When will the collection calls stop????

[alabamagal]

I was riding in the car with my 16 yr old son yesterday. His cell phone rings and he looks at the number and turns it off. I ask him who called and he says "Oh, it's just one of those collection calls." When he first got his cell phone (3 1/2 years ago) I knew this was a problem, apparently the person with the number before was a deadbeat. We actually looked at having his number changed, but he did not want to, and there is no guarantee that a new number wouldn't have the same problem.
I also told him to answer the calls and tell them the person was not at that number and to stop calling. He said he did that for a while and that did not help.

So I was just wondering, how much longer will this go on?

[Deleted]

Years and years. Companies sell debt to collection agencies and they'll keep passing that debt onto new collectors until the statue of limitations on the debt runs out.

We got calls every year we had our AZ number (6 years) from the military looking for a solider who had gone AWOL who used to have our number.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

A concession is that it is not the IRS calling.

[Deleted]

I got a new phone in February, 2009 and it apparently belonged to a deadbeat before. The calls were fast and furious in the beginning but now I rarely get any. After awhile I guess they've believed me when I've called some of them back and told them I was not the person they wanted.

[achelois]

I have had my number for six years and still get collection calls for the people who had the number before I was lucky enough to get it.

I don't change because there is no guarantee a new number would be any better

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Collection calls can get pretty sleazy. When my son passed away in Sept 2009, he had some debt, that he had negotiated down. I do not know all the details, and this is what the ex had told me.
Apparently, his passing was listed in the obituaries as well as the names of the immediate family.
A collection agency must have staff that scan obituaries in the local papers, and if a debtor, even those who negotiated a settlement, is listed, they will start hounding the immediate family.
I had an agency call me every single day, sometimes twice a day for months and months.

[TheOtherMe]

I got my number in August 2009 and I am still receiving collection calls from the deadbeat who had the number before me. I found out a couple of months ago that some company had found the deadbeat and he gave them this telephone number. I don't know when it will end.

They always ask me if I knew the guy or know where he is. The answer is no.

The last call for him was from his brother. Close family, huh? He was very upset that he no longer had a telephone number for his brother. He was begging me for his current number, but I don't have it.

[Nazgul Girl]

I laughed when I read these posts because it happened to me about 5 years ago, too ! Some 23-year old in Atlanta had gone belly-up on his car loan, his federal student loans , his rent, his credit cards, and what-not, and I was getting collection calls constantly after I bought a new cell phone and got a new ph#. It was actually interesting to see the different techniques the collectors used. The strictest, although the most courteous, collectors were the ones trying to collect on the guy's student loans. They were NOT happy. I told them that I was a taxpayer too, and I wanted to see them collect on this guy's delinquent loans. On the car, I finally had to declare "Dude, I'm a 55 year old woman living up north, and I'm not related to this deadbeat in any way." I think the miscreat took off in his unpaid-for car. I even got calls from his old cell phone carrier.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I've gotten some on these. 1st time was on my work cell. We have a reserved block of cell numbers and have for years. So somewhere along the line either a bad number was given or someone wrote/entered down the wrong information. What pissed me off the most about these calls was that it was a voice mail system and in order to get off the list, I had to call the 800 number and then was supposed to have the name of the person they were calling about. I tried once and then said "screw this" and set the phone to ignore that number.

I get a one every once in a while on my current personal cell. I had one last week actually. I told them I'd had the number for almost 18 months now. She was very nice and said she'd remove my number from the list. Don't know that she actually will, of course, but I've had good luck in the past with people removing me from the database or whatever it is.

[TD2K]

until the statue of limitations on the debt runs out.


Not even necessarily then. Few states make it illegal to attempt to collection on debts past the SOL and as collection agencies can buy them very cheap, virtually anything they do manage to collect is profit.

That's too bad about your son SF, that's one thing you don't need to deal with after losing him.

[TD2K]

I've only had a few here. One was for someone with the same last name as myself. I managed to convince them I had been at this address long before they started looking for this other person and I had never run my own business. A few other collection calls, I think those were just fishing expeditions as I couldn't see a connection unless the person just made up a phone number which happened to be mine.

[zibazinski]

I just got one from a lady trying to collect on a karate club membership. I almost died laughing as karate is the LAST thing I'd ever sign up for but I sure wish I'd been born in 1972. Might make it worth it to pay the bill to get those years back!!!!

