>On Wednesday, June 19, 2013 2:35:26 PM UTC-7, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> On Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:21:39 -0400, willshak <
will...@00hvc.rr.com>
>>
>> wrote:
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>> >I don't answer calls that only display a toll free number.
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>Ed (and other victims)
>
>I am going nuts these last few months with ***daily ***robotic calls. Over & over, the same few numbers. Always when I'm cooking or in the garden or in the bathroom or otherwise occupied!
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>After a while, I started screening calls, figuring that real people will leave a message - I hope!
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>At first I called the incoming number back to tell them to stop bothering me. But I always got a message that it's not a working number, or out of order, or words to that effect.
>
>1. So how come a number shows in the window of my phone, if it doesn't exist?
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>2. Is there any way to track them down?
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>3. Would the state's Public Utility Commission be the place to complain? I don't want to start making my through the bureaucracy if members of this NG have tried that one w/o result.
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>4. Is there ANYBODY a victim can turn to?
P&M
I usually get calls from Cardholder Services. The calls annoy me so
I press 1 so that I can talk to them. When they want to know how
much money is on my credit card, I think of a big number. $6000. I
know some owe more but I'm embarrassed to say I owe that much.
I think once I said I owed on two cards and they said they couldn't
help me, so now I say only one card.
When they want my account number (which isnt' the same as the credit
card number, but I still wouldn't give it to them.) I say I have to go
upstairs to get it. They say okay, so take a while.
Then I do a variety of things. I say, My father-in-law is here and he
said I shouldn't do business with you. That's not enough to get them
to stop. He said you were violating the do-not-call list, so you
can't be trusted.
I went away for 8 days and none of these numbers called me while I was
gone.
A couple weeks later, Cardholder Services did. When I brought up the
do-not call list, she reminded me that she had told me that the credit
bureau had given them my name and number. I pointed out that the
credit bureau doesn't do things like that. She seemed honestly
confused, so I told her her boss was lying to her. Later I admitted
I owed no money, and I said, You lie to me so I lie to you. She
didnt' deny lying to me.
She claimed I wouldn't actually be doing business with them, that they
would just get my credit card bank to lower the interest rate. I
said, So you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart. She
said, Oh no, and I guess was going to tell my how they made money on
it
My goal is to keep them on the phone as long as possible, either
talking or especially waiting for me, and then have them get nowhere.
If everyone would do that, they'd stop calling.
Anyhow, only that one last call in 3 weeks, instead of the two or
three companies that used to call me.
Next time I'll eventually ask them why they call me again when I
wasted their time the last time. Your boss is wasting your time. They
know you can't sell me anything, but they don't bother to take my name
off your list. What's the point of your calling anyone 3 times in a
month. If we did what you wanted before, we can't do it again (you've
already "lowered my interest rate"), and if we didn't do what you
wanted before, you can be sure we won't do it this time either.