Debt Collectors calling for someone else

[Weedygarden]

About 15 or more years ago, I gave up a burner phone that I got when I couldn't get Verizon service on I-80 in Iowa. I got a new phone number. Ever since the new number, I periodically get phone calls for the person who previously had this number. The calls have never stopped. At first I would explain to the caller, politely, that this was no longer his number, that I have never met the guy. I do not know who he is. I am not his mother, grandmother, wife, girlfriend, sister, daughter or friend.

These calls come in cycles. I think that financial recovery companies work on accounts for a while, and then sell them to someone else. Recently, I started getting calls from a new company. I just didn't answer them. That was wrong. If I answer and am polite, the calls keep coming asking to speak to the defaulter. The only effective thing that I have done is to rant and rage at someone and tell them that I am going to get a lawyer and sue them if I receive any more harassing calls from them again. Then the calls stop for a few months.

I once had a woman call me over and over again. I finally answered and after my blood pressure raising raging at her, told her I was going to sue. A few days later, her husband started calling me. Same story. I knew they were a married couple because they were both Asian, with Asian accents. "I'm going to sue you if you call me again. And that is what I told your wife when she called. I meant it. Call me again. See you in court" And then to punctuate that, I called them a few times in the next couple weeks to tell them, "Hello, this is not XXX and this has been my phone number for about 15 years."

Maybe I need to hire a lawyer and have this phone number put on some other type of "Do Not call this number. This lady will make your day. Her name is not Karen, but it could be for how she acts after all of this harassment."

 

[bkt]

Yeah, my phone number previously belonged to some guy named Jeff and I get calls and texts for him from time to time. I ignore the calls because more often than not, they're spam. Evidently, Jeff is in default for not paying for his storage locker. That's all I know on that front. I did actually speak to someone to let them know this is not his number anymore and I haven't received anymore calls on that subject. And, I suspect Jeff's stuff has been auctioned off.

 

[UrbanHunter]

We have a health provider who bills us, and then 2 months later sends us a check for the payment....? If we don't pay the bill they turn you over to a collection agency, if you do pay it they hold your money then send you a refund.... My wife gets mad and calls them, she gets put on hold for 20+ minutes, then they give her the runaround and then they get disconnected. Listening to my wife talk to them is almost funny, but then the smoke starts coming out of her ears and she is mad for the rest of the day. I just pay the bill and wait for the check. I think I'll start sending 1 penny more so it really messes up their books, not like they could be any more messed up....

 

[Peanut]

It’s been a decade but for about a year I got calls and letters from an attorney’s office. They were filled with ominous sounding statements, 30 days to reply in writing or legal….

As it happened a decade before the letters started I was living in a small town in another state. There was a guy with my same first and last name living there also. Middle initial was different and he was much younger.

I didn’t respond to the first call. When someone calls me and asks “Who is this?” “Is this Mr. so-so?” A big red flag, I don’t say anything. If they don’t know who they are calling I can’t help them.

After a few letters I had a talk with my attorney. She took a look at the letters and said “ignore them, they were a fishing expedition”. Don’t tell them anything, no names, people in the house, nothing. After a year they finally stopped.

Your phone, I'd consider getting a new number, a pain yes but temporary, better than putting up with the bs for years.

 

[Magus]

What they are doing is illegal and harassment, get their number, get your lawyer, record some evidence, clean their plow!
I'm betting you'd like a new living-room suite or kitchen rehab.

 

[backlash]

I get calls for a guy named Rubin Gonzales.
I politely tell them I have had this number for over 15 years and I do not know Rubin Gonzales. I get calls from several collection companies looking for him so please stop calling.
That works until the next collection agency buys all the past due accounts and it starts all over.
Even worse I once got a new phone and a new number. While the girl was getting all the paperwork completed the phone rang.
Some girl was looking for Jose. I told her the number had been reassigned and Jose no longer had the number.
All night long I got calls for Jose from women that were obviously calling from bars. I finally turned my phone off. My wife said I could not keep the number for some reason.
Next morning I was at the phone store getting them to change the number. I got a call from another girl asking for Jose. I explained what was happening and she said I better get another number because hundreds of the girls in Seattle had Jose number. Apparently he was the local Latin Lover.

