So I get a call today, "800 Service" on the ID. It is a collection agent, looking for the wife. I tell him do not call here, we will only correspond by mail. Then I hang up. he calls back, immediately. He says "I ain't gonna give up. I won't wuit calling. he begins rattling off all our info, named, addresses, etc, I suppose in an attempt to scare me. I hang up, he calls back. I ignore the phone, it rings constantly for the next half hour. This was at 8:00am today. I'm pretty sure this is illegal as hell. Any references I can look at to verify? I have a recorder on the phone now, more to nail the bastard with when I get him in court.
If he likes to call you so much then why not make up a list of about 18 questions or so and make him answer them each and every time he calls. Like this He calls and says "Is this O.J. Simpson? {or whatever your name is} You reply with "What's left of him/her, yeah. If he asks again repeat the same thing. If he finally quits asking that dumb question and starts his spiel, ask him 1. What is your name? 2. Are you recording this conversation? If he says yes then say GOOD! Then you won't mind that I am recording this conversation as well, will you? 3. What is the name of the company you are calling about. 3. What city is that in? 4. What state is that in? 5. What is the company address? 6. What kind of business are they in? 7. Oh, they are in the debt collection business, eh? 8. Well, are they getting any debts collected? 9. What is their phone number. 10. Do you work for them? 11. Why are you calling me? 12. Oh! Well how much do they claim I owe? 12. Who do they claim I owe it to? 13. What is their address? 14. What is their zip code? 15. What is their phone number? 16. How much do they say I owe? 17. What is your name? 18. What is your address? (Yes, you want his home address) 19. What is your home phone number? 20. What is your Social Security number? 21. Please be advised that I dispute the debt and every portion of it. 21. Please validate the debt. 22. Hey! Have a nice day and immediately hang up on him. Or make up your own variations of those questions. The whole point is to get control of the conversation and keep him from controlling the conversation. Make him go through the whole routine every time he calls and when he won't answer the question you just asked him tell him that you dispute the debt and every portion of it., tell him to have a nice day and hang up on him again. He will get the idea that he is getting nowhere playing your silly game and wasting a lot of his precious time and he will quit bothering you. Naturally there will be variations to the conversation but you will just have to make do when that happens. But never let the debt collector control the conversation even if you have to get into a shouting match with him. Just remember that the telephone is nothing but another doorway into your home. You own that doorway the same as you do the actual doors to your home. If someone comes into your home and starts abusing you he will be gone one way or the other very quickly, Right? The telephone is nothing but another doorway into your home so don't put up with abusive phone calls any more than you would abusive visitors.
Remember, use of the telephone to "harass" someone is also a Federal offense; if you have a log of calls, recordings, etc. you can complain to the phone company. Have they sent you a written notice regarding this debt and collection effort yet?
If they haven't done this within 5 days of the first call you received, then that's another "nail" in their FDCPA lawsuit. I smell a "payday" in this one. Keep detailed notes and a log of your calls. I have Vonage and a cell phone so I can dump a log of all incoming and outgoing calls anytime I want. Very handy!
I have Vonage too and didn't know about the logging capability. But what has the cell phone got to do with it?
Nothing special just that all calls on all of my phones are logged with phone number, date, and time and that I can download those logs from the internet.
OK. I'll have to check that out on Vonage. My cellphone also does that automatically. I can then sync it to the computer, download the log and print it out if I want to. I can also assign names to those calls so I know who it was that called rather than just having a number, date, time, duration of call and ect. My cell also does that for all outgoing calls.
The Vonage log was a bit of a pain to print out because I could only get 15 calls per screen. They didn't have a "show all" option. Oh well, at least the calls are cheap. I haven't looked, but are there any easy ways to connect the phone into a computer to record the voice? I've used the induction coil pickups but they're kindofa cabling nuisance. I think I tried one that fit in line with the handset, but i don't recall how those worked. To me, the ideal connection would be one like a fax connection where you just plugged the line into the computer and talked through the computer using a headset from the computer while it was recording. (does such a thing exist?)
Next time they call and act "rude" again, return the favor by telling them to do what Vice President Cheney told another senator on the Senate floor on an open mike a few years ago. And then hang up.
Remember that the option with the most cathartic value may not have the most legal benefit. The place to exact your revenge is not over the phone, but in court where it will actually pay off. Napolean said: "Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake." Just keep keeping records.
I think the recorder scared em. I installed it, and answered "This call is being recorded." They hung up and have not called back since.
