Posted on 09/04/2011 6:31:38 PM PDT by Graybeard58
There may be only one thing worse than getting called by a debt collector: getting called by mistake.
These days, more and more people report getting "robo-dialed" by debt collectors looking for people with similar names, similar phone listings, similar addresses.
The calls come several times a week, often at odd hours, sometimes apparently from overseas call centers. It's annoying, irritating and -- when a collection call jolts you awake late at night -- sometimes downright frightening.
Take Ted Gibson, a retired government economist in Sacramento, Calif. He's listed as "T. Gibson" by the phone company, which means he's frequently called by collectors looking for folks with similar initials.
Although he says he and his wife pay off their bills, do not run up credit-card charges and have clean credit histories, "we receive five to six calls a week from various collection outfits who have apparently obtained a list of phone numbers and feel they can dial at will."
In the last 18 months, they've received collection calls for a variety of other Gibsons whose first names start with "T." Many of these other Gibsons, he says, appear to have multiple outstanding debts, "so there are a least a dozen different bill collectors hounding us night and day."
State and federal officials say debt collection calls including those to the wrong person -- are increasing and are "a serious consumer protection problem." Last year, the Federal Trade Commission logged 140,000 complaints about debt collectors, everything from calling the wrong person to leaving threatening messages.
In some cases, the erroneous calls are simple cases of mistaken identity. Others may be legitimate attempts by debt collector trolling through phone listings trying to find a match.
Or they could be fraud, attempts to wrestle money from financially vulnerable victims.
Debt collection fraud has "always been there ... but it seems like it's hot right now," said Joanne McNabb, chief of the California Office of Privacy Protection.
"People may be more susceptible to a debt collection scam because -- in this economy -- they have debts. Scammers are taking advantage of people's concerns."
How to protect yourself?
First, don't hang up. Ask for the person's name and their company's name. Ask that you be given written verification of the debt. (It could be the debt is yours, but one you've forgotten.)
"If they're making threats or asking for personal information, it's a sign they're a scam," McNabb said.
Before telling them "never, ever call me again," try getting some information. "Sometimes there's some value in talking with them," said Tom Pahl, assistant director of the FTC's consumer protection branch.
By law, debt collection callers must send you a written confirmation within five days that states the creditor's name, the amount owed and procedures for disputing the debt. After you get that verification notice, you should respond -- in writing -- within 30 days.
"If it's obviously not you -- you've never had a Sears card or you were in Iraq or it's a different middle initial --- you can report that back in writing," Pahl said. "The collector might take you out of their calling system."
You can also tell them you want the calls to cease. (They're allowed to make one more contact, either to confirm they won't make further contact or to announce further action, such as taking you to court.)
Many people think they're safe from debt callers if they've signed up for the federal Do Not Call list. But that bars only telemarketers, not debt collectors, McNabb said.
If you're harassed by too many errant debt-collection calls, the state's privacy chief recommends calling your phone company and requesting that your number be unlisted. It may not make the problem go away immediately or completely, but it's a start.
"If you have caller ID, get the phone number of who's making the call. Report it to your phone company, which will investigate," McNabb said.
Part of the problem, said the FTC's Pahl, is that many debt collectors buy bundled packages of old debts. If you've complained but they haven't "scrubbed" your number out of their system, it can get passed along every time a new debt collector takes up the package.
"The more difficult you can make it, the better," Pahl said. "Collectors will make an assessment whether it's worth trying to continue finding you."
Some collectors try to intimidate consumers into paying debts they don't actually owe. Don't fall for it, say state and federal officials.
If a debt is too old -- typically three to six years for credit card debts in most states, for instance -- it's beyond the statute of limitations for collection. But a collection agency can still try to collect from you.
"It's extremely confusing," said the FTC's Pahl. After a certain time, "You can't be sued, but they can still call you to collect on it. And if you do make a payment, the debt becomes live all over again."
It happens. Pahl said he's heard from people who paid collectors $200 for accounts that weren't legally valid, "just to make them stop calling."