 

[Weedygarden]

I didn’t respond to the first call. When someone calls me and asks “Who is this?” “Is this Mr. so-so?” A big red flag, I don’t say anything. If they don’t know who they are calling I can’t help them.

They really want to know my name. I've told them many times that I am not giving you my name. Then I ask, "What is your name? Who is calling me?" They try to hesitate about giving me a name, every time. Today it was Jack Francis. I'd bet you that was a made up name. So today I told them I was not giving them my real name, but they could call me Karen, because when they call me, I feel like a Karen. And Jack Francis gave me the wrong web site address. Jerk.

This week I have a very sweet dog staying with me. He is on his third owner, having lost his last owner to cancer. It is obvious that he has been abused. Being alone with a man, other than his current owner, will cause him to get diarrhea and make a mess all over the house. He hides in closets and other places if he is alone with my daughter's boyfriend, who is a kind man. Poor boy heard me and though he is still coming up to me to be petted and scratched, he is not up and close as usual. I hate that because he is as lovable as can be, imho.

 

[INresponse]

I have 2 options for you.
1- on my cell phone if ANY number calls that I do not have saved as a contact I let it go to voicemail and if they don't leave a message I add the number to a contact labeled as AA SPAM and the contact is blocked to prevent further calls from that number. I use AA at the beginning to make it easier to find when blocking the new spam number, and I also have about 1000 numbers in that contact so it is not a fool proof method but again I don't answer unknown numbers.

2- Save the number with their company name and when they call mess with them. Don't give them your real name or information but lead them on, lie to them, mess with them, have fun with it until they blow a blood vessel and have to hang up the phone. I think there are several youtube videos on messing with phone solicitors is you need some ideas. And, just because they call you doesn't mean you have to answer the call. And when you need a break block them for a while until you want to mess with them again.

They are not after you, they are after someone else. Nothing you can do will harm you. They are calling your number trying to harass someone else. If you were calling them it is possible someone could say you are doing wrong, but if they make the call you could possibly even threating them and it wouldn't be a crime because you are not making the call. (based on my knowledge of the Threatening Phone Calls law in Nevada)

 

[Weedygarden]

And, just because they call you doesn't mean you have to answer the call. And when you need a break block them for a while until you want to mess with them again.

There are a couple challenges. If I don't answer, they keep calling, sometimes several times a day. That alone is annoying. I typically don't answer calls when I don't know the caller, but when it is a new company trying to collect this debt, they are incessant. I have a few numbers marked as spam, and the phone doesn't even ring when they try to call me.

Here is a crazy thing. I know a woman who took out a bunch of student loans to get a Master's Degree in art education, but doesn't use it. She taught for a couple years and then quit. But she still owes this big debt for her education that she probably has no intention of paying back. She handles this by not answering her phone when it rings. I understand that, maybe. She won't even look at the phone when it rings, so she doesn't even know if it is someone she wants to talk to or not. Her voice mail box is full, so no way to leave a message.

If you were calling them it is possible someone could say you are doing wrong, but if they make the call you could possibly even threating them and it wouldn't be a crime because you are not making the call. (based on my knowledge of the Threatening Phone Calls law in Nevada)

Thank you for this. I do want to call them and harass them now, because I feel so harassed by them now. I know that will get me nowhere and is immature.

 

[Tirediron]

My phone provider has a service to block auto dialers , it ask you to enter a single digit number, and if the number isn't pressed within a few seconds , it disconnects, most advertisers, collectors and scammers use auto dialers,
the other option is to tell them that karen is not you propper pronoun and unless they know yours you won't answer and questions

 

[Rick]

I am getting tons of spam calls for the previous owner of my phone by name.
Mostly "Senior life insurance, "supplemental Medicaid"

 

[Magus]

I discovered a way to wrench those damn robot calls.
When they call you, say "SPEAK" 99% are not programmed for that word, in three seconds you will hear
''click"

 

[INresponse]

There are a couple challenges. If I don't answer, they keep calling, sometimes several times a day. That alone is annoying. I typically don't answer calls when I don't know the caller, but when it is a new company trying to collect this debt, they are incessant. I have a few numbers marked as spam, and the phone doesn't even ring when they try to call me.

