How to stop debt collectors from calling?
OhioGuy
a lot more complicated, and the debt is not mine.
We own a double, and we live on the south side. For the past couple of
years, my sister has lived on the north side. She pays a bit of rent to
help out, but she doesn't make a lot at her job, so she didn't have a phone.
I wired a connection over there so that she could occasionally make outgoing
calls if she needed to.
Long story short, 10 years ago she had a messy divorce, where her husband
took off with her best friend. She then found out he owed a LOT of money,
which he had hidden from her. Despite his assurances of taking care of it,
he took the cheaper way out of bankruptcy, which left my sister holding the
bag. All of the creditors went after her. (this was when she lived in
Michigan)
She paid what she could, but it wasn't much. Fast forward 10 years. My
sister tells me that the "statute of limitations" is long past, and that no
one can still try to collect for any of the past debts. But guess what?
They are. Any given day, we receive between half a dozen to a dozen
automated phone calls. 3 or 4 of these leave messages asking for her to
call them back about a "personal business matter", and always have a part
that says "by continuing to listen to this message, you acknowledge receipt
of the message".
It is getting pretty annoying. It started about a year ago, and it has
gotten worse and worse over time, instead of abating like she told us it
should. It appears that even 10 years later, the debt is being sold to new
companies, and they are going after her with a continuous barrage of
telephone calls and messages. The annoying thing is that it is on OUR line,
and our machine, which she doesn't check.
Is there anything we can do in order to stop all of these harassing calls?
Thanks!
SpammersDie
"OhioGuy" <no...@none.net> wrote in message news:g6fm7m$efd$1...@aioe.org...
Make her get her own phone. Given how long you've allowed this to persist,
changing your own phone number may be the only pragmatic solution.
The business between the caller and your sister is between the caller and
your sister - you have no standing to make them stop calling her, only she
does.
hchi...@hotmail.com
>>Any given day, we receive between half a dozen to a dozen
>> automated phone calls. 3 or 4 of these leave messages asking for her to
>> call them back about a "personal business matter", and always have a part
>> that says "by continuing to listen to this message, you acknowledge
>> receipt of the message".
Call the number they give and report that she longer uses the number
and you don't know her whereabouts. We had a similar problem on a
phone number we were given by the phone company, and after doing this,
the calls dropped to nothing. It takes a little while for the word to
get around, but it does. BTW, keep track of those numbers and the
date and times of your conversations.
Vic Smith
Won't do any good if she's still using his number and giving it out.
Only solution is to cut her away from his number.
--Vic
ChairMan
OhioGuy <no...@none.net>spewed forth:
Tell them to cease and desist
http://www.cardreport.com/laws/fdcpa/fdcpa.html
(c) CEASING COMMUNICATION. If a consumer notifies a debt collector in
writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes
the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, the
debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect
to such debt, except --
(1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector's further efforts are
being terminated;
(2) to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor may invoke
specified remedies which are ordinarily invoked by such debt collector or
creditor; or
(3) where applicable, to notify the consumer that the debt collector or
creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy.
If such notice from the consumer is made by mail, notification shall be
complete upon receipt.
Also
SpammersDie
> Tell them to cease and desist
>
> http://www.cardreport.com/laws/fdcpa/fdcpa.html
> (c) CEASING COMMUNICATION. If a consumer notifies a debt collector in
> writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer
> wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the
> consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the
> consumer with respect to such debt, except --
>
The OP is not the "natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay
any debt" so he has no standing to exercise this clause. Only his sister
does.
ChairMan
SpammersDie <x...@xx.xx>spewed forth:
I've used it when collectors have called for my daughters, besides his
sister is using the same #, she can tell them,too.
It doesn't even matter if she gets a new #, they have to cease under federal
law
clams_casino
>"OhioGuy" <no...@none.net> wrote in message news:g6fm7m$efd$1...@aioe.org...