[Plain Old Petunia]

I get them too, and I have had the same number for at least 5 years, maybe longer. Most say ok, they will stop calling me. Either they don't or there are a HUGE number of different collectors calling me. One woman insisted she needed to get in touch with "Alison" immediately, so I replied that I needed to get in touch with the person who had her number before she did and could she please tell me how to do that. When she replied she didn't know, I said "now you know how I feel, I'll call you back tomorrow and ask you again".

[SVT]

When will the collection calls stop?

Not until your 16 year old son starts paying the bills. ;D

[resolution]

I was getting them on my work cell phone for someone that had never been an employee, and I would explain over and over that the person had never worked here and gave them a bad number. They would stop calling and eventually sell the debt to another collection agency that would start calling again. I only resolved it by breaking the work phone (accidentally).

At our current residence we are starting to get calls for a person that lived here before it was foreclosed on. Apparently they have run an address search and connected our phone number to him because we are at his old address. It was never his number, we had it transfered to this address with us when we moved.

[Opti]

"One woman insisted she needed to get in touch with "Alison" immediately, so I replied that I needed to get in touch with the person who had her number before she did and could she please tell me how to do that. When she replied she didn't know, I said "now you know how I feel, I'll call you back tomorrow and ask you again"."

[RoadToRiches]

Ahhh collection agencies...here is the story with me.

Long long long, long time ago, before winter, before snow...

In my old stupidER days I decided to get a cell phone. Well, I was dumb and didn't pay the bill. Fast forward some 8-9 years after the company that I originally got the phone from, was bought up by countless companies...my account ended up with a collection agency. They kept sending me these letters in mail, which I ignored. Finally, they slapped me with a lawsuit. Ooppss...

I think they were hoping I would not respond because I guess 99% people don't respond and the collection agency gets a automatic judgement. But I decided to fight it. So I did research and started to go with the legal process. I responded to their complaint and that kicked off the process. They sent me discovery request, to which I answered (they would ask me crazy questions like what is my SS# and things like that...I replied basically with "You should have it on your file) and then I sent them discovery request, yada yada yada....to which they replied with some garbage that pretty much showed they have absolutely nothing on me to prove that the debt was even mine.

So, after some motions for continuance filled by me, while I was learning the whole process...finally the court day was here. I dressed up in a suit and off to court I went.

I am waiting in a little hallways, nobody is there...finally is my turn. So bailiff comes out and asks me to walk in the court room and says:" Judge, defendant did not show up".. I was like "Wait a second... I AM a defendant.. the PLAINTIFF didn't show up!"

Needless to say, I won.

They still send me "offers" in mail to pay it off. Even though it's like 15 years already.

[rmtvbrooks]

It's not just collection calls. I moved at the end of January. I changed my cell number about mid-February. On April Fools' Day, I get a LONG text from someone that was peppered with all kinds of profanity, accusing me of talking about them behind their back, etc. I responded that they must have the wrong number. The person responded back, saying that it was Orissa and she didn't have the wrong number! I responded back and said that I was new in the area and had just gotten that number about 6 weeks prior and I had no idea who she was. Her response was that I'd BETTER know who she is! I replied and told her that no one who had my number would use the kind of language she used and to please not send any more messages to that number. I then went to my cell provider's website and blocked the number.

I get calls to my new home number all the time asking for various people. Most are probably collection calls. I've started screening and not answering when it's a toll free number!

[bobbysgirl]

Apr 11, 2011 9:48:10 GMT -5 Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ said:

Collection calls can get pretty sleazy. When my son passed away in Sept 2009, he had some debt, that he had negotiated down. I do not know all the details, and this is what the ex had told me.
Apparently, his passing was listed in the obituaries as well as the names of the immediate family.
A collection agency must have staff that scan obituaries in the local papers, and if a debtor, even those who negotiated a settlement, is listed, they will start hounding the immediate family.
I had an agency call me every single day, sometimes twice a day for months and months.

Was anyone else responsible for his debt?

[bobbysgirl]

My son gets calls on his new number for a drug dealer. I am assuming the person is in jail and unable to accept calls.

[Deleted]

"I had an agency call me every single day, sometimes twice a day for months and months."

