Unwelcome phone calls

[RoJoHen]

So, a weird number with a Florida area code has called me the last 2 days around 8am. Since I have not been awake at 8am, I haven't answered the call. This guy, David Hine, leaves me a voicemail about how he needs me to call him "to help him make an important decision."

I think, uh, okay, DELETE. So I get rid of the message just assume it's some jackass telemarketer or something.

Here's where it gets weird:

The same guy also called my parents and left the same message about me.

The same guy ALSO somehow found my grandma's phone number and left her a message! She actually picked up the phone the second day he called. He asked her for a lot of my personal information, which she refused to give him. Then he hung up.

I googled the phone number, and apparently this guy has been harrassing a bunch of people. He claims to work for a debt collector, but nobody can get information out of him before he hangs up on them.

If he calls again tomorrow, I will answer and see if I can find out more information because this is really pissing me off. It's one thing to leave annoying messages on my phone, but he's doing it to my family as well, and it's really fucking irritating.

 

[Amaris]

I can't stand debt collectors. I get them all the time, and I don't owe anything (well, anything that would require a debt collector).

 

[STR]

Probably a phisher. They don't always use email. If he calls again, inform him that you're going to call the cops if he keeps harassing you and your family unless he provides proof that he's a legit collector.

 

[RoJoHen]

Apparently the company is Hunter Warfield, and they are a legit collecting agency, but they have a list of complaints against them about a mile long.

If I have a debt that I owe, fine (I have no idea what it might be, but whatever), but they have absolutely business calling my family. What the hell are they doing calling my grandmother?!

 

[Amaris]

Apparently the company is Hunter Warfield, and they are a legit collecting agency, but they have a list of complaints against them about a mile long.

If I have a debt that I owe, fine (I have no idea what it might be, but whatever), but they have absolutely business calling my family. What the hell are they doing calling my grandmother?!

Harassing you to collect a debt. It is against the law. When you talk to them again, inform them that you are recording this call for records, and that you will be recording every future call from their company. Make sure they agree. Then, state that they do not have your permission to call anyone but you, and only at your home number. Then, after you get that said on record, tell them that you want future exchanges in written correspondence only, and that they may only mail your home address, no one else. By law they have to do this.

 

[Finn]

For several years, some kind of debt lawyer kept calling my fiancee's condo asking for someone who doesn't even live here (we have no idea whether it was a former occupant or simply someone who never ever lived here). She kept calling no matter what we say, even after telling this lady that whoever she's calling about doesn't live here.

 

[JustAFriend]

I had a debt collector once harass me over some condo I had never bought in another city I'd never even been in.

Turns out they do not use any other criteria for targeting you other than your name.
They'll look up every other instance of your name throughout a state and start calling.

I finally solved it by threatening to sue them and bill them for my time. THAT they understood.

....get an answering machine and tell all your friends and family that if they want to get hold of you they need to leave a message so you can pick up.
Everyone in the last four generations has been trained like Pavlov's dogs to pick up a phone as soon as it rings; train yourself NOT to pick up the phone but listen for a message.
(within a few months all those telemarketers and politicians and recorded ads will stop when they can't get a real human on the line....)

 

[Rett Mikhal]

Do what I do: make up fake stuff and increase the silliness until they give up.

"Where do you live?"

"65 Winter Street, 90210." (Actually my school's address with the Beverly Hills Zip Code).

"What is your name?"

"Wesley Crusher."

"What do you do for work?"

"I collect spores, molds, and fungus."

"I see. Do you have any friends that would be interested in [blah]?"

"All my friends died in an explosive decompression accident aboard a flight simulator."

"Oh. I see... So do you have any hobbies?" (I've legit been asked this by a telemarketer/random person on the phone).

"Yeah I like to build perfect replicas of Apollo spacecraft in my barn in Beverly Hills. My mom says I shouldn't, though."

"Goodbye."

Also if I'm playing a game I tell them to hold on a minute while I crank the sound up and spam whatever annoying sounds I can. Boy nothing makes them hang up faster than a Browning Automatic Rifle followed by "GRENADE, CLEAR OUT!!"

 

[RandyS]

Why is this even a problem? Doesn't everybody have caller ID nowdays? When telemarketers, or whoever they are, call me, If I don't recognize the number, I don't answer.

I'm sorry your family is also being harrassed, but they should do the same if they can.

 

[Finn]

^But the phone will still ring... Some of these calls sometimes happen every ten minutes or so.

 

[RandyS]

^But the phone will still ring... Some of these calls sometimes happen every ten minutes or so.

And that has happened to me. Doesn't mean I have to answer though.

 

[Holdfast]

If they're calling you on a cellphone, there is free software out there you can install to block individual numbers. I had a crank caller a while back and found something online that worked. With the software I found, the phone didn't even ring; the other party just got disconnected immediately.

For landlines, I think your telephone provider can do the same.

 

[trekkiedane]

Why is this even a problem? Doesn't everybody have caller ID nowdays? When telemarketers, or whoever they are, call me, If I don't recognize the number, I don't answer.

That's what I do; NO-ONE who's not already in my phone with name and address and picture and whatnot gets through to me! -I *HATE* talking on the phone -especially with strangers who don't even show me the courtesy of letting me know the number they're calling from!
(And I love tapping the "End" button whenever it happens )

Now, that's an app I need to get, thanks Holdfast -I didn't even know this kind of software existed!

