benefit to Brooklyn. The project will create thousands of jobs and provide some badly needed housing space for people from all different income levels in Brooklyn. It will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in extra tax revenue each year that could be used for schools and other vital services,” the pollster read to Hagan from what she perceived to be a prepared script.

“The new arena would serve as the centerpiece of a revitalized Brooklyn. It would be a striking symbol of the borough’s re-emergence,” said the questioner, before stating that “opponents say [it] will cost as much as $200 million in taxpayers’ money,” using a reference to funds publicly committed by the mayor and governor two weeks ago.

On March 4, city and state officials signed an agreement with each promising — from taxpayer funds — $100 million towards the developer’s infrastructure and acquisition costs.

Since its inception last year, the Atlantic Yards project has been harshly criticized by area residents and some elected officials for its reliance on the state’s condemnation of up to 10 acres of private residential and commercial property, which would be turned over to Ratner.

Additionally, opponents including Develop-Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), of which Hagan is a member, have said the project could cost taxpayers as much as $1.3 billion. DDDB and Hagan’s own group, the Prospect Heights Action Coalition, as well as local Councilwoman Letitia James and state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, believe the Metropolitan Transportation Authority should solicit competitive bids for development rights over the roughly 11 acres of rail yards it owns that Ratner needs for his project.

In this week’s poll, after the introductory information, Hagan was asked if she was “much more likely” to support the project, “more likely” or felt the same about her support for the project.

“From the way the whole thing is structured it’s obvious they are hoping to appeal to people by [making them feel] educated: ‘Supporters say this … knowing this information, does that change your opinion?’” Hagan said.

This format, according to the book, “The Polling and The Public,” by Herbert Asher, is “a telemarketing technique in which telephone calls are used to canvas potential voters, feeding them false or misleading ‘information’ about a candidate under the pretense of taking a poll to see how this ‘information’ affects voter preferences.

“The intent is to disseminate campaign propaganda under the guise of conducting a legitimate public opinion poll,” wrote Asher.

The National Council on Public Polls warns that such push polls are used not to collect information, but to “spread rumors and even outright lies about opponents.

“These efforts are not polls, but political manipulation trying to hide behind the smokescreen of a public opinion survey.”

“‘Push polls’ are unethical and have been condemned by professional polling organizations,” states the council on its Web site.

The emergence of push polls came to national political consciousness during George W. Bush’s 2000 campaign, when references to challenger John McCain as a “cheat” and “liar” came to light in such surveys.

Though the survey started and ended with questions regarding Hagan’s feelings about her favored candidates for the positions of mayor, City Council speaker, Brooklyn district attorney and public advocate in next November’s election, what suggested to Hagan, a former reporter and fact-checker, that the survey had to have been paid for by Ratner was the mention of one conspicuously non-elected public figure.

Sandwiched between questions gauging her opinion from “very favorable” to “very unfavorable” of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and District Attorney Charles Hynes was a question about the Rev. Herbert Daughtry.

Daughtry, as outspoken in favor of the project as Hagan is against it, is pastor of the House of the Lord Church on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, a few blocks from the potential arena site.

“I thought it was bizarre that of all the public figures you’re going to have an opinion of — the Rev. Herbert Daughtry? That really tips it off,” said Hagan, who had to correct the pollster’s mispronunciation of the minister’s name.

“He’s not running for any office that I know of,” she said. “He’s the only black person in that whole poll, and he has given his allegiance 110 percent to Ratner’s project.

“Could it be they were trying to gauge if they had a black reverend supporting them it helped them?” she asked rhetorically, and pointed out, “Rev. Herbert Daughtry is not an elected official, he’s not running for office and he lives in New Jersey.”
 

I just got the same runaround - same company (Pacific Crest Research), calling me from the same number (206-278-8899). They gave me the same corporate headquarters # (707-432-0374) .... but I managed to get through and spoke with this Mike Warren, who is supposedly the director. I filed a complaint with the National Do Not Call List website, but I'm sure it won't make a difference. Maybe we should start calling him all of the time. Surely we can find Mike Warren's home # in the Fairfield, CA region and call him evenings and weekends.
 

One quick f/u: there is only one Mike Warren in the phonebook in Fairfield, CA. I haven't verified that it is the same Mike Warren from Pacific Crest Research, but if someone does, or wants to, his # is easily available.
 

I have received several calls now from 206.278.8899; what I found odd is that the caller ID registers the number twice: name AND number. A sure sign of trying to hide.

I haven't managed to pick up on them yet, but I hope to get off their list soon.
 

