Is this crap legal?

[silver912e]

So some deadbeat I've never met pulls my phone number out of the air and uses it as his home phone number on something that he never pays for. The collection agency that is going after him sets up an automated phone call that calls me EVERY FREAKIN DAY looking for someone I've never heard of. When I finally call them back and give them hell for setting up this harassing call without ever having a live person call me, they act like they have every right to do this.

can I go after these jokers if it happens again?

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Can't you just get the phone co. to put a block on their number?

[Tishabet]

I believe collections laws stipulate that you can request that they not call....

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Change your number. Free.

[Tishabet]

Here we go, this is all from http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm which is the Fair Debt Collections Practices act. Basically, your rights if someone is trying to collect from you. Seeing as you are in fact a third party, article B will be especially pertinent to you. Article C is pertinent to the actual debtor.....but note that the debtor can tell them to stop, and they must comply.

(b) COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES. Except as provided in section 804, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.

(c) CEASING COMMUNICATION. If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt, except --

(1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector's further efforts are being terminated;

(2) to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor may invoke specified remedies which are ordinarily invoked by such debt collector or creditor; or

(3) where applicable, to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy.

If such notice from the consumer is made by mail, notification shall be complete upon receipt.

[silver912e]

I guess my point here is if I picked a phone number out of the phone book and set up an automated call to harass the person every day until they called me back, wouldn't I get a visit from the local authorities?

[91S2]

it's not harassment to call somebody everyday IF there is a legit. purpose behind the calls. In their case they thought they were calling the deadbeat so have every right to call. but once you notify them to stop and explain the story it should end

[cstreit]

I'm in the same situation except the previous owners of my home-office number apparently screwed a LOT of creditors. For the first six months I was getting 2-3 phonecalls a day. I told Discover services that this was MY number and I had no idea who these people were. (If you're John or Barbara XYZ you better STAY OUT OF MY WAY).

So it took 3 months of telling Discover to quit calling me looking for them, then the weasle debt collectors started calling with a bunch of pretenses like "You won a free something" or "This is the pharmacy, we have your medecine" and other such BS... It was unreal.

Fortunately After the 2nd time they called I could freely harrass them without feeling guilty. I used that "Full metal Jacket" voiceover webpage, the old "No, This is Lenny, I just whacked them because they owed US money too", etc.. etc... Now I don't get many calls but I sure look forward to the ones I DO get...

[legion]

Not quite the same, but I did have a memorable experience with unsolicted phone calls:

During the spring of every year I would get repeated calls from a professional fund-raising company soliciting donations for the Fraternal Order of Police. They purposefully use gruff-sounding males to make you think you are talking to an actual police officer, though if you ask they will admit they are not. I repeatedly asked to have my name removed from their list but they insisted I had no such right. Sick of the fifth such call in a week, I simply said: "I am involved in a lawsuit with the police department (not true) and I don't think that donating to them would help my cause. I never got another call back.

My point is, start asking them questions. Get as much info out of them as possible. Ask what the name of their company is, where they are located, the name of the person you are talking to. Explain (again) that you are not the person they are looking for and that you are trying to build a harrassment case against their company. Get a lawyer friend to send them a letter on company letterhead insisting that they desist.