>
>
>> Yeah, I'm sure you're saying "Pay them", or something like that, but it's
>>a lot more complicated, and the debt is not mine.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>Make her get her own phone. Given how long you've allowed this to persist,
>changing your own phone number may be the only pragmatic solution.
>
>
>
We've been pestered by dozens of collection agencies over a bogus debt
(debt that's that's not ours) - never did business with the claimed bank
& now never will (alleged charge card is currently in good order).
Problem is someone with the same name as me evidently reneged on some
debt about 10 years ago (in a state where I've never lived).
I've tried most everything from hanging up, cussing them extensively,
being nice & answering most questions & in most every cases, clearly
stating it's not my debt, not to ever call me again and to remove me
from their calling list. Many claim they will remove me, but weeks /
months later - bingo....
After some internet searching, I found most of the collection agencies
to be related in upstate New York. Legally, it appears they can't keep
hassling you, but there is no problem for them to shift the abuse from
subsidiary to subsidiary, as long as it's always a "different" company.
Reporting them is a waste, because they always call from a different
number (typically a cell phone) with a different company name (each
collector / agent appears to have an ever changing company name).
A few years back, they contacted my brother in another state. At one
time, his current phone number was briefly in my name. My best guess is
they have done some internet searches & contact anyone with a matching
name, hoping to find the right person. Once one's name / number is
documented, it appears to become apart of the document they pass around.
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-240-764-4255#pMe2ZIVcDOwC-sQjKO9ZzYg
is a site to check their phone number - note the box on the right side -
to see how others are being harassed in a similar manner.
Best advice I received (by several of the agencies) was to either change
my name and / or my phone number.
clams_casino
>In news:g6fm7m$efd$1...@aioe.org,
>OhioGuy <no...@none.net>spewed forth:
>
>
>> Yeah, I'm sure you're saying "Pay them", or something like that, but
>>it's a lot more complicated, and the debt is not mine.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>Tell them to cease and desist
>
>http://www.cardreport.com/laws/fdcpa/fdcpa.html
>
>
>
This only works if it's the same collector that calls over and over.
Their game is to pass your information around.
EllyBelle
and, after exchanging a couple of letters, I did some research and
copied this letter off (I think) the Department of Consumer Affairs for
New York City.......
This is a request to cease any further communication with regard to this
matter. Your account of my alleged debt is inaccurate. Any further
communication beyond what is legally allowed is a violation of the law.
Further, according to the New York State Department of Consumer Affairs,
Scuzzy Debt Collection is unlicensed in both (original City where debt
occurred) and New York City. As an unlicensed agency, you should not be
contacting me about any alleged debt.
You are also warned against falsely reporting this alleged debt to any
other party.
Please note that this letter should not be construed as an
acknowledgment of the alleged debt.
Thank you blah blah.....
After receiving a letter of this type a collection agency may only
contact you to let you know that they are suing you. We NEVER heard
from this agency again.
This, of course, is only for debts that you have NOT incurred.
Hope this helps someone,
Elly
cro...@ymoctl.com
options if you are being harassed:
By law each time they call they have to ,on request, provide their
name,the company name,address and phone number, the name of he
creditor,the amount due and the account number.
Send a certified letter to the collection agency demanding that they
cease all contact. At that point they have either follow the demand or
sue you. Yes, they can sell it to another collection agency but each one
that it gets passed on to is working for a smaller amount.
Tell the collector you are willing to set up a payment plan. Tell
them they have to be completely silent for 30 seconds while you make the
offer or you will hang up and send the aforementioned demand letter
meaning they get nothing. Offer these terms:
4 equal payments starting next month. If that is refused it will be 5
equal payments starting in two months. If that is refused you will send
the demand letter and mention you are doing it because
___________refused a reasonable payment plan. They are not used to
people being assertive and knowing their rights. This is not part of
their training.
Keep in mind they are trained to intimidate. They will address you by
your first name while calling themselves Mr. or Miss or Ms. Insist that
they address you in the same manner or they must gice your their first name.
