Anyone else receive debt collections calls when you don't owe money?

[LeeH]

This is driving me nuts. I keep receiving calls from debt collectors. Thing is... I don't owe anyone any money! I've been receiving calls for 2 years about one guy. Today a new name popped up.

Is it legal for debt collectors to randomly call everyone with the same last name as the debtor in hopes of tracking them down?

[pwd72s]

My pre-pay cell phone kept getting these calls...Evidently, whoever had the phone number before me was quite a deadbeat. I was able to get rid of them...but it took time. Simply made it clear to the most pestering of the callers that I was not the party they were trying to reach.

(edit) Got ahold of a supervisor of the collection agency. One line made me chuckle: "Oh, I know you're not a deadbeat sir...deadbeats never call back."

[Arizona 911]

For the past month, I have been getting calls from a company called Tacart Group. I looked them up online and found they are a collection agency. I am not late on any bills so I just erase the messages. I got to thinking I better talk to them about the calls because they may affect my credit later on.

[Evans, Marv]

You think you've got it bad? When I first got my new phone & number a few years ago, I got calls from everybody. Collection agencies, probation officers, welfare department, law enforcement agencies, and some others. I made it a point to call them back & let them know it was a new number, and that the previous person who had it was a huge deadbeat. After about 6+ months, the calls stopped.

[wills928]

Tell em, check is in the mail, I had one call me forever over a cell phone my ex did not pay, he stated well sir this will affect you credit for future purchases, I said, to him, got a house, all vehicles and toys paid for and I am 40 plus years old so credit is passé,,,,,,,, cash is king!!! Have not heard from them since!!!!

[Jagshund]

You might not want to ignore it. I had a company called Sherman Acquisitions (in TX) put a $15 charge against my credit for a Sprint account I never had. They apparently do small amounts and hope people pay them without complaining- then they charge extra for getting it off your report. It only showed up on Experian (no one else allowed them to report) and I had to open an investigation to get rid of the bastards. Then I wrote a letter asking why they allowed SA to report with their firm- when the only information you can find on them online is for submitting these BS claims. Never heard back.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

You think you've got it bad? When I first got my new phone & number a few years ago, I got calls from everybody. Collection agencies, probation officers, welfare department, law enforcement agencies, and some others. I made it a point to call them back & let them know it was a new number, and that the previous person who had it was a huge deadbeat. After about 6+ months, the calls stopped.

That was about the same time span with my cell phone problem. Since I only use the cell when away from home, it can sit on the shelf in "off" mode for weeks. Man, did I get a LOT of voice mails....

[t-tom]

Dont feel too bad I had a bank try to repo a Truck that had been paid off for almost a year.

[Tobra]

They have a term for that Tom






Grand Theft Auto, a felony.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by LeeH

This is driving me nuts. I keep receiving calls from debt collectors. Thing is... I don't owe anyone any money! I've been receiving calls for 2 years about one guy. Today a new name popped up.

Is it legal for debt collectors to randomly call everyone with the same last name as the debtor in hopes of tracking them down?

For 2 years after I moved into this house I had people calling me up looking for a guy...even his FIL gave a call...finally I told the collectors he was dead, he was killed while fking some guys wife....

Now the only calls I get are about my bills.

[MRM]

For years we got calls from various agencies looking for a woman who has my mother's name. Eventually I was able to talk to one of the people who called and told them they were looking for the wrong person. She confirmed that the person she was looking for was in her 20s and black. I advised that my mother was none of those things and didn't even live in the state. I thought nothing of it and figured the calls would stop.

The calls kept coming. I started telling everyone who called that they were looking for a 20-something black woman and that they were getting the home of a guy who's much older white mother simply shared the same name, and that they could do themselves a favor and not call me any more. I figured they'd get the message quickly enough and start looking in a more likely place.

The calls kept coming. Finally, I asked one of the callers why they kept calling me. She argued with me about who lived with me. She said that in her computer it showed that someone answered the phone once and said that Mary did live there but wasn't available at that moment. Based on that, they confirmed the address and wouldn't stop calling. The funny thing is, I remember that call. A long time earlier, my mother had stayed with us for a few weeks while either my wife or I were traveling. Just after she left, I got a call for Mary. I thought it was someone looking for my actual mother, since she had been there long enough to have needed to use our number to keep her affairs in order, so I said she wasn't there but I could take a message. I turned out to be the bill collectors, but by the time I figured it out, it was too late to take it back.

Years later that note was still showing up in whatever computer system that company used. Polite, I'll give you that. But they never did believe that I wasn't hiding a 20 year old black woman in my house. I stopped answering my phone, my voice mail eventually filled up, and now it isn't a problem any more. Of course it's hard for friends to call and invite me over to dinner, but since I don't have any friends, and none are likely to invite me over, it all works out.

[fastfredracing]

No, they only seem to call me when I don't " have " any money.

[RWebb]

Use one of these Greetings when answering or program into your answering machine:

1. Dawg-Bounty Hunter Answering Service. Who do you want us to go after?

2. Rabid Bulldog Legal Services. Aggressive Defense of YOUR RIGHTS. Leave a message and we'll go after ANYBODY.

3. Yeh? Antonio's "Pizza." You gotta problem? We'll "take care" of it. Very discreet - don't worry.

[t-tom]

Originally Posted by Tobra

They have a term for that Tom






Grand Theft Auto, a felony.

You would think that, but I had to argue with the cops at 2 in the morning because the repo guy had a document from the banks legal team. I had the title in my hand showing it to the cops, I had the canceled check that I paid the truck off with. The cops called a supervisor and he told the repo guys to leave. The next day the bank argued with me, turns out the bank put the payment onto some one else's loan.

[GH85Carrera]

I get the calls on occasion. We don't owe anyone for anything so there is never any doubt they are looking for someone else. They often call looking for somone with a name that starts with the same initial as my wife's name. Anytime they leave a number for a callback I call them back.

[LeeH]

I think our home phone is about to go away for this reason. My wife won't even answer the phone at home because the only people who call on that number are asking for money in one way or another.

[Noah930]

I lived in an apartment once, where every month we'd get a call from some sort of collection looking for a "Juan." My roommate got a kick out of answering the phone and telling them "Sorry, there is no Juan here."

[porsche4life]

For the first year I had my phone I would get spells of calls from very disgruntled spanish speaking peoples... I'm not sure what they wanted...

[Jagshund]

Originally Posted by LeeH

I think our home phone is about to go away for this reason. My wife won't even answer the phone at home because the only people who call on that number are asking for money in one way or another.

Might want to check your credit reports just to make sure someone hasn't slipped in a charge. It does happen, although it's just as likely that they're reaching out to the wrong person.

[sc_rufctr]

About 2 years after my divorce I was getting calls from a dept collection agency in Sydney NSWs.

They were looking for my ex wife. Apparently she owed someone about $70,000.
I'm not sure of the details or what actually happened.
Anyways... I spent about an hour on the phone with this guy explaining the situation.
Also gave him details of how he could contact her directly.

About two days later I got an abusive txt message from my ex... lols