How do I stop this phone call?

[GeoGeo]

We keep getting phone calls looking for a certain person that we don't know. I assume it is a collection agency trying to track someone down. I have told them every day that we do not know this person and please do not calls us again. 99.9% of the time the guy just hangs up on us. The next day we get the same phone call. I tried calling the phone number on the caller ID, but you could not get anyone and could not leave a message because the box was full. We do not know this person they are looking for. How do we put a stop to these annoying calls?

[Mike&Marilyn]

We have had the same thing happening with us. We use Century Link for our land line and I presume they gave us a phone number that was used by someone else as the calls are looking of the same. Very annoying. I do the same thing tell them that the person by the name does not have this number any more and I don't know them. Used phone numbers should be on a rotation of years before used again. Hope it stops soon. I feel your pain.

[golf2140]

Speak to is boss. Let them know that ypu will be contacting an attorney because of these calls. Get the company name then file a complaint.

[zcaveman]

If you have Comcast voice you can put them on a blocked list and you will never hear from them again - unless they are on a rotary.

Z

[Barefoot]

We keep getting phone calls looking for a certain person that we don't know. I assume it is a collection agency trying to track someone down. I have told them every day that we do not know this person and please do not calls us again. 99.9% of the time the guy just hangs up on us. The next day we get the same phone call. I tried calling the phone number on the caller ID, but you could not get anyone and could not leave a message because the box was full. We do not know this person they are looking for. How do we put a stop to these annoying calls?

Collection companies are very persistent.
That's how they get paid.
If you were sheltering a debtor, you would probably say you don't know that person.

If you have caller ID, don't answer your phone when their number appears.
If you don't have caller ID, just put down the receiver after they identify themselves and walk away.
If it really intolerable, call your provider and ask for a different number.

[GeoGeo]

We may have to just put up with it. They will not tell you their company name or anything about what they are calling about. They almost always end up hanging up on us. Forgot about talking to a supervisor. I wish I owned a whistle. I may end up having to get one. I could tell them we don't know that person and them let them have it. Maybe they would get the message. It is a New York number (or so it says). We always answer it because it could be one of many relatives calling from NY. I guess I could post the phone number on all the phones so we would know. But they will just call back later in the day. So not answering doesn't solve anything. We really don't know this guy they are looking for. Do they think that if they call enough we will eventually say that we do know him? I agree that the phone company should have to wait longer than it does to give out phone numbers. Whose to say if we change numbers that we wouldn't get an even worse case of crazy phone calls. Our luck. <LOL>

[Carl in Tampa]

Tell the caller that you heard that the person they are looking for was executed in the Florida State Prison several months ago.


:pepper2::pepper2::pepper2::pepper2::pepper2:

[OBXNana]

Our daughter had a similar situation. She changed her number. AT&T told her that was the only option other than ignoring the call or answering and telling the caller she wasn't Roxanne. This was her cell phone.

[Carl in Tampa]

Who is your telephone provider? Virtually all providers have some way to protect you from this kind of harassment, including getting the police involved.

If it is Comcast call the Comcast Legal Demand Center at 1-866-947-8572, opt 2, 1, 1 and discuss the problem.

If it is another provider, call them and ask for help.

:coolsmiley:

[karostay]

I had the same situation no amount of telling the caller that the person they were looking for does not reside here would work.
Week after week the calls would persist..
Finally one day I had it
I answered the phone and sure enough they were inquiring about the person they presumed resided at our home.
I paused briefly and said Thank You you must be calling to express you condolences .It was so unexpected .We are having rough time dealing with our sudden loss of a loved one
I thank you for thinking of us during our time of need
There was complete silence and a appolgy for disturbing us and never got another phone call

[Ecuadog]

When I first moved here and got a Century Link copper landline, the same thing happened to me. I searched online and found out that the calling number belonged to a certain "recovery company." Then I did a lot of research online in an effort to identify as many of the company employees as possible, especially the ones at the top of the pyramid. Then I tried to find email addresses for as many as I could. I know, a lot of work, but I came up with about eight addresses for people that might have some sway. Then I emailed all of them the following note. I did get an email back from someone at the company saying that they would remove my number from their database. I still get an occasional call here and there, but that doesn't mean it's from a collection agency.



I have been receiving phone calls from XYZ Recovery Company, LLC, that are meant to collect a debt from a John Doe(sp?). I am not that party, nor is that party a member of my household.

Please stop calling my recently acquired phone number, 352-nnn-nnnn.

Thank you,
Jeff Mylastname


Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
…
§ 805. Communication in connection with debt collection [15 USC 1692c]
…
(b) COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES. Except as provided in section 804, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.
...

[rubicon]

If the OP's problem is a collections agency they will continue to call
ad nauseam We tried everything but the agency called for three years.

