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.
"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."
That's only true at work. At home, you need to send in a written letter.
This is a HIPAA violation plain and simple.
This is a HIPAA violation.
There are sleazeballs flying around in private jets that got them buying debt for pennies on a dollar. Think about this, there are obviously many ways debt can be bad, I can confirm that some of it is "bad" because it IS NOT OWED. We got calls for literally years from from such an outfit, and no amount of reasoning, letters etc. could stop it. Finally out of desparation I began engaging in obscene and lewd conversations with any woman who would call, and depicting male callers mothers and wives in the most abusive and graphic scenarios. It worked after they ran out of people willing to call our number.
You're most welcome.
I think it sad that we must resort to such behavior to get them to stop. And I think that behavior justified.
I know someone who was getting calls from a nosey neighbor. So he set up call forwarding from his number to ring at 800-mypuppy. Wow, now that was a hoot......
Get the name and address of the company. Send them certified mail that ANY further calls you YOUR phone for the other person will be turned over to the State ATtorney General for prosecution.
I would have done the same thing, but I had already had business cards printed. One phone call from a detective to the number in question stopped the calls in their tracks, so it was the same net effect. Incidentally, when it started off, I got calls for the person from three or four different collection agencies, and all of them except for one never called again after I explained that I had just gotten the cell phone, and I wasn't the person they were looking for. The offensive agency was tenacious beyond reason though, and I honestly believe they would have hounded me to this day unless I called the cops.
...and a 1,200 baud modem to go with it.
Virtually impossible. I don't care what the "law" says. I've tried that gig with telemarketers, etc., and gotten nowhere. You always get the "we're not allowed to accept incoming calls, we'll have somebody call you" bullsh*t.
It could also be the cellular switch. Some of the old Motorola MSCs used to have a problem with keeping the line open. I've been out of the TelCo thing for awhile but I'd assume some of them were still beng used in rural areas.
To add to the fun, I moved to Las Vegas and was assigned XXX-428-1110, with 428 being the base prefix at the time.
I told the local telco that number belonged to the base operator - which was actually 428-1600 - I don't know why, but took it with the proviso I could change later at no charge.
We really had a lot of fun - but after a couple of months it got old.
FWIW, USwide the local USAF milbase phone exchange uses xxx-1110 for operator services.
LOL!! We started to get calls from a title company for a vehicle they were going to repo. We just ingored them, but after they kept it up, my hubby finally called the guy back. He told him he wasn't the guy they wanted and the manager kinda yelled at him and told him they were gonna repo the car and ruin his credit.....Hubby said, GO AHEAD!! IT ISN"T MY CAR OR CREDIT!! Turns out it was a guy who lives about 4 hours from here (same state) who has the same name as he does (except middle). He had put down OUR home phone # as his work phone when he signed the papers!! Needless to say, the calls have stopped! I looked up the guys phone # on the internet (which I am sure is where HE got ours from) and want SOOOO badly to call him up and ask him if he still has his car!! LOL!!!
"Are you way out in the middle of nowhere?"
Yes. Charlotte, NC.
Don't live in the stone ages. Get Vonage if you must have a land line, else use a cell phone.
Try unplugging the phone for about five minutes, then try again......
Heh. I meant out in extreme rural areas where the networks are still ancient.
Sounds like the collection agency is spoofing the connection. I do believe that is illegal.
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