Here is a crazy thing. I know a woman who took out a bunch of student loans to get a Master's Degree in art education, but doesn't use it. She taught for a couple years and then quit. But she still owes this big debt for her education that she probably has no intention of paying back. She handles this by not answering her phone when it rings. I understand that, maybe. She won't even look at the phone when it rings, so she doesn't even know if it is someone she wants to talk to or not. Her voice mail box is full, so no way to leave a message.

Thank you for this. I do want to call them and harass them now, because I feel so harassed by them now. I know that will get me nowhere and is immature.

One other option I just remembered. Try going to your local police department and explaining it to them, play any voicemails they may have left using the other persons name. If you deleted messages wait for them to leave more then go to the police. If they are not leaving messages have a voice recorder ready and answer the phone with THIS PHONE CONVERSATION IS BEING RECORDED FOR MY SAFETY. Probably need to be something other than your phone, or have a friend use their phone to video you while you talk on speaker phone. Do NOT give them your name or any of your personal information but clearly tell them they have the wrong number and you are not WHAT'S-HER-NAME". Then have the friends send you the recording. If the officer want's to be helpful they should be able to listen to the messages or recording, hear the name they are stalking, look at your identification, call the company and make it perfectly clear to them that they have the wrong phone number and any future phone calls will be considered harassment and you will prosecute and file a civil suit. If they do this ask for an event number or incident number or something to reference in the future if needed. If you are really lucky they might even take a quick report to document how they helped you. When I used to work the desk (which I volunteered for a lot in the summer to avoid the 115* heat) I used to do this at least once a week. Not all officers are as helpful. If you don't get help go back during a different shift or a different week and see if you can get another officer, or even call to have someone come to you if that is possible.

I wish you luck.

 

[backlash]

I added our numbers to the National Do Not Call list. That has eliminated a lot of calls but not all. The problem with that is any company can call you if they have done any business with you.
My wife's phone has over 50 numbers in her blocked caller list.

 

[Weedygarden]

One other option I just remembered. Try going to your local police department and explaining it to them, play any voicemails they may have left using the other persons name. If you deleted messages wait for them to leave more then go to the police. If they are not leaving messages have a voice recorder ready and answer the phone with THIS PHONE CONVERSATION IS BEING RECORDED FOR MY SAFETY. Probably need to be something other than your phone, or have a friend use their phone to video you while you talk on speaker phone. Do NOT give them your name or any of your personal information but clearly tell them they have the wrong number and you are not WHAT'S-HER-NAME". Then have the friends send you the recording. If the officer want's to be helpful they should be able to listen to the messages or recording, hear the name they are stalking, look at your identification, call the company and make it perfectly clear to them that they have the wrong phone number and any future phone calls will be considered harassment and you will prosecute and file a civil suit. If they do this ask for an event number or incident number or something to reference in the future if needed. If you are really lucky they might even take a quick report to document how they helped you. When I used to work the desk (which I volunteered for a lot in the summer to avoid the 115* heat) I used to do this at least once a week. Not all officers are as helpful. If you don't get help go back during a different shift or a different week and see if you can get another officer, or even call to have someone come to you if that is possible.

I wish you luck.

Thank you for your help and suggestions.
The callers never leave a message, ever. They know the ins and outs much better than a law abiding citizen like myself. They just call my phone several times a day until I am fed up, answer and rage at them.

 

[INresponse]

Thank you for your help and suggestions.
The callers never leave a message, ever. They know the ins and outs much better than a law abiding citizen like myself. They just call my phone several times a day until I am fed up, answer and rage at them.