If the call is from a tele-marketer again we placed them all on a do not call list. and did the screening calls with Comcast to no avail. Called Comcast (telephone Section) no help
Perhaps the legal center at comcast might do the trick

[quirky3]

Even telling them that the person has died will not work - I get calls for an elderly person who lived in my house before I did. They died a few years back and now I get calls wanting to know if I am responsible for paying their remaining debts, or if I know anyone who might be responsible.

[Carl in Tampa]

Tell the caller that the person they are looking for is fleeing from the police, who have a warrant for his arrest for murder because he killed a bill collector.

:MOJE_whot:

[TNLAKEPANDA]

Most phone companies have a block list especially cell phones like Verizon you can do it online. If we get a call that says Anonymous we don't answer.

[Cedwards38]

We keep getting phone calls looking for a certain person that we don't know. I assume it is a collection agency trying to track someone down. I have told them every day that we do not know this person and please do not calls us again. 99.9% of the time the guy just hangs up on us. The next day we get the same phone call. I tried calling the phone number on the caller ID, but you could not get anyone and could not leave a message because the box was full. We do not know this person they are looking for. How do we put a stop to these annoying calls?

See it on Caller ID and ignore it............forever. Don't answer. Don't respond.

[DonH57]

Tell the caller that the person they are looking for is fleeing from the police, who have a warrant for his arrest for murder because he killed a bill collector.

:MOJE_whot:

LOL. That's the best one I've heard today!:coolsmiley:

[rn1tv]

I agree with ZCaveman, if you have Comcast you can block numbers or if you have a wireless landline, you may also have the capability to block calls. I can block 30 on mine. Check you manual for instructions. Also, are you registered on the "do not call" registry? I went on the complaint site for another issue today and I believe you address problems like this at this site. Check it out.

[mfp509]

Many years ago I had a bill collector harassing me and I wasn't the person they were looking for. I had the agencies phone number and reported them to the local police - it stopped real quick!

[Shimpy]

Enjoy the call. Answer their questions with a lot of false info and feel good that you caused them to waste their time tracking false leads. You'll get the rep. of an unreliable source and they will drop you.

[NottaVillager]

Several years ago when we were living in another place we got dealt a phone number that apparently used to belong to someone who had bought one of everything from every advertiser in the Yellow Pages and then never paid for any of it.

Debt collectors are NOT going to stop calling you just because you say that the person they are interested in isn't there anymore. People lie to them all the time. They have zero reason to believe you.

Due to the huge expanse in the use of phone numbers phone companies are recycling former numbers in 6 months or less, so your chance of getting a number that used to belong to a deadbeat, drug dealer or hooker is pretty good.

Getting the hot calls to stop is a fool's errand in today's world. If you've got a deadbeat problem like you have, the only real way to cure it is to ask your phone provider for a new number. They will gladly do it for you if you explain your situation.

[dillywho]

We kept getting calls for someone we did know, but only had sporadic contact. One day, I said that I did know the person but had no idea where they were or when we would hear anything from them. I was then asked if I could give them a message, to which I replied:

"No, I cannot. I am not their personal secretary and I do not take and convey messages. Finding them is your problem, not mine."
:boxing2:Never heard another word.

Also had one concerning the estate of a lady from back home that had recently passed. Just so happened she had married my ex-husband. When I told the person that I had known her, he asked how I had known her. I told him that she had worked for the same company that I did and had married my ex some 10 years prior. After he recovered from the shock, he apologized and hung up. Never heard from him again, either.:a040:

[dbussone]

I agree with ZCaveman, if you have Comcast you can block numbers or if you have a wireless landline, you may also have the capability to block calls. I can block 30 on mine. Check you manual for instructions. Also, are you registered on the "do not call" registry? I went on the complaint site for another issue today and I believe you address problems like this at this site. Check it out.


My AT&T cell can also block calls.

[GeoGeo]

Sort of going off what was posted re: warrant for his arrest for murder because he killed a bill collector. A friend of ours works as a guard at prison. I may give the caller the phone number to a prison. Tell them he is in prison and here is his phone number. I wonder if that would stop the calls? Or would they call every day to see if he is out of prison, yet? :)

I thought about ignoring the phone calls, but like I said before they are from NY and my husband's family is from NY. You grab the phone quickly when you see it is a call from NY thinking maybe something happened to a family member.

I have CenturyLink for those who were wondering.

[wholman66]

This is why we don't have a home phone, land line.. only cell phone..

[Ecuadog]

This is why we don't have a home phone, land line.. only cell phone..

We went through Hurricane Sandy in Long Island, NY, and for days, the only contact we had with the outside world was via the copper landline. Cell phones and VOIP were no good.

This is why we have a copper landline.