Why are there so many complaints iluvme ? Well, besides calling prople on the National DNC list,calling cell phones, not having the companies name on the caller ID,calling people and not connecting to a live operator, and calling people after they have asked to be added to your DNC list.You pretend to poll people but instead use "a telemarketing technique in which telephone calls are used to canvas potential voters,feeding them false or misleading information about a canidate." Yea, why would anyone complain? By the way, how did you end up at this site?
 

Sadly, I'm now a member of this club. They call and call, but hang up when I answer the phone. No name on Caller ID, just a phone number. I also am on the National DNC list. I hope that these comments work against them when someone finally gets around to suing them.
 

Sorry Doug, Now you know how we feel. Maybe you'll think twice before you act as a front for an illegal company next time. Why don't you post the number of the guy who signed your check and I'll remove your info. I'll probably remove it anyway but why not give us a hand?
 

I just got a 3-ring hang-up from these creeps. I live in CA and I will go after them. Please provide any additional info.

To Doug doug@heestandconsulting.com
You are the registrant. You can terminate the site. Take responsibility or get out of town.
You took their money, didn't you?
 

According to www.ss.ca.gov, California's secretary of state, the corporate info for pacific crest resources is:

PACIFIC CREST RESEARCH CORP
Number: C2492288 Date Filed: 1/21/2003 Status: active
Jurisdiction: WASHINGTON
Address
101 ARIZONA ST
TRAVIS AFB, CA 94535
Agent for Service of Process
MATTHEW JOHN HEWITT
101 ARIZONA ST
TRAVIS AFB, CA 94535

I live in California and get a call from this number every Saturday and Sunday. I have yet to pick up the phone and they never leave a message.

Travis Air Force Base seems a very funny place to have a corporation. I would think that only military personnel could have an address on an AFB. Travis AFB is also located in Fairfield, CA. For those of you not familiar with CA geography, Davis, CA is also near Fairfield. These jerks are all working within the same area so the inforamation given on their contacts seems accurate.
 

Posted at aapor.org

Survey Practices That AAPOR Condemns

AAPOR joins the Research Industry Coalition and the National Council on Public Polls in condemning certain misleading practices sometimes performed in the name of research. In no case are the following practices deemed legitimate or acceptable elements of professionally conducted research.

Conducting a so-called "push poll," a telemarketing technique in which telephone calls are used to canvass potential voters, feeding them false or misleading "information" about a candidate under the pretense of taking a poll to see how this "information" affects voter preferences.
So-called "Push polls" are not polls at all. They are a form of political telemarketing whose intent is not to measure public opinion but to manipulate itto "push" voters away from one candidate and toward the opposing candidate. Such polls defame selected candidates by spreading false or misleading information about them. The intent is to disseminate campaign propaganda under the guise of conducting a legitimate public opinion poll.

As members of AAPOR, a professional organization which relies on public cooperation to gather information that is useful in formulating public policy as well as in understanding the public's preferences for products and services, we condemn these practices in the strongest terms.

Response to themaster24, that Pacific Crest Research is not an illegal organization. Since "push polls are not polls at all. they are a form of political telemarketing" you are not exempt from the DNC. Thus your calls are illegal.

Let's hope you don't speak for the company. Calling the people who post here "dumbasses" and "stupid". Also, nobody has "cussed" anybody in this forum.

By the way,no need to shout.
 

Horse Sense: Push polls reveal ugliest underbelly of partisan politics

Charles S. Johnson
Horse Sense

HELENA - By now, thousands of Montanans have had their lives interrupted by phone calls with an annoying recorded message posing as a political poll.

Although purporting to be a poll, this call's real intention is to trash Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jon Tester. It seeks to "push" you toward voting for Republican incumbent Conrad Burns if you weren't so inclined.

And that's what these odious calls are called - "push polls." These calls are offensive no matter which side pays for them. If you tell the robo-call you plan to vote for Tester, the automated voice asks if you would change your mind if you knew that Tester voted to increase your taxes by millions of dollars. Burns, the voice says, has always voted against tax increases. And on it goes.

Push polls are now part of the political bag of dirty tricks used around the country. They're relatively cheap, with computers in the boiler rooms in the Washington, D.C., suburbs dialing the numbers.

Interest groups backing Democrats as well as Republicans have used them around the country. However, I'm unaware of any push polls aimed at helping Tester this year.

One of the first uses of the push polls in Montana came shortly before the November 1992 election. A group that could never be tracked down made push-poll calls to spread scurrilous and false rumors about Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dorothy Bradley. She lost to Republican Marc Racicot by a narrow 11,000 votes.