Ask them what they intend to do if you do not pay. They will mention
something about "further action" or "legal action". Both can simply mean
more calls but they want you to think they will sue. Ask if they will
sue and listen to them hem and haw.
When they call ask them if you can record the call. Tell them if they
are acting in a legal manner they have nothing to fear.
h
<lis...@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:kmdp84pbnrgk94ktf...@4ax.com...
> the debt
> collectors we are not them and the debt collectors said they would not
> call any
> more.
We had a similar problem with a local hospital. We were getting 5-6
appointment reminder calls a day for various people we'd never heard of,
plus about 10 calls for past due hospital bills for 10 different people.
Even the billing department realized it was a mistake. However, they didn't
seem to care about fixing it until we had a lawyer send a cease and desist
letter after six months of having our answering machine full every single
day. We finally ended up talking to the guy who programmed the automated
dial-out and he figured out that whenever it didn't have a valid phone
number for the patient, his program was putting in our number. The truly
bizarre part was that no one here has ever been to that hospital. The
program must have randomly picked it.
Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply
>
> Is there anything we can do in order to stop all of these harassing calls?
I was told by the people who called me (when I shattered my wrist and
had practically no income coming in for months) that if I made *some*
payment, even if it wasn't a full payment, that they would stop calling.
Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply
get her a prepaid cell phone like a Tracfone or one of the others, pay
for at least several months of service, then when the bill collectors
call, tell them that she has a new phone number and give them that number.
George Grapman
A few years ago I kept getting calls for a person who I did not know.
The out of stare law firm calling insisted that I must know her because
she had given my number as a contact. They refused to believe that it
was either an error or intentional fraud. The calls stopped when I did a
google search , found the name of a senior partner in the firm and told
his secretary I was prepared to file a complaint with the local bar
association.
Vic Smith
<sfge...@paccbell.net> wrote:
>Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote:
>> Sorry -- I forgot to say also that an inexpensive solution might be to
>> get her a prepaid cell phone like a Tracfone or one of the others, pay
>> for at least several months of service, then when the bill collectors
>> call, tell them that she has a new phone number and give them that number.
>
>
> A few years ago I kept getting calls for a person who I did not know.
>The out of stare law firm calling insisted that I must know her because
>she had given my number as a contact.
That kind of thinking - reasonable on the surface - leads to
conspiracy theories and innocent people in jail.
--Vic
phil scott
change the number.... no way in hell will any of the sharks collect.
Phil scott
Dave
it's
> a lot more complicated, and the debt is not mine.
>
> We own a double, and we live on the south side. For the past couple of
> years, my sister has lived on the north side. She pays a bit of rent to
> help out, but she doesn't make a lot at her job, so she didn't have a
phone.
> I wired a connection over there so that she could occasionally make
outgoing
> calls if she needed to.
>
> Long story short, 10 years ago she had a messy divorce, where her
husband
> took off with her best friend. She then found out he owed a LOT of money,
> which he had hidden from her. Despite his assurances of taking care of
it,
(snip long story)
You've gotten lots of advice, some of it good. If you have VOIP service,
log onto your account online, and add each bill collector's phone number to
the black list.
If you don't have VOIP, get it. Have your number transferred to the VOIP
line. THEN put each of the bill collector's numbers on the black
ist. -Dave
phil scott
on a thinly related issue.. if you have a debt about to go past the
statute of limitations, some bogus over billed amount from a hospital
for instance (over billing is common... and people without insurance
get billed 2x or more than insurance companies on many cases)...and
you pay even one cent on it..the statute of limitations resets...
expect another 7 years of harrassment.
in that case a good button to learn how to use on yer cell phone is
the little red one, says 'end' on it.... but you must do it in the
first second or so before your blood pressure goes up.... just hold
the cell in your left hand and using your right index finger press
down on the button.
George Grapman
think you hung up.
ChairMan
George Grapman <sfge...@paccbell.net>spewed forth:
A whistle works well too
George Grapman
I first used "MUTE" years ago when some tout services got my
number.Polite requests to stop, threats of legal action and cursing all
were to no avail. They often called back within seconds after
I hung up. Finally I began to hut "MUTE" when the canned pitch started"
"So,George, what credit card would you like to use?"
