DENVER -- Just one word gets a heated reaction from a lot of folks -- telemarketing. But is the one company that could help stop the calls actually taking advantage of you?

Shelly and Ben Celius (pictured, left) are proud home owners. They moved in just a couple of months ago. And ever since, they said that the phone's been ringing off the hook.

"You're trying to move into a house, get things in order, and people are calling you right and left. And all they want to do is sell you something," Ben Celius said.

"They" are telemarketers, and Ben said that they call up to as many as eight annoying times an hour.

"I mean, we just bought a house and somebody was trying to sell us a loan," Ben said.

Normally, 7NEWS talks to companies on camera, but Qwest said no, and instead answered our questions by e-mail.

"How consumer information is shared is an industry-wide problem -- not specific to a single company," Qwest said in the e-mail.

Qwest admitted that it sells its customers' names and phone numbers, but said that it is forced to by law. Credit card companies, the motor vehicle department, magazines and newspapers also sell your information, Call 7 reporter Bill Clarke reported.

But, Clarke reported, Qwest has found a way to sell your number, then offer a way for you to block those calls -- at a cost.

"They come out with a product that counteracts another product, and they just keep building on it, making more money," Ben said.

A Qwest security screen costs $2.95, but to make it work you also have to have caller ID, which costs $6.95. So every month, you have to pay $9.90 -- or close to $120 a year.

"It's a market opportunity I think that Qwest is providing. That service just reflects the fact that there are so many people that are so tired and so disgusted with receiving these calls that they are willing to pay $6.95 a month to have a screening device put on their phone," Rutt Bridges, Consumer Advocate at the Bighorn Center, said.

Remember, the only person looking out for your pocket book and your privacy is you, Clarke reminded. If you don't want your number sold, you have to speak up.

This is something that Ben Celius wishes he would have known when he signed up for service.

Call 7 asked Qwest if it would consider telling customers who are signing up for a new service that they can opt out of telemarketing lists. Call 7 wanted to know if Qwest would give consumers the choice before their numbers are sold, and before the calls begin.

Qwest didn't respond to that particular question, Clarke said. Qwest said that it will remove your name from future lists, if you ask.

To find out how to get your name off telemarketing lists, dial our Call 7 For Help hotline at (303)83-Call-7 or click on the links below.

Additional Resources:

• Qwest No-Call Form
• www.coloradonocall.org
• www.junkbusters.com