Grrr-how do I get rid of these phone calls?

[Simba's Mom]

The last few months, we've repeatedly (up to 3 times in one day) been getting phone calls for the previous owner of our house. But we bought this house 6 years ago, and we brought this phone # from our previous house-had it for 20 years. I only know the previous owner's name because I saw it on our deed. I've taken to asking who they are and how they got our number-always credit collection agencys (bet you couldn't have guessed!) and the person is usually just the phone caller, doesn't know how their company got the phone number (although a couple agencies try to insist "She gave this phone number as a contact #" Um, I don't think so-she doesn't even know our names.) I've explained that this is NOT her #, never been her # (at least in the past 20 years), and they always say they'll remove our # from their records since it's wrong. Yet, the phone calls continue. Help-I'm at my wit's end (and that's not far!)!

 

[legalsea]

The last few months, we've repeatedly (up to 3 times in one day) been getting phone calls for the previous owner of our house. But we bought this house 6 years ago, and we brought this phone # from our previous house-had it for 20 years. I only know the previous owner's name because I saw it on our deed. I've taken to asking who they are and how they got our number-always credit collection agencys (bet you couldn't have guessed!) and the person is usually just the phone caller, doesn't know how their company got the phone number (although a couple agencies try to insist "She gave this phone number as a contact #" Um, I don't think so-she doesn't even know our names.) I've explained that this is NOT her #, never been her # (at least in the past 20 years), and they always say they'll remove our # from their records since it's wrong. Yet, the phone calls continue. Help-I'm at my wit's end (and that's not far!)!

Yes, we just bought a weekend house and keep getting phone calls asking for the previous owner (and yes, mostly credit agencies). I tell them in no uncertain terms that 1) this is not the previous owner's phone number; 2) I have no idea of where the previous owner is and don't care; and 3) if they call again I will report them for abuse (since credit agencies have rules that they must follow in trying to collect debts).

What I truly hate are the automated calls, asking you to hold on if you are the person they are seeking. If you simply hang up, they will call again. It is best to 'hold on' and then tell the live person (who usually comes on pretty quick) to delete your number from their list.

 

[daughtersrus]

The last few months, we've repeatedly (up to 3 times in one day) been getting phone calls for the previous owner of our house. But we bought this house 6 years ago, and we brought this phone # from our previous house-had it for 20 years. I only know the previous owner's name because I saw it on our deed. I've taken to asking who they are and how they got our number-always credit collection agencys (bet you couldn't have guessed!) and the person is usually just the phone caller, doesn't know how their company got the phone number (although a couple agencies try to insist "She gave this phone number as a contact #" Um, I don't think so-she doesn't even know our names.) I've explained that this is NOT her #, never been her # (at least in the past 20 years), and they always say they'll remove our # from their records since it's wrong. Yet, the phone calls continue. Help-I'm at my wit's end (and that's not far!)!

The bill collectors are probably doing a phone number searched based on the address. It could be that the last address that the bill collectors have is your address or it could be that they have been unsuccessful at reaching the old owners at their new address and are now trying to contact them through you. It could also be that the old owners used your current address and phone number when they incurred these debts knowing that they won't be able to pay them back.

You're right, it's not fair but besides telling them to remove your number, I don't think that there's anything that can be done.

 

[agnes!]

The bad-credit person is probably putting down your phone number as their contact. Why should they care, now THEY'RE not getting all those collection calls!

I would run a check on your credit, make sure that your good credit hasn't somehow gotten co-mingled with this other person.

If you can, run a search for this dead-beat and find their REAL phone number, give THAT one out to the agencies. "Oh, you have the wrong phone number, John Smith's phone number is actually..."

Also, someone around here is going to have experience in getting rid of these jerks, the subject does come up from time to time. I think the collection agencies cannot harass you, but you have to know your specific rights, etc.

agnes!

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Yes, we just bought a weekend house and keep getting phone calls asking for the previous owner (and yes, mostly credit agencies). I tell them in no uncertain terms that 1) this is not the previous owner's phone number; 2) I have no idea of where the previous owner is and don't care; and 3) if they call again I will report them for abuse (since credit agencies have rules that they must follow in trying to collect debts).

What I truly hate are the automated calls, asking you to hold on if you are the person they are seeking. If you simply hang up, they will call again. It is best to 'hold on' and then tell the live person (who usually comes on pretty quick) to delete your number from their list.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest.

The collection agency probably did do a search on the property address for the current phone # (my uncle tried to change his phone number to try to get away from collection calls but they found the new one, too ). But they could also have done a "reverse lookup" and then would have seen that the name associated with your phone number is yours - not the person they're looking for.

Whenever you get these calls be sure to get the name of the caller & the agency. Let them know the above info - you're not who they're looking for; you don't know the person they're looking for nor do you know where they can be reached; they are not to call you again looking for this person or you will contact the authorities and file harrassment charges. There may be multiple agencies calling you/looking for this person so that's why I suggest getting the name of the caller and the agency.

