Collection Calls that aren't yours.

**happymomof4** · 07-12-2011, 10:11 AM

I would like to know if there is away to stop collection calls that aren't yours.

I have been receiving collection calls about my ex bil for a few months now. I do tell them to not call and it will stop of a few week then start over with new agencies.

I have been divorced for 17yrs. This house I live in has no association with my ex's family. Not even sure how they associated me with my ex brother inlaw. I don't even have there last name any longer.

I would just like to know if there is a way to get my name away from his. The phone that I have is not even in my name.

**Greebo** · 07-12-2011, 10:13 AM

Check your credit report, see if his old debts are showing up in your name somehow.

Were those debts ever in your name?

**happymomof4** · 07-12-2011, 11:30 AM

No the debts have never been associated with me or my ex husband.

They are not on my credit report. Thank god.

The only thing I can think they are doing is associating the last name. I did live in my current house for 8 yrs with that last name. My ex bil would have never use me as a family reference. He wouldn't know my information.

The only other thing I can think of is my ex mil owned 2 twins next to each other. When I was married we lived in one of the houses. My bil lived in the other one. Maybe that is how they are associating the names.

The one company that called took my name off and was real nice about it. I am thinking now the debits are being sold and they are calling my phone # again.

**MissSeetonFan** · 07-12-2011, 11:41 AM

Which companies in particular are making the phone calls? My sil had a debt that was sold to one particularly nasty company that makes it a habit of calling each and every person connected to the debt holder even if they have nothing to do with the debt. They say it is to get a hold of the debt holder but they have that person's number. They are harassing all sorts of people associated with the debt holder so that those people will complain to the debt holder and put pressure on them to pay the debt.

It is illegal. You can send a cease and desist letter. And DO NOT give them any information about bil. "I'm sorry. You have a wrong number. Please remove it from your database." is all I will ever say to someone who is calling about people I know. When they continue, you tell them it is illegal to continue calling when they know it is a wrong number. A cease and desist letter comes after that if they continue.

**happymomof4** · 07-12-2011, 12:38 PM

Thanks

I haven't wrote letters yet because most of them once I pretty much say what you said they take me off the list. Then for a few weeks things are good. Then a new company and phone #'s start calling again.

I think what you are saying about calling what ever they can find associated with my bil is what they are doing.

I will keep the letter writting in mind if they don't stop. It just gets annoying.

I have caller id so I am starting to just ignore the calls and they don't leave messages.

Originally Posted by MissSeetonFan

Which companies in particular are making the phone calls? My sil had a debt that was sold to one particularly nasty company that makes it a habit of calling each and every person connected to the debt holder even if they have nothing to do with the debt. They say it is to get a hold of the debt holder but they have that person's number. They are harassing all sorts of people associated with the debt holder so that those people will complain to the debt holder and put pressure on them to pay the debt.

It is illegal. You can send a cease and desist letter. And DO NOT give them any information about bil. "I'm sorry. You have a wrong number. Please remove it from your database." is all I will ever say to someone who is calling about people I know. When they continue, you tell them it is illegal to continue calling when they know it is a wrong number. A cease and desist letter comes after that if they continue.

**Nishu** · 07-12-2011, 12:48 PM

I used to get calls for the previous owner of my home number. Those guys were mean, too. I told them, "I have no idea who this person is. This is a new number for me and I've never heard of this guy." They never believed me. One guy said "Can you hold?" after I told them I didn't know said person... and I said, "Uh, no."

He got all mad. "I'm trying to help you out here." You can help me out by not calling me, bud.

I probably could have written letters, made phone calls, filed a complaint... All I did was tell them, without much conviction, that Person wasn't here and/or I didn't know them. If they persisted and wasted their time, served them right. Eventually they stopped.

Sorry I wish I had a better answer. I hope you get it straightened out.

