Debt Collection Call-Not Mine

[SandrA9810]

This last company that keeps calling me uses that line.

However I'm trying to figure out why they're using old addresses to send a bill too.
First off, it was a doctor visit in Orlando just before I left. I gave them my current address, but all my mail is forwarded to Texas. Everytime they call me they give addresses I haven't been at in 5-9 years (from South Florida to Georgia, but none of the addresses in Orlando). I told them, you send me a bill proving it's mine and I'll pay it. But I never once recieved a bill from the doctor's office and I provided them with my current address, which should have been forwarded to Texas. Plus it was my first time there, it's not like they had outdated information.

 

[AZMermaid]

The house we bought was a foreclosure. Even though we have had our number for over 6 years, it then got linked with the address. We got 5-10 calls a day, half with that exact message. Finally, I started answering the phone and telling them to stop calling. I had a list of each company I told not to call. This was also when my son had crazy colic and never napped.

So, I got a call one day, right after I put my son down. Luckily, he didn't wake up or heads would have rolled. But, I told the guy I didn't know "John Smith (or whichever of his deadbeat adult kids that also never paid their bills, apparently). He pushed me on where is he, you know him, yada yada. I asked the name of his company which he told me by law he can't give me. At this point I about came unglued. I asked him how it was okay for them to call 5 times a day but I can't know who is calling. I told him I had a list of companies I had told to stop calling and demanded his supervisor. To this he said "Merry Christmas" and hung up. But, the calls stopped. We also had a visit from the IRS for these people and get tons of collection mail for them. It has been a year and a half. It is SO annoying!

 

[EKW]

I went through this for almost 2 years with my previous phone number. In my case, my number had belonged to a business that closed up overnight and disappeared, leaving their creditors and customers in the lurch. After nearly a year of this one company gave me the phone number of some sort of business information clearinghouse. They were selling my number! After I got them to quit, the calls tapered off.

What I really loved was the people who would ask, "Is this Transform-a-door?" I'd say, "No, this is a private residence." Then, they'd say, "Well, do you know how I can contact them?" After awhile I quit being nice...I'd ask them if they have the name and address of the person who had their phone number before them. Sheesh!

The worst were the Dex phone book folks...it took me several hours to get them to believe I wasn't the owner of the business.

The kicker, the phone company here wouldn't do anything to help me...and, they wanted to charge me to change my number, even though at the worst of it I could document that I was getting up to 30 phone calls a day! (Long story...I was given a choice of 4 numbers and chose mine for a very specific reason. I kept telling myself that surely THIS call would be the end of it!)

 

[rmom50]

ctint....try putting the phone number from the harrassing party in a google search. Most likely this is a scam and you will find the number listed there with complaints from others.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

ctint....try putting the phone number from the harrassing party in a google search. Most likely this is a scam and you will find the number listed there with complaints from others.

Good idea!

 

[aprilgail2]

I think they can do this. I had a similar situation where I was getting calls from debt collectors looking for someone at my neighbor's house. They would call my wife nearly daily, and tell her she had to go next door, and deliver the information. She didn't tell me right away, and when I found out, I went berserk. I called them up, and went up one side and down the other. I then told them that unless they were sending her a check to "work" for them, then she would do no such thing. I also called a lawyer friend. After some research he found that they could indeed call others in an attempt to collect a debt. Well, basically my only option was to call the phone company, and have the number blocked, so they couldn't call into my line anymore. I also, went to the neighbors, and gave them a lecture about paying their bills. Crazy that collection agencies can get away with some of this stuff.

I got those call all the time for a neighbor before they moved- at one point I just said to them- "Hey I have collection agencies calling me all the time for you, can you please get that straightened out so I don't have them calling me". Ticked me off that they were the deadbeats but I was the one getting the phone calls!!!!

I had to change my cell phone number a few years ago because of something similar. I had recently changed carriers and received a new number and then almost immediately started getting collection calls for whomever had the number previously. I tried handling it nicely but the calls were so numerous and so persistant that I had to have the number changed.

My 10 year old was unlucky enough to get a phone number of a deadbeat when she got a new cell phone- took her about 9 months of collection agency calls to get them to stop. She was at the point that if she missed the call she would call back and say hey Theodore ***** doesn't have this number anymore can you stop calling. One time they asked her something and I hear her say "hey I am ten years old I have no clue who this guy is".
The best part is when one of his old friends texted the phone and my daughter texted back "he doesn't have this number anymore and when you find him could you tell him to pay his bills so the collection agents stop calling me". Another time the cable company called saying they wanted their equipment back and my daughter said "sure come on over and get it".... Its been about 5 months now since she has gotten any calls so I think they must have gotten the message!

