# What should I do about this phone call? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550 "2010-05-15T16:10:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cuberdon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/45deac/32.png) [@cuberdon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuberdon)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/21 "2010-05-17T22:17:35Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > These kinds of calls are always helped by talking to the company; they are quite happy to remove your number from their list, so they can concentrate on other ways of reaching their debt owner and stop wasting both their and your time. Typically, these are last-ditch collection agencies, and they’re throwing everything at the wall-- calling everyone with a vaguely similar name, or calling numbers that may have been linked to them once decades ago-- and are glad for even negative information, because they can begin narrowing their efforts. Not always. I got collection calls on my cell phone for some guy who I’d never heard of. They tried to ask “do you expect to see John Doe again soon?”. I had no idea who this guy was. One month they called every single day, 20 business days in a row, at about 8:30 am. Every day. Explaining did no good. Calling the phone company did no good. I got actual people, I got automated calls. I started letting the call go to voice mail if I didn’t recognized it. I haven’t gotten any recently, knock on wood. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/22 "2010-05-18T02:38:39Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > If anyone knows _Juanita Malave_ please let her know that several debt collectors are looking for her. In fact they have been calling my home and mailing letters to her for the past 8 years. I’ve lived in my home for 8 years and even the people that lived there before me did not know her. > I can’t make the calls stop since they come from all different sources. I’ve tried talking to the people, talking to their supervisors, talking to their bosses, and they all apologize and say they’ll take my number off their list. A couple weeks later the calls start again. I’d actually welcome the FBI come and search my home so they can let others know that I am honestly not hiding her here. > Now I just don’t pick up the phone if I don’t recognize the number. But they leave messages anyway looking for Juanita. Yeah, I kept getting phone calls and letters for a woman who owes money to ToysRUs and a couple of different credit cards for a while. Her name was Anglo first name, Hispanic last name (much like my user name is Anglo first name, Italian last name), and they were convinced that this woman was living with us. I think that she just picked a phone number and address out of the phone book, and started putting it down as hers, and counted on being able to pick up her mail out of our box before we got to it. It took me several months, and a few letters back and forth, to convince everyone that she didn’t live here, and that she’d NEVER lived here. Yes, I’m sure. How am I sure she’s never lived here? Because we’ve lived here for over 20 years, and I bought this house from my grandmother, and she and Grandpa bought it from the first owner back when housing was extremely segregated. My deadbeat brother-in-law likes to give out our phone number as his, too, when he doesn’t want to give out his cell number. I’ve told him that I’m not his answering service, and when people call, I tell them that he doesn’t live here, has never lived here, and no, I can’t get a message to him. I don’t outright SAY that I don’t know him, but I do strongly imply it. My husband’s last name isn’t Smith or Jones, but it is quite a common one. There’s a whole column in the phone book of people with the same last name. And we get calls from people asking if we know this person with his last name, or that one. Sometimes it’s someone wanting a family reunion. Sometimes it’s someone looking for a deadbeat. But it’s kind of aggravating. Not as aggravating as getting repeated collection calls for someone who they think DOES live here, though. ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/23 "2010-05-18T03:37:56Z")
Have you ever registered with [donotcall.gov](http://donotcall.gov)? If you have, then file a complaint. If you haven’t, register and then file a complaint. Once you file a complaint, the calls stop. It takes a little while, but they stop. Period. The end. ---
**Author:** ![StrangeBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@StrangeBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangeBird)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/24 "2010-05-18T08:51:43Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Otherwise, I ignore calls like this; or, if I happen to answer, I string them along. Surely stringing them along is cutting off your nose to spite your face! I would think that they’d then be extra persistent and annoying. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/25 "2010-05-18T12:21:39Z")
> [@StrangeBird](#): > > Surely stringing them along is cutting off your nose to spite your face! I would think that they’d then be extra persistent and annoying. Well, they are already wasting some of my time, I figure I’ll return the favor and have some fun at the same time. “You mean Stuart didn’t call you back yesterday?” “Hmmm. I gave him the message and he said he’d take care of it.” “Gimme that information again, maybe it’s my mistake”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/26 "2010-05-18T12:31:13Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > [This is the thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=562654) about the guy who gave out his SSN and then got his wages garnished, etc. I haven’t read all the new posts so you’d have to go through it yourself to find out what’s happening! Looks like I misremembered the details a bit (for instance it started with a letter from the collector not a phone call). Still pretty freaky. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/27 "2010-05-18T15:01:31Z")
