Sister/BIL getting harassed about previous phone number holder's debt...

[phatchristy]

OK, my sister moved into a new home and got a new phone number. The number apparently was previously used by someone who had a tremendous amount of debts.

She KEEPS on getting calls...it's been nearly a year...in times she's talked to the supervisors, told her that person no longer has that phone number, etc. but it is still happening.

What can she do to get these calls to stop. Her phone company told her they will NOT switch her phone number without charging her a lot of $$$ (and she recently lost her job and cannot afford unnecessary expenses).

Anyone have experience with this and wwyd?

[Emmeline II]

Perhaps trying legal aid? I have the same problem but it didn't seem bad enough to try and get the number changed. I still get the occasional call after two years. I just tell them that this hasn't been Fred's phone number for two years.

[normajean]

We get these stupid calls too. I usually take a moment to explain that its no longer their phone number, that we've had this number for 5 months. After several months of this, it does seem to be decreasing.

[beansricerevolt]

Same thing has happened to me.
Its been over 2 years and I still get calls for "Jessica" a few times a week. Doctors even call my phone to confirm appointments It makes mad because its my cell phone they are calling.
I just keeping telling them this is the wrong number and she hasn't had this # for years.
I swear, 2 of the debut collectors don't believe me. They keep calling, 3 times a week, and I keep saying the same thing. They even ask me "are you sure?" Um, WTF! Of course im sure you A@@ head! She hasn't answered a call to this # in over 2 years!
Of course im too sweet to actually say that : but thats what I really want to say while trying to explain the situation for the 100th time.
I swear, im going to lose my cool one of these days. They've been lucky, calling me on good days.

[ustasmom]

I think that she can demand mail only collection attempts.

Other than that, I would be yelling at my phone company until they fixed the situation for free.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by ustasmom

I think that she can demand mail only collection attempts.

Other than that, I would be yelling at my phone company until they fixed the situation for free.

I was thinking about that, harass the phone company until they give in; tell them "I just lost my job, I can talk about this alllllllllllllll day". Or, how about telling the creditors that the phone companies customer service number is the deadbeat's work number:; or the company president's number.

[laohaire]

Just another idea. Does she have cable (TV or Internet)? If so, she can get a VOIP telephone line that is almost certainly cheaper than the landline she is paying for now.

Save money on phone bills AND get a new number at the same time.

OR, maybe just threaten the phone company she'll switch to VOIP if they don't fix it.

[HollyBearsMom]

If you know or have a lawyer have them send a registered "cease and desist" letter to the collection angency (s) stating exactly the issue and threaten puntive actions if the phone calls continue.

I was getting constant calls for someone that the collection agency insisted I was in somway related. The kept telling me that "records showed" we were related in "someway". I tried EVERYTHING to get them to stop. My brother (a lawyer) sent them a "cease and desist" letter with a threat of damages and within a matter of weeks the calls stopped.

[cdahlgrd]

If you were the person they were looking for, they would have to stop calling if she requested no more phone calls.

I guess if it were me, I would write down detailed info about who was calling, what time, the full name and address and # of the company, etc. then I would tell them that they needed to stop calling our I will continue to make notes and will sue them for as much as the law will allow for harassment. I may even call their legal department and repeat the threat. Then, don't lose those notes (email them to yourself) and when they call, make notes again, then call a laywer.

If you can't do that, then ask them to contact your laywer and give them a random name out of the phone book (but don't say that you are the person they are looking for!!!).

Hmm, this is really interesting. I can't wait to see what other people suggest.

[BetsyS]

My dh gets calls on his cell number. It's his business number, and he's had it for almost 3 years. They are still calling for "terry". Um, dude, she ain't here. LOL

[MrsAprilMay]

I had a similar situation. When we bought this house, the phone number assigned was just one number off from a local pizza chain (who has one number for all locations) so I had college students calling at midnight and old ladies leaving confused messages on the answering machine.

I called the phone company and talked them into changing the number for free. Maybe it was because I called within a month of having the number, but I got it taken care of. I would cry if necessary.

[BookGoddess]

While we haven't had collection agencies call us I've had MANY phone calls for the couple who previously had our current phone number. At one point I had to change the greeting on our answering machine to include "if you're calling for the O's this isn't their number anymore." That stopped the calls for a while. Thinking their new number must have given to all their friends by the Os, I took off that portion from our answering machine greeting and sure enough calls for them started to come in again. My DH says we might as well have fun with it - that we should tell people that Mr. O embezzled money from the local dog club (he's a judge for dog shows) and that he fled the state.
From all these calls I know a lot about these people - who they donate money to, who their friends are, where they get medical help from, etc. Lucky for them I'm pretty honest and I won't act on the information I have.

[sofiabugmom]

I'd tell her start keeping records of the calls: what company, name of agent, etc. And that she should tell the caller (1) not to call again, (2) that she's keeping a written record of this call and (3) if she's contacted again by the same company that she'll start taking steps toward filing harrassment charges.

Best of luck to her ... I had to put up with this as well, but it was with MY phone number after we moved our old number to a new house. The previous owners had massive debts that went to collections, and after they sold us the house, the collection agencies, of course, got a disconnect notice when they tried calling the previous owners' old number. So what did these agencies do? They looked up the "new" phone number for the debtor's last known address: my old number. Gotta love address-to-phone search.

[Ecstatic]

Writing a letter works best. Ask for the name of a supervisor, and the address. Then, send an official letter stating that these people do not live there any longer, nor is this (write number here) their number. Then ask that they seize contacting this number in accordance with the fair debt collection practices laws. If they do not stop, put in the letter that the next note will be from an attorney.

Also, in the letter, ask for a written reply confirming that the letter was received and no more calls will be happening.

Yes, it's a pain, but it does work. I've had to do this several times with various companies.