Officials admit there's no easy solution to stopping mistaken debtor calls.
For Gibson, it's been a constant headache. He's got an unlisted phone number, is on Do Not Call lists and did file a police report, at the suggestion of his phone company. But nothing's changed.
"It's irritating. It's frustrating. ... It's a real disadvantage to have a common name."
So Gibson has devised perhaps the only foolproof solution: When the phone rings, he doesn't answer it.
Finally, she went to Verizon, where they told her there was nothing they could do about it except after looking at the call log, they agreed to change her number for free, normally there's a charge for that.
I wanted to look up the S.O.B. responsible for it and choke him/her to death but had no way of finding the responsible party.
my buddy keeps a compressed air “boat horn” near his phone for calls like this
We can send a man to the moon but we can't stop those F%$#@G telemarketers. (Yes I'm on the do no call list)
I have em call looking for someone, and then tell my I was lying when I told them they had the wrong person.
Some threats to sue them got them to stop.
I only answer calls from people I know. Anyone else gets voice mail, which I can delete with a push of a button. If they want to waste their time calling me, I don’t really care. Not a big problem, but I do have one that continues to call looking for someone whose name I have never heard of.
When a real person finally called me I told the guy that I had this number for years and never heard of the other guy. The phone calls stopped. I was getting 2 robo call every week for months.
**my buddy keeps a compressed air boat horn near his phone for calls like this**
dunno if it actually does anything, but it sure brings a smile to my face... I’ve used them on salesmen or collectors for years!!!
With the technology we have today they still can’t allow you to BLOCK numbers??
I usually tell them to hang on - then set the phone down and never come back
That’s why I never answer any restricted or unlisted phone number and just let it go to the message machine.
Bill collectors are generally the lowest of the low. yes I consider them even worse than someone who cannot pay their bills.
They don’t care who pays the bill, only that they get paid.
The key is to make it a waste of time or expensive to call you. Filing complaints against them, dragging out the phone calls, or otherwise making it difficult are ways to get them to call the right person.
The technology easily exists to block numbers. The phone companies won’t use it.
That’s almost as good as saying hold then setting the phone down for 5 minutes.
Research on this debt firm and the billing-firm shows that this is a common issue (fraud).
BTW, as much as I dislike lawyers under normal circumstances, we have used this insurance a couple of times just to understand what the law actually was and have more than recovered what we have paid in to them. Like the time we got an illegal threatening letter from the sheriff, threatening to throw me in jail if I didn't pay a fine that wasn't mine. Nice to get stuff like that out of the blue. Nice to see the clown back down when a law firm called him.
Time Warner has a system that allows you to block up to 30 numbers.
My BIL started getting these calls. After they announced the purpose of the call he would ask them if they were wearing underwear! It must have startled them as they stopped calling him. I swear he said he did this and it worked. LOL.
The worst for me has been recent when I got back to the states and had to get a phone number. The phone number they gave me happened to be a guy who disappeared off the face of the Earth and owes money to EVERYONE! I have gotten so frustrated hearing......please stay on the phone, this is a debt collector.....or whatever they are saying. I wanted to scream. Finally, after just hanging up millions of times, I decided to take the time to talk with all the folks who called and got them to take me off the list as the “loser” who owned this phone number before me is not here. It took some time but it was worth it. Some of those calls I was on hold for 20 minutes.....it was crazy. Now I only rarely get a call from someone asking about the dead beat.
I use a toddler, they love to talk just as much as a telemarketer. I dish the phone off to one of them and 1.5 minutes later the kid brings me the phone with no one on the other end. LOL
That does no good at all. The phone company has a built-in level control that prevents someone's hearing to be affected by loud sounds. So, while your friend gets some kind of psychic satisfaction, the party at the other end is not affected.
I thought that was against the law.
I seem to remember hearing about a woman who was sued by an obscene phone caller when she broke his eardrum with a police whistle.
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