In the 2000 Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, push-poll calls asked voters, "Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you know he had fathered an illegitimate black child." McCain and his wife had adopted a Bangladeshi girl. The beneficiary of these calls was George W. Bush, who went on to win that key primary on his road to the GOP nomination and then the presidency.

Bankrolling the current anti-Tester push poll is a Cincinnati group known as Common Sense 2006, which hired a Virginia company to place the automated calls. These recorded calls, of course, are illegal in Montana.

Common Sense 2006's executive director, Zeke Swift, told the Great Falls Tribune that it opposes abortion rights and gay marriage and supports limited government and taxation. Thus, Burns is the intended beneficiary of the effort.

Burns and Republicans have denounced the push-poll effort, as have Tester and Democrats. Yet the phones keep ringing.

Groups like Common Sense 2006 are known as independent expenditure committees. By law, they must operate independently from candidates' campaigns and without any coordination.

Many people find it a stretch to believe a push-polling group and its chosen candidate's campaign aren't working hand-in-glove. But if any coordination exists, the two are breaking the law.

Candidates could face serious legal troubles with the Federal Election Commission if that happens. The Internal Revenue Service could yank these advocacy groups' tax-exempt status if they break the law.

Two Montana political science professors with polling experience denounced the anti-Tester push poll in particular and push polls in general.

"It's not a poll," said Craig Wilson of Montana State University-Billings. "It's an attempt to move you toward Burns."

Wilson, who with another professor runs the MSU-Billings poll, added, "The problem with push polls is that they give legitimate polls a bad name."

Push polls are relatively cheap, but Wilson questions their value.

"I think it's really kind of marginal, and they make a significant number of people mad," Wilson said.

Christopher Muste, a Uni-versity of Montana political science professor who worked on polls at the Washington Post, said research shows push polls have a mixed record.

"In general, they have found they have fairly little effect," Muste said. "People do them because they're desperate."

If done really well, push polls can have some impact, he said.

"They're mostly effective not in changing people's minds in terms of whom they're going to vote for, but in depressing the turnout of the person who's being attacked in the push poll," he said.

Four national groups - the Council of American Survey Research Organizations, the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the National Council on Public Polls and the American Association of Political Consultants - have denounced push polls, he said.

So what should we do if we get more irritating push-poll calls?

Hang up the phone. That's always the best solution for irritating telemarketing calls.
 

Got these calls not only from this phonenumber but more and ID shows up as different states.. Pick up they don't say anything Called back nothing either.. get sick and tired of these calls every day.. we got per day like ten calls and don't even care if it's during the day or nights

these are the different calls they made to my phone.
washigton 206-666-7278
oregon 503-493-0142
iowa 712-429-0236
arizona 623-238-6013
georgia 678-969-5999

What can I do against these calls .
 

Just stumbled upon this while trying to find the PCR website. I worked for Pacific Crest Research and I can answer any questions you may have.

The company is based out of California, but also has an office in Ogden, Utah which is where I worked.

TNS stands for Taylor Nelson Sofrees.

Most of the calls we made we hardly mentioned PCR and most often TNS. We did political research for the upcoming election and caucus madness. There was an ongoing year long study for car insurance in the name of TNS.

The company has recently expanded its Ogden, Utah location but is still working out of the same address.

All interviewers read from scripts which are agreeably biased at times.

Also another tip, the "I'm on a do not call list" line doesn't work with these people. The excuse they always asked us to use was that the Do Not Call list is for solicitors and the company is not selling anything.

The company lacks a database for their own Do Not Call list so sadly enough you must request this for every survey they call you for.

My suggestion to everyone here is:

1. Ask if there is a reward for the survey; some are pretty short and not a bad way to earn a quick buck. If there's a reward and you decide to proceed be sure to ask how long it is first and then decide rather or not it's worth it to you.

2. Immediately ask to be placed on the Do Not Call list for this survey, and attempt to make it clear you do not want them to call you again.

3. If things get rough, or an interviewer is acting like an ass ask to speak with a manager.

4. If they do call your cell phone let them know immediately (unless you've decided to participate) because I am also led to believe this is illegal and should not happen.


Any other questions just post them here for me and I'll try to answer them. It's been nearly a year since I've worked there but the absolute dread of the experience is burnt permanently into my mind.


GODSPEED.
 

phone # (801) 618-2020

This is a call from Pacific Crest Research, info below:

Matt Hewitt
President
Pacific Crest Research Corp

Home address:
Household: Gloria, Lynn, Mj
3467 N 2500 W
Ogden, UT 84404-8623
Direct line /Mobile:(801) 866-4882