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haha this happened to a friend of mine. Her and her husband would talk to them in french. They would sing them songs. They would hang up. tell jokes.
I dunno, they had those people calling them for a LONG time and it was for the wrong person or number. I'm actually not sure if they ever got rid of them until they moved. but they just kept telling them it was the WRONG person. lol. good luck!
Aw man, I was going to come in here and make an out of line smart-ass remark like, "Pay your bills." :p
Isn't there a member of management you can take it up with when they call? Instead of trying to tell the telemarketer, ask to speak to their manager. Don't tell them what it's about and if they insist on asking tell them it regards personal information you aren't willing to share with them. That'll get you a manager quick. Then explain to them your situation. I don't know if it would help that much but at least they're aware of it.
When you have the time, you might want to ask to speak to a supervisor and ask them to point you in a direction where you could get this cleared up. I'm sure they hear all the time that they are calling the wrong number but sometimes, they have to realize that it happens and there should be some process for getting them to take your number off the list. It would take awhile to individually get your number taken out of their database but it doesn't hurt to try to talk to someone in charge to see if they can help. If it drives you crazy enough, you might want to consider changing your number even though that might be a pain.
omg in Ontario we have a highway (407 )that you have to pay for and at my old apartment the number they gave me was someone who owed .16 CENTS from the 407 and they would call 5 times a day !!!!! all hours of the morning and night!! and I couldnt even pay it for them because I didnt have access to their account! drove me nuts and then I moved - I know this doesnt help but had to vent lol
@firsttimemom: I was going to say pay your bills too! :)
I think there are privacy laws that protect them from calling you, even if you owe them $$$ once you have told them you can't take personal calls at that number they aren't able to call it again. I think asking for a manager or something is a good place to start. Track their number and report to BBB if they don't stop calling, I think it really could be considered harassment after so many calls, 21 is way too many, IMO. My phone # is the same as some guy named Jullio, he has a different area code, but no one realizes it and I get his collection calls every once in a while but no one ever keeps calling, excpet for some lady he goes to church wiht and yells at me how he just called rfom this number. I hope it stops soon!
LOL... I was also going to suggest paying your bills, but obviously you aren't having that issue. ;-)
Definitely ask to speak to a supervisor or something. There's got to be a way for them to clear this up! It might take awhile, but honestly it's better to deal with it now, rather than later.
@amariem25: Ask to speak to their supervisor. Tell the supervisor that they have the wrong number and that no one by the name they are looking for lives there. Tell the supervisor that if they continue to contact you that you will report them to your state's attorney general and to Federal Trade Commision.
http://consumerist.com/2007/07/sample-letter-for-disputing-a-debt-collection-notice.html
http://www.debtcollectionanswers.com/debt-collection-for-the-wrong-person.html
Once I had a debt collector call me and ask me to tell my neighbor to pay his bill!
OH MAN when I first got my phone number when I switched from AT&T to Verizon, I guess it was the old number of a guy who NEVER paid his bills. For months and months I would get calls for a "Josh Strudel" or something like that from the government about student loans, credit card companies... I even got calls from CVS telling him to come pick up his prescription, LOL. Sometimes I'd answer and be like, "This is NOT JOSH STRUDEL," but I don't think they believed me and they kept calling. I'd always tell them I was not him and did not know him so to please stop calling. It took about a year before they finally did.
Tell them that if they don't stop harassing you, you will report them for harassment to the police, And start keeping track of when they call you. Technically, if your cell number isn't published, they can't legally call you after you've told them you aren't the person they are looking for
Some of them still do though! When I told them I was not the guy they were looking for, one person told me that was the only number they had on file and before they could hand the account over to the NEXT bill collector, they had to prove they had exhausted every attempt at finding him... which meant calling the one number they had on file for him over and over again.
Good Luck. I get calls pretty regularly for my ex-husband, and they just DO NOT GIVE UP. One company actually had my work number somehow (thanks, ex-dumbass!), and went as far as getting my supervisor on the phone by opting out of our automated phone system. Man....I got that guy on the phone and went off on him!!! I've offered up paperwork showing we're divorced and that I have no obligations to these specific debts, given them his cell #, his work #, etc., and they will NOT GO AWAY!!!
This happened to me once. Debt collection agencies actually try finding people by going in the phone book and looking for anyone who may be the person who owes them money. They were calling me because I was listed by M. Lastname and they were looking for a women by a different M samelastname. I just told them it wasn't me and they stopped calling.
Simply tell them they have the wrong person and that they are in violation of the Fair Credit Act and to remove you from the calling list, explain to them that they have 24 hours to do so or you will contact the Attorney Generals office. I have had to do this several times and this works, and if they continue to call you, call your Attorney Generals office.
Having worked in debt collection, I can dispel some of these myths.
1) 21 times over 10 days is legal and not excessive.
2) That dispute letter is a joke. There is a 30 day validation period from the initial contact during which the agency must verify the debt for you if you request it, but after that, a letter like that just goes straight into a file without action. People think if they keep sending that crap, it'll go away. It won't. In your case, it's irrelevant since you are not disputing the debt; they arent' saying YOU owe it, just someone at your phone number.
3) Don't bother asking for a supervisor or threatening them. Cease communication requests need to be in writing. In your letter state that you are not acknowledging the debt, that you are not that person, do not know that person, and it is a case of a wrong number. Tell them specifically that you are requesting that they cease contact to that number. Mail it certified. If that doesn't work, I can guarantee there is a local lawyer would will threaten them with a harassment lawsuit on your behalf.
And above all, remember that they are just people trying to do their jobs, too. There is a huge hatred of debt collectors, and yeah, sometimes they can be asses but consider also that they put up with so much shit from people trying to beat the system or deadbeats who just won't pay their bills. Some debt collectors are wrong; I'm not arguing that. But a LOT of debtors are wrong, too, and there is a scorned little guy mentality about this, when really, people should just pay their bills! If you actually do owe a debt at some point, just set up a payment plan! And as for people ignoring your pleas of a wrong number it's probably because everyone tries that at some point even when it is a right number.
And finally, read up! It's amazing for how many people are affected by debt how few people actually know the law. It's only 28 pages; here's the PDF.
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They have the wrong phone number and person. I've told them this. But they keep calling me every day. In the past 10 days they have called my cell phone 21 times. This is ridiculous.