Good luck - CA's can be such a PITA!!

 

[HM]

I don't know what to tell you.

We also have a problem with our phone number. We moved 5 years ago in to a new house, with a new phone number. Almost immediately we started getting business calls to set up credit card swiping machines, adding us to business directories, and other such calls. We complained to the phone company that we had been given a business phone number but they assured us that it was a residential number that had never been 'owned' by a business. We still get phone calls and even mail as if we were a business (we tell them that we are a private residence and they hang up). We have not been able to correct the situation and have just decided to live with it. Luckily the calls are getting fewer over time.

 

[dakcp2001]

Call the phone company and have them remove your address from the phone book! They can take out the address and list you by just oyur first initial and last name. Or pay for nonpublished. Google your address at whitepages.com and anywho.com and if it shows up the websites have a way to contact them to remove or correct any info.

You prob also may want "call intercept" it is like 10 bucks a month and it filters out anyone who is blocked, unavail, out of area, or anonnymous. It also lets you block up to 25 specific numbers and you can put in a list of "private and nopub" numbers to be let through in case you have any friends that have blocked numbers. It is a pain to set up the first time, and then to call in and keep adding the numbers to "block" but after a month or two you won't even need it anymore. They also had some passcode you could give to friends that wanted to bypass it, but we never bothered with that.

I have a family member that actually gives out my number as hers to all of her bill collectors and the call intercept is the only thing that helped. They also make answering machines that beef a couple of times that are supposed to get rid of any automated calls, we had luck with htat too. Far less hang ups on the machine. I forget what it was called I bought it from an infomercial. lol.

 

[olena]

When collection agenices call, get their addresses and mail them this Drop Dead letter....go certified mail, if you want. Once received they are lagally not allowed to call you anymore.

http://clarkhoward.com/topics/drop_dead_letter.html

Also, try going to Radio Shack and buying a tape recorder for the phone and whenever they call, tell them immediately that you are recording the call for your "quality" purposes. If they don't hang up on you right away, ask who they represent and if it's one of the companies that you sent a drop dead letter to, then tell them you consider the call harassment and a violation of Federal law and that you will be taking note and reserve the right to report them to the feds or take legal action if it's bad enough.

You can also call Clark Howard (consumer activist) Consumer Action Center. He has a radio and TV show, but he also has a staff that provide excellent advice for consumer rights and advise situations like yours all the time. You can make an appointment and and don't have to go on the show. Just talk to one of his behind-the-scenes staffers for free! They operate from 9-5 every weekday.
http://clarkhoward.com/cac/


Or....you could change your number.....

Best of luck!

 

[cheermom1]

Send a cease and desist letter..I was a debt collector ..here is how you do it...do NOT tell them you are going to send this letter to get the add. tell them you just want the add. and let them assume you are going to sent money ..do not say you wills end money either...if they get that letter they have to stop calling...I hope this helps...

 

[robinb]

Don't they have to give you the name and address of their company? Once you have that you can send them a letter.

 

[cheermom1]

Don't they have to give you the name and address of their company? Once you have that you can send them a letter.

Yes they do but some people that work there won't give it if you tell them you are going to send this letter b/c they want the money since they get commission ...

 

[dakcp2001]

None of the collection agemncies would ever say where they were calling from or who they work for. I would not have been able to send letters, they dont want you to know who they are. If you offer to pay them (i thought I would do this in order to get an address to pay to) then you are agreeing that you owe the debt or something my lawyer said not to do that. I could not get an address out of those terds, and I was not able to get a collection agency name either. The few bozos that bypassed the call intercept (forces your tn to show on caller id) were identified almost immediately.

 

[2binak]

We recently received several calls within a few weeks timeframe. I wrote down all the dates of the calls and called the agency back. When the rep answered, I asked to speak with a supervisor, but didn't say why I was calling. I was put on the line with a supervisor who was very nice. I told her that we always told the caller that we didn't know the person they were asking about and that we always asked to have our number removed from their database, but that the calls continued. She asked if I was certain that I didn't know the person they were looking for and I simply said, "I do not know her". The supervisor was very apologetic about the calls and assured me she would take care of it. We haven't had another call since.

 

[Feralpeg]

When I moved to the Orlando area, I got the phone number for a family that still lives in the area. They must have changed their number because they were getting too many calls from creditors. I've been here six years and I still get one or two calls a month for these people. It isn't just one person. It is for many people from the same family.

I always call the creditor back and ask them to remove my number from their system. At first, I was getting daily calls. Now, I only get the occasional call, so it is getting better.

As someone mentioned earlier, these people are still giving out my number for things. Why? So they won't get calls from creditors when they don't pay their bills. The funny part is that it is back firing on them a bit. Recently, I got a call from Chase. The father of this family was trying to get a loan from Chase. He gave them my number. He probably plans on not paying the loan back and this makes them unable to call him. When Chase called to verify something for the loan, I told them the situation. The guy from Chase was really grateful that I told him and said that he would make sure the loan committee had the information. I got a call last year from a nursing school. One of the daughters had applied there. When I told the woman from the nursing school about the family, she also found it to be a very interesting situation.