Answer with the I Am Recording comment and have something to record and get as much information out of them as possible.

 

[user 55]

Sometimes I have some fun with them. I bait them into a long discussion about nothing. What would they like from me? What types of payments do they accept? Where should they be sent to? Essentially turning the conversation. Eventually THEY give me enough information to hang them out to dry. Anymore I view things like this the same as I do used car warranties and telemarketers. I usually get my "pound of salt" from them.

 

[Weedygarden]

Sometimes I have some fun with them. I bait them into a long discussion about nothing. What would they like from me? What types of payments do they accept? Where should they be sent to? Essentially turning the conversation. Eventually THEY give me enough information to hang them out to dry. Anymore I view things like this the same as I do used car warranties and telemarketers. I usually get my "pound of salt" from them.

I can play along with the people with car warranties, etc., but I have to be in the right mood. I managed a warehouse for oil field parts in North Dakota. We had a company call us once a month and ask us what copier supplies we needed. We never had a copier. All of our papers were triplicates. Every single month we'd get the same darned call. The salesman would sometimes deal with them. One month, after this had been going on for a few years, I answer the call, tell the guy that I'll go look. I let him hang on for a while. Then I came back and told him I couldn't find the copier. He was angry and hung up. I don't think we ever got any more calls from that company.

 

[Mountain trapper]

When I worked in Kazakhstan our supply chain manager was terminated. I took over his position until a new manager could be hired and I kept his cell phone. Every Friday and Saturday nights I'd get several calls from prostitutes. These calls wouldn't stop until 3 or 4 am and went on for months. None of these girls spoke English but I knew enough Russian to understand what they wanted.
Now all I get is insurance calls.

 

[ssonb]

I sometimes answer the phone when I start getting the harassment calls with...... FBI field office region four, agent Martin speaking......

 

[joel]

About 15 or more years ago, I gave up a burner phone that I got when I couldn't get Verizon service on I-80 in Iowa. I got a new phone number. Ever since the new number, I periodically get phone calls for the person who previously had this number. The calls have never stopped. At first I would explain to the caller, politely, that this was no longer his number, that I have never met the guy. I do not know who he is. I am not his mother, grandmother, wife, girlfriend, sister, daughter or friend.

These calls come in cycles. I think that financial recovery companies work on accounts for a while, and then sell them to someone else. Recently, I started getting calls from a new company. I just didn't answer them. That was wrong. If I answer and am polite, the calls keep coming asking to speak to the defaulter. The only effective thing that I have done is to rant and rage at someone and tell them that I am going to get a lawyer and sue them if I receive any more harassing calls from them again. Then the calls stop for a few months.

I once had a woman call me over and over again. I finally answered and after my blood pressure raising raging at her, told her I was going to sue. A few days later, her husband started calling me. Same story. I knew they were a married couple because they were both Asian, with Asian accents. "I'm going to sue you if you call me again. And that is what I told your wife when she called. I meant it. Call me again. See you in court" And then to punctuate that, I called them a few times in the next couple weeks to tell them, "Hello, this is not XXX and this has been my phone number for about 15 years."

Maybe I need to hire a lawyer and have this phone number put on some other type of "Do Not call this number. This lady will make your day. Her name is not Karen, but it could be for how she acts after all of this harassment."

My son showed me how to block calls on my cell phone & I have blocked any caller who does not leave me a voice mail, if I do not know their name/
company. I got a new phone & people call for some other guy, I block them. I have a text shared with nine other people & it always a vulgar or porn type message. I show it to my son & he said we were all victims of someone who gave out the number, before it was ours, that unlike phone calls we can not block the sender without his number. I blocked all nine people on the group chat, because I never met them & hoped it would stop the text, it did not stop the text, so I just delete them.
I have a land line that I silenced the ringer & when a site or person ask for a number, I give them that number & never hear the phone ring, but I can call out if I need to. My land line is a package deal, so it is cheaper to keep it & I never make long distance on it.
I was 59 when they started calling me about Medicare C insurance, at first I explained that I was to young & blocked them.
Now I act angry & insulted that they thought I was an OLD PERSON ready for Medicare, HOW DARE THEY!
Then I block their number. I just know I won a billion dollars & they can not find me cause I block the call.

