Posted on 01/04/2007 5:10:17 PM PST by Royal Wulff
I am getting automated calls from a collection agency seeking payment from the person who used to live in my apartment.
I cannot hang up on the calls. Even if I hang up, the call is still there if I pick up the phone after 30 seconds.
What's up with that? Surely that's against law.
What happens if you unplug the phone for a minute?
Ha! What a combo you've got there -- Hispanics and Panasonics! :-)
Not so anymore
I kept getting collect calls from the Lebanon Correctional Institution in Ohio from an inmate. I had to jump through hoops to get that to stop. I don't know anyone who is an inmate or anyone else there. Gave me the willies.
No he still has a dial phone.
Tell them the check is in the mail.
It's a recorded message.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, requires that debt collectors and attorneys stop phoning you at home and at work once you ask them to stop.
OMG, that is the funniest thing I've heard in a long time. What a great mind to pull it off.
If you hang up, the switch will eventually clear the call and release your line. I would start by filing a complaint with your local DA and with the FCC. The collection agency cannot do this, especially if it is not your debt.
Yeah...it's pretty popular. Made the rounds in here about 3 weeks ago.
Therefore, I pretended to be Ruby Tuesday and took their orders for curb service...as I had their menu.
Hey....I had the phone number longer than they were open for business...so.....
"If you hang up, the switch will eventually clear the call and release your line"
The only time I ever think about it is when they call. I try to hang up and call the number they leave me on the recorded message. Can't get a dial tone because message is still going. After 5 minutes or so, I have completely forgotten about it. I am over 40 you know.
I had that exact same thing happen to me. New cell phone, and within a matter of days the nastiest, and most persistent collectors were calling. Politeness was a wasted effort. They never believed that I wasn't the person they were looking for. I ended up having to make a police report with my local sheriff to get the calls ended.
Glad I caught it this time. I've sent the URL along to my friends. Too good not to.
I ended up asking the cell phone provider for a new number.
No party line here. I just tried it and I wasn't cut off when the land line hung up when calling cell phone to land line. I was able to hang up the land line repeatedly and then pick the land-line phone back up and resume the conversation. The call only terminated when the cell phone (the one calling) hung up. Try it.
Probably won't work. These places use a database that finds whatever phone number is assigned to that address.
A lot may depend on the vintage of the switch in your area. That can happen if you have an older switch. If you have one of the newer digital switches, the switch will detect that one end or the other has gone back on-hook and will clear the call. Also, some collection agencies use a spoofing device (illegal) that forces your line to remain open by sending a signal that makes the switch think that an active conversation is still underway after you have hung up.
Thanks for the link. Absolutely hilarious.
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