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Debt collector driving me crazy!!! Who do I call to stop it?

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What is the name of your state? Florida

I just recently got a new cell phone with a different carrier than I had before. Evidently the person who owned that number before me owed some money to debt agencies.

I have told each and every one my name and I don't know the person they are looking for. All but one of these places have removed my number.

However, I have told this one company 4 or 5 times that I do not know the person they are looking for and I just got this cell phone #. If I don't answer it when they call, I get an "automated" message about every 3 hours asking me to call them back left on my voice mail.

I don't owe anyone any money! I have even gotten nasty with the company and told them to stop their harassment! Please, how do I stop this?

Thank you.
 


TigerD

Senior Member
lovemuffin said:
I don't owe anyone any money! I have even gotten nasty with the company and told them to stop their harassment! Please, how do I stop this?

Thank you.
Getting nasty with the collector calling isn't going to solve your immediate problem -- the calls. At every CA there are collectors who will listen, ask a verification question or two and mark the number as bad. And at every CA there are collectors who won't take the time after you say, "I don't know him/her." They'll just hang up and move on.

The simplest best advice I can give you is to call them back or wait for the next call, answer the verifcation questions and ask the number be marked as a bad point of contact.

Don't call and immediately demand to speak with a supervisor. If you do that, you will most likely get Joe Smith pretending to be a sup, or an unused voice mailbox. Just call and calmly explain the situation.

The psychology at work here is: Debtors play games and are evasive. Debtors get nasty. Debtor's families lie to hide them. If you refuse to answer the verification question, the collector will simply hang up and move on (or they'll assume you actually are the debtor -- bad practice but it happens).

Simply put collectors on my team have only 45 seconds to update a bad number. They sit there for up to 10 connections a minute. The collector on a dialer will talk to 30-40 people to get a single right party contact and talk to between 15 and 30 of those to get a collection.

With those facts in mind:
1. The collector doesn't want to talk to you if you aren't the right person. Verify so he can move on.
2. Everytime one of them has to call you it wastes the precious time he has to collect from the right person.
3. No collector, even the bad ones, are interested in calling the wrong person.

You will hear people on this board advise you to write a cease and desist letter. It's great advice if you are the debtor and don't want calls. But if you aren't the debtor you don't have standing to CD someone else collection.

My advice: answer the verification and move on.

DC
 
They have never asked a "verification question". When I answer the phone, it is automated everytime. It is not a real person and says:
"This is "John Doe", a representative from my office. I have left repeated requests for a return call. I need an adult at this location to call me as soon as possible at 1-800-555-5555. Again, this is "John Doe" and it repeats the message.
I called them at the number and asked for "John Doe". There is no "John Doe". That is just an annoying automated system used to drive me crazy! They ask my name, I tell them, they ask my phone # and how long I have had this number, and I tell them. They ask me if I know "John Doe" and I say no! They apologize and tell me they will remove my number from their "automated call system". I have called 4 times!!!

Please help, I don't want to have to change cell phones as my business customers have just gotten use to the new #.

Thank you again.

50 calls later to my cell leaving the same message hour after hour or answering to find an automated voice on the line, they are still calling!
 

TigerD

Senior Member
lovemuffin said:
They ask me if I know "John Doe" and I say no! They apologize and tell me they will remove my number from their "automated call system". I have called 4 times!!!
Well, I hate to say it, but with what you wrote, you are in the harrassment area. Call back one more time. Explain that you have called to request the number be removed 4 previous times. Ask for their mailing address. Tell them that you want the number removed and would like confirmation that the number is removed from a supervisor. (If you actually get through to a sup) Inform the supervisor that if you receive any more calls after a 24-hour period has passed, you will follow up with letters to your cell service provider, your state attorney general, the attorney general for the state the collector is calling from and the FTC. Make it clear that they are calling a cell phone and causing you to be burdened with the cost of their error and if it continues you will seek compensation through your local court system. f

Include a summary of the conversation in a letter and send it by certified mail to the CA.

DC
 

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