So, OP, I don't think there is a quick fix other than to change your phone number. Who knows what that will bring. Good luck!

 

[cheermom1]

None of the collection agemncies would ever say where they were calling from or who they work for. I would not have been able to send letters, they dont want you to know who they are. If you offer to pay them (i thought I would do this in order to get an address to pay to) then you are agreeing that you owe the debt or something my lawyer said not to do that. I could not get an address out of those terds, and I was not able to get a collection agency name either. The few bozos that bypassed the call intercept (forces your tn to show on caller id) were identified almost immediately.

WOW they are legally obligated to tell you who they work for and who the debt is for..I know that where I worked if you got caught doing that you got in trouble...if they ask you have to give the info..but the add. is something they slacked on b/c the letter they could send...

 

[Feralpeg]

None of the collection agemncies would ever say where they were calling from or who they work for. I would not have been able to send letters, they dont want you to know who they are. If you offer to pay them (i thought I would do this in order to get an address to pay to) then you are agreeing that you owe the debt or something my lawyer said not to do that. I could not get an address out of those terds, and I was not able to get a collection agency name either. The few bozos that bypassed the call intercept (forces your tn to show on caller id) were identified almost immediately.

When I get the calls, if I am home, I just press whatever is necessary to get to a live person so that I can request they take my number out of their system. If I am not at home, they always leave a call back number. I always call them back to make the request. Most of them have been very nice about it.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

We have had the same problem in the past.

 

[Pakey]

We are having same problem. We have been in our brand new house for 6 years so I know it can't be tied to the address. It's definitely collection calls so somebody thought it would be fun to use our unlisted phone number.

 

[bettymae1121]

The fast way is to change your number and to make sure it is unpublished. This is different from unlisted as it prevents the phone company from selling your number or in anyway giving it out to anyone, for any reason. Unfortunatly most phone co's charge for this, but IMO it's worth the cost for peace and quiet. My phone hardly rings, even for telemarketers.

If you want to keep your number, then you need to do it the hard way, I'm sorry to say. You'll need to get the name and address of the company(s) that is/are calling you and then send them the following letter by certified mail, return receipt (you must send it this way as proof they received it, othewise they'll just claim they never did).

To Whom It May Concern:

I am exercising my rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 USC section 1692c) and you are hereby directed to cease all communication with me. You have been calling me at xxx-xxx-xxxx and I am not the person you are looking for. You are to never to contact me in any manner ever again.

Sincerely,

Your name, typed (do not sign!)

If the people that are calling you refuse to give you the name of the company and/or their address (they are legally required to but often don't) you can google the number on your caller id and/or the name of the company, if you have it. You should be able to get the address that way.

After you send the letter they are allowed to contact you one more time, to let you know they got the letter from you and that they won't bother you again. If they contat you for any other reason, you can sue them for $1500 per phone call/letter you receive.

Another avenue is contacting your state attorny general's office. Many state AG's are starting to go after debt collectors for violating consumer rights. Even people who really do owe money are complaining about violations of the laws, and AG's are starting to act on it.

 

[Daydreamer64]

We had a similiar situation with our new number from Aug through last Dec.

I got calls from not only the ca's, in excess of 10 plus daily, but also the

pharmacy saying that the medication was ready, the school asking me to

pick up their sick child, the school telling me that the kid's lunch balance

was -$5, from some place where they bounced checks. You get the idea!


I got the guy's name from the answering machine when the pharmacy called,

the idiot even had the child's doctor call about missed appointments.

I finally left a message with each caller that I was

seeking legal action against them if they continued to ignore my "remove

this number from your list" request, and against the guy who kept giving out

our number as his, as I had all of the guy's personal information, including

his child's school, his pharmacy, and so on.

The last time that the school called about his child being sick- for the 3rd

time since school started, ( the poor kid, what if it was an emergency and

pitb Dad couldn't be reached?) and needing to be picked up, I told them that

I would be up there in about 2 seconds with the police to meet mister

troublemaker and would be glad to straighten things out with him and the

school at that time.

I asked the school why they didn't remove my number after repeated

requests to do so. I told them that I was calling the police to register a

complaint against the school too. I don't know if you can do such a

thing I told them if he got there before I did,

that he was free to call to speak to me about his

apparent inability to understand that he didn't have any legal right to give

out my number as his.

The school said they were sorry and would give him the message.


Surprise, surprise, I haven't gotten any - not one call for

over a month for him. The ca calls had already back off for the most part,

but I was still getting calls from everyone else who this guy used in the

community until I was nasty with him and threatened to meet him in person.

I hated having to be a mean bluffer but I was going nuts running to the

phone all day- all three of my kids are medically fragile and so all calls need

to be answered due to daily issues with the kids.