Not quite telemarketing, not quite a rant

[Jhani Vandolay]

I've started getting calls recently from a loan company, asking for someone who used to live in this building (but never in this apartment). She moved out about 6 months ago or more, and I only started getting calls within the past month. When I spoke with them this morning, trying to get them to stop calling me, they said that no matter what I said until they locate her they are legally unable to remove my number, and will keep calling me asking for her indefinitely.

Does anyone know any actual law on this? Obviously it's not a "remove me from your list" thing since they aren't telemarketing, just looking for someone with a massive debt with their company.. but I know they can't have had my number for as long as they say (the guy claimed they've had this as her number the whole time), and I imagine after I gave him my name, and having my #, they can easily look it up and verify that the number was never attatched to the apartment she lived in. He said they can't/won't though, and will continue calling.

Suggestions? (Preferably helpful ones, beyond the obvious "Hang up on him" or "curse like the wind!" or "tell him if you ever meet him you'll kick his ass and key his car".) Not to claim the status of a "real professional" in any one endeavor has been a small price to pay for the many benefits and pleasures of trespassing. ~Leo Lionni

[EZ_Nazbuk]

Get rid of your house phone and just keep your cell phone as your main phone. Everyone does that today. You don't have DSL do you? That would totally shoot that idea down.

Nazbuk
The Troll

[Jhani Vandolay]

No, I have normal dialup. :P So the phone is busy much of the day, but perfectly available for these calls at 8am before I'm awake. >:O

[EZ_Halen]

Not sure with you. In England if someone refuses to call you, it's a nuisance call - you can get the phone company to track their abuse, and they can get fined quite heavily. Halen : 60 assassin : Tholuxe Paells.

[EZ_Gyorg]

Assuming you are on the do-not-call list can you use that against them? I don't remember it making exceptions for loan people (though I could be wrong), and you definately haven't had business with them.

[Meddik]

I'd ask to speak to her supervisor, etc.

if that path doesn't work, call your state attorney general's office. In many cases they are elected officials, and their office is pretty quick to point you in the right direction, or take care of it themself.

[Jhani Vandolay]

I called my phone service provider and they were pretty baffled by the guy's assertions, and said I can indeed sue if I want, so I guess that answers the legal questions I had. I don't plan on doing that, but I think Meddik's suggestion is a good idea, a lot of the time just pointing the right people in the right direction is enough to at least scare them into compliance. Telephone harrasment being such a high publicity topic right now can't hurt in that dept.

[EZ_CreepyPete]

They may never stop. Guy where I work used his work phone for personal stuff. Guy who replaced him was still taking calls dealing with money the previous guy owed for a couple of YEARS. =/

[EZ_Halen]

I used to live in a dodgy area of london - it gets scary when huge bayliffs turn up demanding you pay up... they were quite friendly when we explained we weren't who they were looking for. Thank god, because I like my kneecaps.

[EZ_Ciba]

I've had the same problem at my house. I don't get too many calls anymore (~1-2 a month), so I decided to screw with them. It can be much more fun to taunt them and such than to hang up.

[Kaielen]

Halen...where do you live...so I can make sure to never go there? Lol.

On the subject of the rant... I have an unlisted number, however, someone who had the number before me was obviously very financially unstable. I got calls from bill collectors for this couple constantly.

Edit: Removed something that might be considered more telemarketing hatred. Edited by: Kaielen at: 9/15/03 9:42 am

[Nenjin]

Debt collection agents are some of the most hard bitten, driven members of the telephone industry. You have to be to do the kind of @#%$ they do. It's like being a repo man, walking into someone's house, telling them you are there to take their stuff, then handcuffing yourself to the heating element so they can personally abuse you. Collection agents have heard it all from "this ain't me" to "he ain't hear", so they take pretty much anything that isn't "ok I'll pay" as a dodge.

I got calls from Sprint collection for a temp who used to work here and negotiated 70% of her bills here at work. At the Department of Roads here in lincoln. A state government office building. After the 5th time these people called and heard "she lives in Texas now, please stop calling us, you can't call to reclaim debt to a gov't office" that I started verbally abusing the guy on the phone, calling him a @#%$, asked him if he was mentally deficient in some way. After 2 or 3 calls of this, he'd just hang up when I answered the phone. It all finally ended one day when he called and by total happenstance, the lady's sister was standing right there, so I put him on with her and she gave him more phone numbers.

I guess it's like most menial jobs. You plough through your work blindly to look productive. Listening to what people tell you and trying to find out what you need to know on your own, i.e. calling other listed numbers or family members to find the person you are looking for, would require personal initiative. Something most of those people probably aren't intrested in. Calling the number that is in the file, regardless of how futile they know it's going to be, is good ole' fashion obeying the job description. "They will come back, come back again, as long as the Red Earth rolls. He never wasted a tree or a leaf, why should he squander souls?"