> [@luv2draw](#): > > Have you ever registered with [donotcall.gov](http://donotcall.gov)? > > If you have, then file a complaint. > > If you haven’t, register and then file a complaint. > > Once you file a complaint, the calls stop. It takes a little while, but they stop. > > Period. The end. Not necessarily. A number of collection agencies are calling out of other countries (Canada, etc.) so they aren’t bound by the DNC law/list. I’ve also run into the problem of calls not actually being connected when you do answer, or them not giving out contact information (hanging up) when you try to press for it. But it’s a good thought, I might try it on this latest group and hope they’re US-based. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/28 "2010-05-18T20:07:18Z")
We got a lot of calls when we first moved into this place for someone named Susan. I told them all that she didn’t live here, and they just took my word. We haven’t had any calls for Susan in about a year. The last place we lived, the bailiffs tried to get in because the previous tenants had done a moonlight flit. That was fun. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/29 "2010-05-18T20:16:46Z")
> [@prettydorky](#): > > I read a reader’s digest article about this one time in the can. It said to answer the call and say “I am requesting proof of this debt in writing. I do not acknowledge this debt”. And yeah, don’t give them ANY info they don’t already have. If you ask for proof in writing, and they ask for your name and address (which they may not already have, but would need in order to satisfy your request), what do you do? ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/30 "2010-05-20T16:21:50Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Not necessarily. A number of collection agencies are calling out of other countries (Canada, etc.) so they aren’t bound by the DNC law/list. I’ve also run into the problem of calls not actually being connected when you do answer, or them not giving out contact information (hanging up) when you try to press for it. But it’s a good thought, I might try it on this latest group and hope they’re US-based. It’s worth it to try do not call. I practically never answer my home phone but I grab the number in question from caller ID. If it doesn’t list the name of the company, google the phone number and there will most likely be a link to a message board where others have identified the company name. Use the phone number, the company name, together with the time the call came in to file the complaint. It has worked for me and that is why I recommended it. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/31 "2010-05-21T06:16:48Z")
> [@Arglefraster](#): > > Any legitimate collections company … There are such companies? That’s news to me. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/32 "2010-05-21T16:51:17Z")
> [@luv2draw](#): > > Have you ever registered with [donotcall.gov](http://donotcall.gov)? > > If you have, then file a complaint. > > If you haven’t, register and then file a complaint. > > Once you file a complaint, the calls stop. It takes a little while, but they stop. > > Period. The end. This is incorrect – the Do Not Call registry will place you on a no-call list for solicitations; it will not affect any business with which you have a pre-existing relationship. Collection agencies don’t solicit – they obviously think that the number they are calling is for someone with whom they have a pre-existing relationship. [DoNotCall.gov](http://DoNotCall.gov) isn’t going to get you taken off of the dialer for the types of calls discussed in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/33 "2010-05-22T22:33:50Z")
One thing to remember is creditors and collection agencies sell their accounts. For instance, if Amex wants to collect $1,000 from you they try for 90 days to 180 days then they write off the debt and sell it to a collector who will buy it. This first collector may buy it for say 25¢ on the dollar. This collection agency will try for six months to a year to collect. If they can’t they sell the debt to someone else. Maybe this time for 10¢ on the dollar. Then that collection agency tries. If they can’t they can sell the debt for 5¢ on the dollar. So it may be different collectors all using the same information. I never have done personal collections (except for studen loans which are easy), just corporate accounts, so I’m sure it’s frustrating to collect form people. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/34 "2010-05-22T22:43:54Z")
I am 99 percent certain that there are many scams using this kind of system to get people to give out info they would never do otherwise. Even if I do owe a debt, I’m not giving any info over the phone, as there is no way for me to verify who I am speaking with if I didn’t call them first. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550/35 "2010-05-23T06:01:21Z")
> [@atomicbadgerrace](#): > > This is incorrect – the Do Not Call registry will place you on a no-call list for solicitations; it will not affect any business with which you have a pre-existing relationship. Collection agencies don’t solicit – they obviously think that the number they are calling is for someone with whom they have a pre-existing relationship. [DoNotCall.gov](http://DoNotCall.gov) isn’t going to get you taken off of the dialer for the types of calls discussed in this thread. And it won’t stop solicitations, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-about-this-phone-call/539550.md?page=1)