Why should anyone other than the debtor be harassed? It is neither their debt nor their responsibility.
When we first moved, and obtained our phone number, we received phone calls from morning to night for whomever the previous holder of the phone number was, and these collectors were the most rude, disgusting people with whom I've ever dealt (and I work in criminal appeals). I would answer and when I would politely inform them that this was not the X household, we had just gotten the number, I was called liar, was threatened with law suits, etc. I even sent a cease and desist letter to two particular firms, and AFTER they received our certified letter, they continued to call. When I told them I would be reporting them to the Attorney General’s office, they called me a thief and a lowlife. I recorded all the phone calls and turned them over to the Attorney Generals’ office. All this harassment because I had the misfortune of being assigned a phone number that had previously belonged to a debtor. After that experience, I am thankful for the FDCPA, and while I've not had to avail myself upon it again, I do heartily believe that just as everyone else must, debt collectors, too, must abide by the law.
That happened to a friend who was retired. He loved it. He would cuss them back and laugh at them, tell them to sue, encourage them to provide “sexual favors” to him, etc. He was an Italian guy from the Bronx and spoke like a cab driver. They finally figured out he wasn’t Hector Menedez and quit calling.
He stills gets calls from time to time.
That is exactly what occurred to me. I changed my phone number, and I continued to get the phone calls. They followed me to a new number! I still to this day, (and this has been going on for 3 years) can’t get a single one of these scumbags to explain to me why they think I am connected to “Juan Garcia”.
Get a cowbell or a whistle and the next time they call, blowout their ear drums.
Listen for awhile and then tell them you’ve been recording the call and they will probably hangup.
I had a similar, but not as bad, experience. Someone with the same last name and first initial as my wife ordered some books or CDs through Columbia and had them sent to a PO Box. The collection agency started calling us. Told us that we were the only listing in the phonebook with our last name and her first initial, so it had to be her. After several of these phone calls, I eventually got high enough up the ladder, and pointed out to them not everyone is listed in the phonebook, for the umpteenth time; that this could be a kid at their parents, a person with a private number or no landline or a completely fake name, and that it wasn’t us, they didn’t even have a full first name and that they were to NEVER call our house again, it finally stuck.
I get this too. We even get calls from the high school saying “so and so missed school today” who is the son of the person that had our number before. We also got a call from her OB-GYN confirming an appt. So, I called back and told them it wasn’t her number anymore, and they informed me that the week prior, she had given that number as her number.
My guess is, they turned off her phone years ago for non-payment, so she just gives the old number to shut them up and put something in the blank on the form.