"Hello,George,are you there?"
"God damn it, I gave this guy my A material and he walked away from
the phone"
Another one is gibberish:
"No speak English"
"Habla espanol?"
"prosrty eevantey frobjika mieeryok?"
phil scott
>
> - Show quoted text -
a person could try putting the cell into a coffee can..
"hheelloooo ooheloolo iisssis ttthiss thss mmmissttter " that way
the poor sot can at least entertain hiimself.
you could drop in the occasional marble
Stephanie
Give the phone to your 4 year old, if you are lucky enough to have one.
George Grapman
numbers and only those numbers. Have their calls forwarded to a
disconnected number.
Dave
"George Grapman" <sfge...@paccbell.net> wrote in message
news:1xkjk.18726$Ri....@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
> Select call forwarding allows you to forward calls from certain
> numbers and only those numbers. Have their calls forwarded to a
> disconnected number.
What fun is that? Bill collectors use several numbers. Forward call from
XYZ to another one of XYZs phone numbers. Let them call themselves. -Dave
George Grapman
George Grapman
they would call he would pretend to be another person and say "that SOB
skipped out on two months rent. Tell you what, give me your number and
if I find out where he is I will let you know and if you track him down
you can tell me"
ra...@vt.edu
> We had a similar problem with a local hospital. We were getting 5-6
> appointment reminder calls a day for various people we'd never heard of,
> day. We finally ended up talking to the guy who programmed the automated
> dial-out and he figured out that whenever it didn't have a valid phone
> number for the patient, his program was putting in our number. The truly
Probably it was the phone number (in another area code) of the software's
programmer, or the programmer's ex-girlfriend, or something stupid like that.
Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.
Coffee's For Closers
> Yeah, I'm sure you're saying "Pay them", or something like that, but it's
> a lot more complicated, and the debt is not mine.
(snip)
> It is getting pretty annoying. It started about a year ago, and it has
> gotten worse and worse over time, instead of abating like she told us it
> should. It appears that even 10 years later, the debt is being sold to new
> companies, and they are going after her with a continuous barrage of
> telephone calls and messages. The annoying thing is that it is on OUR line,
> and our machine, which she doesn't check.
>
> Is there anything we can do in order to stop all of these
> harassing calls?
Yes, there is. Here is a FAQ, including what to tell them to
make them stop...
http://www.cardreport.com/credit-problems/collection-faq.html
They are legally required to stop the regular dunning calls and
letters at that point. Although they can still pass it on to
another collection agency, which would then a "stop-bugging-me"
notice.
--
Want Privacy?
http://www.MinistryOfPrivacy.com/
Coffee's For Closers
sfge...@paccbell.net says...
> Select call forwarding allows you to forward calls from certain
> numbers and only those numbers. Have their calls forwarded to a
> disconnected number.
If you don't have to pay for the call, maybe forward them to the
main office number of their own collection agency.
h
"Dan Birchall" <nob...@imaginary-host.danbirchall.com> wrote in message
news:slrng9t8a7...@my-286.myhome.westell.com...
> no...@none.net (OhioGuy) wrote:
>> 10 years ago she had a messy divorce, where her husband took off
>> with her best friend. She then found out he owed a LOT of money,
>> which he had hidden from her. Despite his assurances of taking
>> left my sister holding the bag.
>
> wasn't privy to his dealings, in some jurisdictions that's a legal
> defense.
>
Do the debt collectors have her signature on any repayment guarantee
documents? If not, they can't collect. Many years ago my ex ran up a huge
bill on a credit card account he opened AFTER we divorced. The collectors
called me up, said I was a second card holder (I wasn't), and told me I had
to pay. I asked, "Do you have a piece of paper with my signature on it
indicating that I am responsible for this debt?" Long silence. Crickets.
Click. I never heard from those people again.