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.
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.
Have you ever registered with 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.
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”. 
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.
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.
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.
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?
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!
There are such companies?
That’s news to me.
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 isn’t going to get you taken off of the dialer for the types of calls discussed in this thread.
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.
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.
And it won’t stop solicitations, either.