[Dorla]

Quote:A state government office building. After the 5th time these people called and heard "she lives in Texas now, please stop calling us, you can't call to reclaim debt to a gov't office" that I started verbally abusing the guy on the phone, calling him a @#%$, asked him if he was mentally deficient in some way.

I am picturing you picking up the phone and starting in again, "God damn it, this is the 4th time you've called, you ass monkey.... oh, hello Governor Johanns."

You know what you COULD do, Jhani... I have heard that you can tell your debtors to stop calling and that you will only correspond with them in writing. Just tell them that. Then they will send mail that will be forwarded to the old tenant's new address.

[Nenjin]

I'd picked up the phone, hear the flat sound of the computer waiting to click on, and when I heard it I'd just go WHHHAAATTTT!!!!!!!

[Loreleli]

dumb creditors!

their rights end where yours start - meaning they are harrassing you.

Get their address. Send a certified letter - return receipt.

make and save a copy for yourself

In writting, tell them that person no longer lives there. If they contact you again, you will sue. In the meantime, log a complaint with your phone company.

This threat alone will make them stop unless they are totally stoopid.

It's not the "sueing is a hassal." It's about your piece of mind and privacy. When you pick up your phone, you expect the call to be for you, not some other person. What if while you were stuck talking to these loosers, and you missed an important call? Like if someone you love needed you?

bah. but, then again, I've screened my calls for 7 years. We used to get roll over calls for years, about 10 - 15x calls a day, always a computer. We tolerated this for about a week. ( This was 6 years ago.)Wow! suddenly logged a complain with phone company, stopped the first instance afterwards.

[Lisboa]

Quote:I'd picked up the phone, hear the flat sound of the computer waiting to click on, and when I heard it I'd just go WHHHAAATTTT!!!!!!!

Doing your best Minsc impression?
"Boo says, WHAAAAT???"

[EZ_clangedinn frostwalk]

well tis my job being a telephone terrorist being i lost my tech job to layoffs and there is not much work where i live. Anyway There is a enw law going into effect on oct 1st in all of the states being a national do not call list that you can be placed on. The easiest thing to do is next time they call state plainly that you want them to place you on thier do not call list. You must say it exactly like so if not theya re not obliged by law to follow your orders. If they continue to call after this then you can procede legal maters with them. Contact the BBB and they will assist you with the matter also. A telemarketing firm has a ton fo laws they must follow plus i know in ohio it is unlawful for them to call before 9am or after 9pm i dont know about your state. anyway i hope this helps some.

Though in my own rant i will say that this new national do not call ting is poop as it does not affect govermental agencies (the same people that made the law), survey folks, or charity groups. So the folks that have passed said law have omitted themselves so "they" can still call you everyday and ask yuo for your hard earned money to pay for thier corrupt twisted campaing.

Anyway i hope some of the info helps ya out some

[Glip the Gnome]

Quote:Doing your best Minsc impression?
"Boo says, WHAAAAT???"

LOL, exactly what I was thinking :P
Minimzed out of BG2: ToB to check the forums right now *grin*

[EZ_Shanar]

Do not ask for her Supervisor, Ask who she is callling on behalf of if she has not said, and call them back directly.. You'll get farther that way.
Shanar Nefandus
Level 65 Deciever of Bristlebane
Leader of The Immortalis Extrahi

[EZ_Uncatchable]

The problem with the suggestions of requesting to be placed on the national do not call list in this instance is, The new log makes specific provisions for companies you have done business with in the past. In this case, they are calling for someone they have done business with in the past, who obviously gave them a false telephone number.

I had a problem similar to this a couple of years back. Fortunately for me, at the time I worked IT for a rather large law firm, so all I had to do was ask some co-workers what I should do.

What you want to do, is next time they call ask them for their mailing address. With this in hand, you want to send them a cease and desist order stating that the person they are trying to get a hold of no longer has that phone number. This is a legal order that they must comply with or face large fines.

Hope this helps.

j.

[EZ_nekoken]

Get a restraining order against them for harassment.

Narsse Nekoken

[EZ_Shanar]

You cannot ask a telemarketer to place you on the national list. The most any Telemarketer can or will do is place you on their in house list. You have to put yourself on the national list.
Shanar Nefandus
Level 65 Deciever of Bristlebane
Leader of The Immortalis Extrahi

[EZ_clangedinn frostwalk]

aye you ahve to call a specific number or go to the web site to be placed on the national dnc list. You can be placed on the house list though. And signing up fo rthe national dnc list does not save you till the next quarter as the telemarketing firms have to buy the new list every three or four months and you number will not be on it till they are forced to buy the new list