I had the same experience when my mom died and left an upside down estate. I wrote a letter explaining everything and sent it to the collection agency 3 times. I started screening the calls after that. I did have one creditor try to make me feel guilty about my mom not paying her debts. I called him out on what he was trying to do and complained to a supervisor. I was negotiating with another person with the company who was able to put my personal cell # on a do not call list. The calls on my mom's number didn't stop until I disconnect the phone 8 months after she died. I'm sure someone else is STILL getting calls 3 years later!

[TheOtherMe]

I also received some of those pornographic text messages and they always arrived in the middle of the night, as did some of the calls.

I also got a very angry call after my deadbeat dumped all kinds of stuff in a dumpster as he left town.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

We've had our home phone number since 2003 and we STILL get collections calls for the woman who had it before us.

[2kids10horses]

I added a second phone number to my landline (so I could have a dedicated fax number... my fax machine can figure out which number is calling... but for a while, I had it set up on an answering machine. I'd get the collection calls.

So, I put a message on the machine that said, "If you are a debt collector, I'm sorry, but whoever you are after must have a new number, I have had this number since xyz date, and I'm current on all my bills, and I'm not the person you are looking for, please stop calling this number, you have been legally notified to not call this number again, per Uniform Commercial Code Section abc. And after qrx date, this will be my fax line, it is on the DO NOT Call list, and if you send me a fax, you will be reported and I will seek damages from the FCC."

It worked! I did have one debt collector laugh out loud on the recording, and say something like, "Hey, Bill, come here, you gotta hear this!" And they hung up, and then the next message was both he and Bill laughing, and saying something like, "Hey man, that's GOOD! Ok, we'll take you off the list!"

I left that message going about a month or two. The calls stopped.

[Mardi Gras Audrey]

My sister continually gets calls for my ex-BIL (Not her ex hubby but the ex of another sister of ours). She let the two of them stay at her place for a few years and the calls never end. The ex-BIL hasn't lived there since 2003 and he hasn't been married to our other sister since 2004 (our other sister doesn't live there either) but he is apparently still using her number and address for credit. Unfortunately for him, she lives in a relatively small, incestuous city so he is now the Baby's Daddy of a friend's gf's close relative (Yes, it is really odd). The friend really despises him and thinks that he is trash (and hates what him and his Baby Momma do to his gf so he has provided my sis with the Baby's momma's phone number, address, business info, etc. My sister takes great pleasure in giving all this info to the debt collectors (He really screwed over our other sister so she figures this is his karma... ) I find the whole situation funny since I am sure he thinks he is getting over on them and isn't smart enough to figure out how they are finding his baby's momma to go after him...

[Bluerobin]

Every time the debt is sold, the new collector starts at the beginning. He has to tell them and keep telling them he is not that person. He should also place the number on the no call list and inform the callers he is on the DNC list. Since the history of the calls does not travel when the debt is sold, he will have to repeat the story. When the SOL runs out, generally most calls will stop, although a few diehards may still call.

[kgb18]

It could be worse than collectors. My number apparently belonged to a pimp before I had it (seriously). I got calls from angry women looking for this guy who apparently thought I was moving in on their territory. I've had the number for almost eight years now. I finally stopped getting the prostitute calls about two years ago.

[Chocolate Lover]

I've had a number for my DS for about 3 years now and still get calls from the previous number holder's debt collectors. I blocked some of them, some I answered in a very irritated tone and told them no that person does not have this number and not to call it anymore, it belongs to a minor. They slowed down but haven't stopped. Guess I'm gonna have to wait until I'm good and PMSy and answer the phone some more. I hate the ones that are automated and want you to call them. Does that really work?

[azphx1972]

Google Voice may be a good option for some people, especially those that have Sprint: www.google.com/googlevoice/sprint/

It's easy to set up white lists and black lists:

www.google.com/support/forum/p/voice/thread?tid=6741e0366d960b9a&hl=en
www.google.com/support/voice/bin/answer.py?answer=115089

[lulubean]

I got so pissed one time. I told them ( in a very sarcastic voice) that OMG it must be soooo hard to look in the phone book and call _______ that lives in the city that the deadbeat last lived, oh how difficult that must have been to call us, gosh don't you just hope that you got the right ____________. Effing idiots.