 

[Swimalie]

We, sadly, have a common last name and get calls all the time for people we have never heard of. Why these people think they will get a "tag" on someone just by calling all the people with the same last names is beyond me. We also get calls for our neighbor. I have caller id and call blocking. I use them both a lot!

 

[bdcp]

We get random calls looking for someone with our same last name (common name). We always ignore the messages or tell them that person doesn't live here. Usually when I actually talk to the person, it turns out the last name is the same, but the first name and/or address are different and they adjust the info they have.

What I don't get is why the OP's wife would even consider doing the collection agency's bidding.

My son is renting a townhouse with a friend. The previous tenant was a bit of a deadbeat-even moved out and didnt' pay the last two months rent. They occasionally get mail from collections and even one time a summons or something stuck to their front door.

 

[Judique]

My office gets tons of these calls. We normally just hang up. Having a conversation with them seems to just lead them on - they think they can get info if they can get you to talk. They are a nuisance.

For the poster who accosted his neighbour - how do you know he is not also a victim?

 

[eliza61]

What I don't get is why the OP's wife would even consider doing the collection agency's bidding.

My son is renting a townhouse with a friend. The previous tenant was a bit of a deadbeat-even moved out and didnt' pay the last two months rent. They occasionally get mail from collections and even one time a summons or something stuck to their front door.

Whew, I thought it was just me who couldn't figure it out. Guys the best defense against these companies is simply not to play. EVER. Once you engage they feel they have a lead and since most of them get paid on how many collections they can close on, once they get a lead whether correct or incorrect. they are like sharks at a feeding frenzy.

When they call simply state WRONG NUMBER. Say it once and hang up. do not let them play 20 questions with you, ask you any questions or give any information. Firmly say wrong number than click. If you feel the need you can add "Do not call again" but what they want is some one on the other end they can actually talk to.

 

[mistysue]

I've been getting collection emails for some lady. I know her name and city, but all the emails come from no return mail addresses and I failed at trying to actually contact her.
I get a few emails a week and I can't get it to stop. I wish I was getting calls so I could tell them to go away.

 

[eliza61]

I've been getting collection emails for some lady. I know her name and city, but all the emails come from no return mail addresses and I failed at trying to actually contact her.
I get a few emails a week and I can't get it to stop. I wish I was getting calls so I could tell them to go away.

label them as spam on your filter and they should go away.

 

[spacemountainmom]

We had the cell phone issue as well. We added a third line for my dd who was 12 at the time and almost immediately the calls started coming for "Chris". Chris was apparently a deadbeat and the calls were frequent. She answered several of them and they were very nasty to her. We instructed dd to not answer any calls from a number she didn't know and to give the phone to dh or I when they came in.

I spent days answering calls and repeatedly telling these jokers that it was no longer Chris's number, we did not know him and if they didn't stop harassing my 12 year old, I would be contacting the AG. It took a little time, but they finally got the hint.

 

[m&m's mom]

Let me tell you, if I ever meet "Casey Morrow" she/he is in big trouble. My kids have grown up not being able to answer the phone because of creditor calls for this person. Thank God for cell phones.
The calls started over 7 years ago (so much for the 7 year rule). I have had the same phone number for over 20 years. Every 3-6 months for the last 7 years I get calls from creditiors trying to find Casey Morrow. I have never heard of this person and although I have a few repeating numbers, it is not a super easy number.
I got one inexperienced guy to tell me her/his address and it was a suburb close by but that was all I got.
I asked one guy was there not a time limit on these calls before they have to stop and he laughed and said "Not for this large an amount".
I was lamenting about it to my next door neighbor who is an attorney and he said he would write a letter for me to send but he said I could just say "I am not Casey Morrow. I have no idea who Casey Morrow is but if you call me again you will need to give me your physical address so my attorney can send you a 'cease and desist' letter". That stops that particular company but they just sell it to another bad debt collection company and it starts all over in 3-6 months.
For those that are curious, since I have had my number for so long I don't want to change so - we live with it.

 

[Anna_Marie]

I have had my cell phone # for 8 years - maybe more. I still get calls for "Mark". That man must have given his number to EVERYONE. I once even got a call from some guy telling him his table was ready . I am starting to wonder if he is still giving out his old (mine) number. I got on Spokeo and looked him up, I found someone with his name in the same town as ours...I am so tempted to write it down and then when they call, say, "here it is!". Would that be mean? Or even tell the callers to look him up on Spokeo. It is sooo annoying.