 

[Amaris]

I always love this:

*phone rings*
Me: "Hello?"
Speaker: "Hello. Is John there?"
Me: "May I ask who is calling, please?"
Speaker: "Certainly. My name is Judith. Is this John?"
<silence>
Me: "May I ask who is calling, please?"
Speaker: <silence> "Yes. I'm with (vague company name). Are you John? I have a few questions for you."
Me: "I am going to record this call for archival purposes. Do you agree?"
Speaker: *click*

 

[trekkiedane]

I always love this:

*phone rings*
Me: "Hello?"
Speaker: "Hello. Is John there?"
Me: "May I ask who is calling, please?"
Speaker: "Certainly. My name is Judith. Is this John?"
<silence>
Me: "May I ask who is calling, please?"
Speaker: <silence> "Yes. I'm with (vague company name). Are you John? I have a few questions for you."
Me: "I am going to record this call for archival purposes. Do you agree?"
Speaker: *click*

Now, that's just the worst of bad manners!

When you call some number and you don't present yourself (and the reason for your calling that number) after the phone has been picked up.

Back in the old (analogue) days, my room was closest to the place where we kept the phone and whenever I got a call like that my answer to the "Hello. Is John there?"-line would invariably have been: "I thought he was there! - hasn't he arrived yet?"

 

[John Clark]

For telemarketers, I'm occasionally tempted to do something like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1waHJhb2wxo

 

[JiNX-01]

So, a weird number with a Florida area code has called me the last 2 days around 8am. Since I have not been awake at 8am, I haven't answered the call. This guy, David Hine, leaves me a voicemail about how he needs me to call him "to help him make an important decision."

I think, uh, okay, DELETE. So I get rid of the message just assume it's some jackass telemarketer or something.

Here's where it gets weird:

The same guy also called my parents and left the same message about me.

The same guy ALSO somehow found my grandma's phone number and left her a message! She actually picked up the phone the second day he called. He asked her for a lot of my personal information, which she refused to give him. Then he hung up.

I googled the phone number, and apparently this guy has been harrassing a bunch of people. He claims to work for a debt collector, but nobody can get information out of him before he hangs up on them.

If he calls again tomorrow, I will answer and see if I can find out more information because this is really pissing me off. It's one thing to leave annoying messages on my phone, but he's doing it to my family as well, and it's really fucking irritating.

Cell phone or land line? Contact the phone company they can track down the phone number and investigate whether he's harassing others and probably prosecute.

 

[JiNX-01]

Why is this even a problem? Doesn't everybody have caller ID nowdays? When telemarketers, or whoever they are, call me, If I don't recognize the number, I don't answer.

I'm sorry your family is also being harrassed, but they should do the same if they can.

Where have you been? Telemarketers and debt collectors don't let you get their phone numbers. They show as "restricted."

 

[RoJoHen]

The only reason I don't want to ignore it completely is in the case that there is some legitimate debt that I owe. If so, I want to get it sorted out before it damages my credit score.

I never answer calls from strange phone numbers, and I always wait for them to leave a voicemail. If they don't, it's clearly not important. What REALLY bothers me about this particular caller is that the same guy tracked down my parents' AND grandma's phone numbers and called them trying to get my personal information. This is not just some random telemarketer. This guy is clearly looking for ME.

But he also called at 8am on a fucking Saturday. I'm sorry. I don't give a shit who you are. I'm not answering my phone that early on the weekend.

 

[SeerSGB]

I always love this:

*phone rings*
Me: "Hello?"
Speaker: "Hello. Is John there?"
Me: "May I ask who is calling, please?"
Speaker: "Certainly. My name is Judith. Is this John?"
<silence>
Me: "May I ask who is calling, please?"
Speaker: <silence> "Yes. I'm with (vague company name). Are you John? I have a few questions for you."
Me: "I am going to record this call for archival purposes. Do you agree?"
Speaker: *click*

Try this one:

Sunday 6Am in the morning-- against the law to call early, by the by.

Me: ~stumble, crash, phone continues rings~ Oh for fuck who is fucking stupid enough to fucking call me..~pick up phone~ WHAT!

Bill Collector: (eating and slurping something as they talk) Yes we're looking for <my name>, can you him or her on the phone.

[bad mood, plus late night, plus bill collector, equal play time]

Me: (nice pleasant, southern gentleman's voice) I am he, is there something I can do for you?

Bill Collector: I'm calling regarding account number (string of letters), do you realize that your are now 72 hours past due? ~hard ass voice~ You need to fix this NOW before I escalate the matter personally. Are we clear? I can be your pal our your worse enemy.

(time for the crazy)

Me: Wait, beg a pardon, is this a financial call?

BC: Yes it is. You need to get your shit....

Me: Wait, you're calling me about money...on the lord's day?

BC: ... ... Well it is a Sunday...I mean, if that's what your ...

Me: (loud, over the top, batshit crazy) Sinner! Serpent! Blaspheme! You work on the sabbath and filthy this day with your talk of money!

BC: Uh...wait....what the hell man....well I don't see what that has to do with...

Me: Pray heathen! Pray that god takes mercy on your soul and forgives you sins!

BC: Sir I think this totally inappropriate. I just need...

Me: Kneel...kneel before the wisdom and mercy of Zod!

BC: Fuck man you're crazy! ~click~

By the by, I wasn't late on the debt. It was a computer error that had kicked my account into the collections computer when they swapped the date around.