**TigerGirl1226** · 07-12-2011, 02:57 PM

Since we've been in this home we've had 2 sets of calls. Every 6 months or so we get calls for this one woman and I tell them she doesn't live here. She actually put our number on her paperwork...it has a pattern in it so I guess it was easy to come up with? Now, we are getting calls for someone I think may be a previous resident of our home. These guys don't believe that he isn't here. If it doesn't stop soon, I will write the letter!

**Eskielover** · 07-12-2011, 04:11 PM

I was getting voice mails from several collection agencies on my phone answering machine and I didn't recognize the name of the person they were trying to collect from. On each one they left a phone number to call them back, so I just called them and told them that I didn't know this person and that I'd had that phone number for 30+ years. On one of them, they even assumed it was her calling as they called me by her name when they answered the phone. Anyway, all three of them stopped calling after my phone call to them.....

Probably these are debts being picked up by the low-lifes that buy debt lists for pennies and try to collect money not owed by harrassment. Tell them to stop calling and hang up on them. Or don't answer the calls at all if you don't know the number on your caller ID.

**MissSeetonFan** · 07-12-2011, 06:26 PM

Have they started the automated calls? "If you are "John Smith" press 1 now. If "John Smith" can come to the phone quickly, press 2 now. If "John Smith" is not available, press 3 now.

If you press 2, all it does is wait for a minute then repeat the 3 options. If you press 3, they hang up. If you press 1, they ask for the account number. If you press 0, sometimes you can get a rep but not always.

Those calls were the most annoying because there was no way to contact a live person and say "Not at this phone number". We had someone, Sprint, I believe, calling for a previous owner of the phone number or this was the alternate number to call if the cell number wasn't working. It took forever to finally get the calls to stop.

**craftypam** · 07-12-2011, 10:31 PM

I had the same thing happening to me and I called the number and told them they were not my debts and to stop calling me. They were calling for my dh and he got on the phone and gave them his ss# and they realized it wasn't him and the calls stopped.

**scrap_candles** · 07-13-2011, 12:42 AM

we had some a few years back for a relative. Couldnt figure out how they associated us because our last names are not the same. Turns out she listed us as emergency contact on something and so they had our number to call when they couldn't get ahold of her.

**flashyMcGee** · 07-13-2011, 01:27 AM

I started getting calls on my cellphone for an ex-roommate that I had. So frustrating and nothing seemed to work. I finally tracked her down and freely gave her workplace phone number to anyone who called. The calls eventually stopped.

**happymomof4** · 07-13-2011, 08:20 AM

One of the calls is just like that. I just stop answering the phone when I see that number.

Originally Posted by MissSeetonFan

Have they started the automated calls? "If you are "John Smith" press 1 now. If "John Smith" can come to the phone quickly, press 2 now. If "John Smith" is not available, press 3 now.

If you press 2, all it does is wait for a minute then repeat the 3 options. If you press 3, they hang up. If you press 1, they ask for the account number. If you press 0, sometimes you can get a rep but not always.

Those calls were the most annoying because there was no way to contact a live person and say "Not at this phone number". We had someone, Sprint, I believe, calling for a previous owner of the phone number or this was the alternate number to call if the cell number wasn't working. It took forever to finally get the calls to stop.

**happymomof4** · 07-13-2011, 08:24 AM

My biggest issue is the calls that come up on the caller id as "out of area". I have a son in Afghanstain. When he calls sometimes they come up as that. So I like to pick them up incase it is him. My voice mail isn't one that I can listen to as they leave the message.

My younger daughter said something to her father over the weekend about the phone calls for her uncle. My ex was pretty mad about. He talked to his mother and told her that he had to take care of this stuff and not have them harrass my family.

So we will see if getting the ex involved helps.

**Dancing Lotus** · 07-13-2011, 09:33 AM

I wish I knew what to do, I get several calls a day about someone named Erica Jones. Erica Jones does not live here, never has, never will I DO NOT KNOW ANYONE NAMED ERICA. The calls never stop. I guess they don't believe me.