 

[dalstitch45]

We started getting phone calls about five years ago when we got a new number. We not only got collection calls about this lady, but calls from her children's schools, and from the courts when the kids didn't show up for their hearings. It took about four years and the majority of calls stopped. Every now and then we still get collection calls for her. It was annoying because no matter how many times I told them I wasn't her, they insisted I was. Most of the time now, we get the one that says if you are not this person, press whatever number. When you do, you still don't get a live person, just a number to call. Half the time, that number is just a recording.

When I called the schools back repeatedley, they told me she kept giving them our number every year. Once, they called because one of the kids got hurt at school. This was unbelievable to me because they had no way to get a hold of the mother. Finally this year, we have not received one call. I guess the school got wise. She did the exact same thing with the family court. No more calls from them either.

My best friend did something interesting when she got tired of someone using her number. On her answering machine, she recorded a message with the following: "You have reached the ___ ____ ____ Agency. Please call back during our normal business hours." If she didn't recognize the number, she would let the machine get it. She told everyone who normally called her what was happening, so we just called her cell most of the time. It took about three months, but she said most of the calls stopped. It was so funny. One company actually left a message requesting the normal business hours. I guess they are still waiting.

 

[ilovejack02]

When I called the schools back repeatedley, they told me she kept giving them our number every year. Once, they called because one of the kids got hurt at school. This was unbelievable to me because they had no way to get a hold of the mother. Finally this year, we have not received one call. I guess the school got wise. She did the exact same thing with the family court. No more calls from them either.

This little trick is not unusual I guess. My best friend teaches at an inner city school, she has complained about parents giving wrong numbers before. Also they don't have home numbers and are constantly switching cell numbers. The school doesn't have the correct contact numbers for lots of the children.

 

[seashoreCM]

The message then went on to say that by continuing to listen to the message, I would be acknowledging I was "John Smith." The message then stated it was an attempt to collect a debt. Pretty darn sleazy if you ask me. I know that no one except John Smith is supposed to know that he is being contacted by a debt collector. Can this company get away with leaving a message saying by not hanging up, they assume it is John Smith? ?

That part is false.

You don't have to do anything urgent.

When I called the schools back repeatedley, they told me she kept giving them our number every year...

The school is now the primary offender.

 

[aprilgail2]

This little trick is not unusual I guess. My best friend teaches at an inner city school, she has complained about parents giving wrong numbers before. Also they don't have home numbers and are constantly switching cell numbers. The school doesn't have the correct contact numbers for lots of the children.

It may not be the parents doing that-when I was in high school I would fill out all those cards with a number that I knew was disconnected so this way they could never get in touch with my parents!

 

[seashoreCM]

Sometimes I get fiendish.

IWhat I really loved was the people who would ask, "Is this Transform-a-door?" I'd say, "No, this is a private residence." Then, they'd say, "Well, do you know how I can contact them?" After awhile I quit being nice...I'd ask them if they have the name and address of the person who had their phone number before them. Sheesh!)

Caller: Is this Transform-a-door?
Me: No, sorry (I hang up, forcing them to dial again if they want to ask another question, then I may let an answering machine pick up).

Caller: Is this Transform-a-door?
Me: No, this is a pri... (I hang up in the middle of my own talking so the caller thinks it is a bad connection)

And this one to take the cake.

Caller: I am trying to reach Donna Roe.
Me: Where did you get our number?
Caller: May I speak to Donna Roe?
Me: (like a parrot) Where did you get our number?
(Intending (1) to give out no information until after they answer my questions and (2) to trace back where they got my number for example from a school that kept giving out incorrect phone numbers of parents)

They never answered my first question resulting in my hanging up after several go rounds of my repeating the same question but I had more questions in store, like;
What is Donna's address?
What is the address that goes with this phone number?
(if applicable) What is the name and address of the company that gave you Donna's name?

If they did answer all of my questions then I would tell them they have a wrong number (here, "Donna does not live/work here")

I asked the name of his company which he told me by law he can't give me.

Using my above example I might ask the name of his company again and again anyway, and go no further and not answer any questions until he answers mine.

Repeating the same question or statement verbatim can also be used to get a company to improve it service when it employs persons without a good grasp of English. Let the non-English speaking person get frustrated and ask for help from a supervisor himself so you don't have to ask him for a supervisor.

Silence can be intimidating.

If you ask a question and the other person says nothing, you too can wait and say nothing and let the other person (perhaps clear his throat and) keep the conversation going.