[CFrance]

Sort of going off what was posted re: warrant for his arrest for murder because he killed a bill collector. A friend of ours works as a guard at prison. I may give the caller the phone number to a prison. Tell them he is in prison and here is his phone number. I wonder if that would stop the calls? Or would they call every day to see if he is out of prison, yet? :)

I thought about ignoring the phone calls, but like I said before they are from NY and my husband's family is from NY. You grab the phone quickly when you see it is a call from NY thinking maybe something happened to a family member.

I have CenturyLink for those who were wondering.
I think your idea of taping the phone number onto each phone would work. That way you could ignore the call and know it's not someone from your family calling.

[JC and John]

We have Century Link and received a phone # that belonged to a Villager. It's been over 2 years now and still get calls for this couple although much less now. I have found out who they use for car repair, appliances, spa services, wealth management etc. That said, I too was getting phone calls for someone I didn't know regarding probation, debt collection etc. I suspect the Villagers gave up their phone number for a new one because of these types of calls. Anyway, I went online with Century Link and found out how to put a block on one particular phone number. No more calls! My Iphone 5 with ATT has a block call feature. I blocked another number that was calling me on my cell. Done no more calls. I also have registered both phones on the do not call registery. Not sure the do not call list really works. It certainly doesn't work for callers from out of the country. BTW, I have reported a phone number from south FL to the do not call registery, twice, with no results. The calls stopped only after the Medicare sign up season ended. We continue to let the answering machine pick up and monitor the calls that way.

[Auntmimi]

I know that if you have Verizon, you can go online on their site and block certain numbers. I imagine you can call your provider and ask them to block the number. It has worked for us

[blueash]

Another option depending on your phone is you may be able to assign a ring to an incoming call from a specific number. My phone seemingly has an option of a silent ring. This way I don't even know they called until I check the missed calls.

[elbear]

This is one of the reasons we went with viatalk.com . You can access all incoming and outgoing calls and block guys like this by just clicking a box online. We love viatalk and it is so much less expensive and more reliable than others we tried. We can even take the free adapter they give you with us when we go north and it works there to get and receive calls. We were on the do not call list but it didn't always work so we searched to fix the problem.

[Ecuadog]

... My question is, can I sue these people? They're looking for someone who didn't live here, and I've been telling them to stop but they never listen.

You may have some legal recourse if it can be proved that the debt collector is using an automated dialing machine to call a cell phone.

[tcxr750]

I had this problem from a company called CBE group. I have caller ID so I kept an informal record. They sometimes called 3x per day. I never answered, because your advised not to. I then contacted the Attorney General's office here in Ohio. The calls stopped the next day! If you if you think they will give up before you do.....the calls had been going on for months...they won't!

[tcxr750]

We went through Hurricane Sandy in Long Island, NY, and for days, the only contact we had with the outside world was via the copper landline. Cell phones and VOIP were no good.

This is why we have a copper landline.

Cell sites are connected to a Central Office. Land Lines connect to the Central Office switching center. If a storm or disaster takes out Cell Sites you lose Cell Phone service. If the storm or disaster takes out the Central Office you lose the Land Lines and Cell Sites associated with it.

[buggyone]

The very best idea for unwanted calls from the same number is to use the call blocking feature on your phone. This can be done either on the phone features or on the service provided by your phone provider.

Put in that number and you will never hear from that phone number again.

[tcxr750]

[QUOTE=buggyone;900523]The very best idea for unwanted calls from the same number is to use the call blocking feature on your phone. This can be done either on the phone features or on the service provided by your phone provider.

Put in that number and you will never hear from that phone number again.[/QUOte
Collection agencies have hundreds of numbers to call from so it is difficult to block them all. You will be called by them even if you have no collection issues. If you are being called at a level considered to be harassing, keep a record of who called and when. I did this in Ohio and referred it to the Attorney Generals Office. The calls stopped the next day.
If you do a number lookup you can often find the calling company name. I also found information on the calling companies from their local BBB.

[tcxr750]

When I contacted the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the unwanted calls stopped, I received a letter from a Lawyer soliciting to take legal action against the Caller. Note: a filing with Attorney General becomes Public Record here in Ohio.

[Ecuadog]

Cell sites are connected to a Central Office. Land Lines connect to the Central Office switching center. If a storm or disaster takes out Cell Sites you lose Cell Phone service. If the storm or disaster takes out the Central Office you lose the Land Lines and Cell Sites associated with it.

In our case, just the cell sites failed.

[NotGolfer]

In reading this post and the comments I had to ad my 2-cents too. We keep getting a call looking for _____and we don't know that person neither. I asked to be taken off their calling list and was told an expletive! Nice! (sarcasm intended).

I think I'll use the tactic of several here and given them a answer as in "they died" or "they're in prison". Thanks for posting AND the ideas!!