Who was the sucky one?

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Part of the problem are the scammers who have given the correct information but deny being the people the collectors are trying to contact. Ruins it for the rest of us, but since they aren't the rest of us...

Rapscallion

Bingo.

The caller just assumes that the person on the phone is lying to protect a deadbeat. So telling them they have a wrong number, when that's the number in their records, really doesn't accomplish anything.

Calling the cops to report numerous harrassing phone calls is more effective.

[Arcade Man D]

Just to set the record straight (and I don't know the law enough to quote it exactly), what it boils down to that it IS legal to call someone's place of employment for collections. What is NOT legal is to continue to call after the person in reference tells them not to call anymore.

Just throwing that out there.

Odd. I remember learning in my business law classes that it was. Of course, my memory is like a sponge. Sometimes it absorbs everything, other times it's just full of holes

[varmintjane]

I remember hearing that if the person gave a work number as a potential contact number, then it is legal to attempt to reach them at that number. Of course, once they hear the person is no longer employed there, then that is pretty sucky.

[Andara Bledin]

that was basically what I was getting...but they were calling for someone named "Dave" and since I'm female and was living alone in a 1-bedroom apartment, I was pretty sure there was no "Dave" there...of course by the time I got the messages after work they weren't at the office anymore...

Dave's not here, man....

*snicker*

As for the topic:

It is perfectly legal for a debt collector to call any number that the debtor has given as a contact number.

It is not legal for the debt collector to mention that the call is for the collection of a debt. If they do that, take all the info down, 'cause that debt is now null and void because of the collector being an idiot. Basically, it was ruled that you're not allowed to say you're collecting a debt because scummy collectors would call workplaces to shame the debtors into paying up. They can say they are with such-and-such company, however, even if that makes it obvious they are a collections agency.

It is also not legal for a collector to call a number after the owner of the number (or their representative, in the case of a business number) tells them to stop. After the first time they are told to stop, any additional calls are considered harrassment and can be prosecuted as such. Generally if you tell them right off the bat that you will go after them for it, they'll stop. They're not usually stupid, just incredibly obnoxious.

^-.-^

[cinema guy]

In my previous flat I used to get calls for a greengrocers shop just up the street. Even three years after I had that number, I used to get calls. The greengrocers was still there, they had obviously changed their number at some point and I'd gotten that number.

I wonder how long it must be before a number is put back into circulation?

[Andara Bledin]

It's about six months here, if I'm remembering correctly.

And it could be that your old number never belonged to the greengrocer. It could have been a misprint in a single directory that is still being used.

^-.-^

[cinema guy]

It could have been a misprint in a single directory that is still being used.

Could be, I hadn't thought of that. They seemed like commercial callers rather than customers, so maybe it was incorrectly listed in a business directory or some such. Anyway, I don't live there any more, so it has ceased to matter.

[KellyHabersham]

Awhile back I had some woman leave a message on my answering machine, gave her account number and said she needed to speak to a manager, but didn't leave a name or any indication of what sort of business she thought she was talking to. So I figured that if this woman called again, I was going to call her back and let her know she was reaching the wrong number. This wasn't as annoying though, as getting phone calls for the woman who previously had my phone number, and that Google had her name/address still listed under that number......had problems with my ex-boyfriend because he'd thought I was lying to him about my identity because of that wrong info.

[Starlord]

Calling Brandi

I have a Tracfone cell phone, and the number I had was brand new, meaning it had never been issued to anyone in our state before. It wasn't too long before I began getting calls at all hours of the day and night, with people asking for Brandi. I began politely, telling them that there was no Brandi at this number, and that they had a wrong number. Finally, there was one female who would call for Brandi between 11 PM and 3 AM. I would tell her that there was no Brandi here, and she should check the number before calling. She then began telling my that this WAS Brandi's number, and I had better put her on and quite playing games. I found out that Brandi's number began with 280, and mine with 208. I told this rude female that Brandi's number began with such and such a number, and she told me to come over there, and she would show me where Brandi had written the number down. I finally told her that if she called me again, she would get a call from the Sheriff's Office. I really can't stand having someone argue with me, telling me that my number is not my number. Tracfone changed my number with no problem.

[Kogarashi]

I kept getting messages on my cell phone when I first got it for a Hernando or somesuch, despite the callers (collection agencies and the like) listening to my voicemail message, where I clearly stated my name and said it was a personal cell phone. I mean, I do have a deeper voice that could be mistaken for male, I'm sure, but my given name is one that has never been used as a man's name near as I can tell, and it's certainly not Hernando. It took several calls back to get them to stop.

I worked at a store once where one of the employees was being harassed by collections agencies. The collectors were actually calling claiming to be her children to try to get a hold of her.

I don't know what happened, but recently my cell phone (which has had its current number for almost a year now) only just started getting random calls from some Hispanic people. Luckily, my husband speaks fluent Spanish, and was able to talk to them (for five minutes) trying to convince them they had a wrong number, and there was no "Carlos" here.