 

[Camalot]

I can play along with the people with car warranties, etc., but I have to be in the right mood. I managed a warehouse for oil field parts in North Dakota. We had a company call us once a month and ask us what copier supplies we needed. We never had a copier. All of our papers were triplicates. Every single month we'd get the same darned call. The salesman would sometimes deal with them. One month, after this had been going on for a few years, I answer the call, tell the guy that I'll go look. I let him hang on for a while. Then I came back and told him I couldn't find the copier. He was angry and hung up. I don't think we ever got any more calls from that company.

I did outside sales for an oilfield supply company in Williston. This is getting creepy! lol

 

[backlash]

The scammers are getting smarter and they now the caller ID shows the calls are from a local number.

 

[joel]

The scammers are getting smarter and they now the caller ID shows the calls are from a local number.

That happens so much, when I get a call from a small town that I have no friends living, I know it a scammers.
I block the call.
Like North, S.C., which is South of Columbia.

 

[Weedygarden]

I did outside sales for an oilfield supply company in Williston. This is getting creepy! lol

We might know each other. I lived in Williston for 5 years.

 

[Weedygarden]

The scammers are getting smarter and they now the caller ID shows the calls are from a local number.

They can even spoof the number to say it is yours! I have had that happen to me.

 

[Grimm]

I have an older model iphone and it has the feature to block any incoming calls from certain numbers. You go to the info for the number and scroll ALLLLLLLLL the way to the bottom and it gives you the option to block them.

I block all numbers not saved in my contacts that does not leave a voicemail. The calls have reduced to less than 1 every few weeks.

 

[LadyLocust]

About 15 or more years ago, I gave up a burner phone that I got when I couldn't get Verizon service on I-80 in Iowa. I got a new phone number. Ever since the new number, I periodically get phone calls for the person who previously had this number. The calls have never stopped. At first I would explain to the caller, politely, that this was no longer his number, that I have never met the guy. I do not know who he is. I am not his mother, grandmother, wife, girlfriend, sister, daughter or friend.

These calls come in cycles. I think that financial recovery companies work on accounts for a while, and then sell them to someone else. Recently, I started getting calls from a new company. I just didn't answer them. That was wrong. If I answer and am polite, the calls keep coming asking to speak to the defaulter. The only effective thing that I have done is to rant and rage at someone and tell them that I am going to get a lawyer and sue them if I receive any more harassing calls from them again. Then the calls stop for a few months.

I once had a woman call me over and over again. I finally answered and after my blood pressure raising raging at her, told her I was going to sue. A few days later, her husband started calling me. Same story. I knew they were a married couple because they were both Asian, with Asian accents. "I'm going to sue you if you call me again. And that is what I told your wife when she called. I meant it. Call me again. See you in court" And then to punctuate that, I called them a few times in the next couple weeks to tell them, "Hello, this is not XXX and this has been my phone number for about 15 years."

Maybe I need to hire a lawyer and have this phone number put on some other type of "Do Not call this number. This lady will make your day. Her name is not Karen, but it could be for how she acts after all of this harassment."

Don't need a lawyer, call police station and ask them to "advise" for best results and use the term "harassment." Sometimes if certain terms aren't used (trespassing is another powerful term) they can't do anything. If you use the correct term, things can be taken care of.

 

[Camalot]

We might know each other. I lived in Williston for 5 years.

I worked for Reliance.

 

[Weedygarden]

Don't need a lawyer, call police station and ask them to "advise" for best results and use the term "harassment." Sometimes if certain terms aren't used (trespassing is another powerful term) they can't do anything. If you use the correct term, things can be taken care of.

Thank you. Great ideas.

I worked for Reliance.

Southwest Oilfield Parts, north on Million Dollar Way, north of "The Ark" and up by the Californians newspaper office.