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Stompy · 05-10-2006, 08:20 AM

I have (I think) debt collection places calling me.

The reason I don't know for sure is because it never gets beyond them asking if it's me.

1. It's from an "unknown" number.

2. They ask to speak with me and I reply, "Who's calling?" and they try to be all suave and say, "Oh, this is Crystal!" as if I know them.. so I ask "Crystal who?" and she asks, again, to speak with me. So I ask what company they're calling from (I believe I read somewhere that legally they have to disclose their company name), and at that point they either hang up or repeat themselves and ask for me, ignoring my question.

Problem is, I don't owe any debts. There was a mixup a while back where a collector called saying I owed Visa, but the last 4 digits of the Soc. didn't match mine, so it was clear they had the wrong person.

But I still get calls, and I'm about to file a police report for harassment.

The thing is, I'm not gonna give in and entertain their calls by verifying my identity to resolve it - if they're legally entitled to disclose information to me about who they're calling from and hang up when I ask them, then I'm gonna start taking legal action and at least get something out of it.

Another thing that irks me is having Vonage for my phone line. They have all sorts of technology available to email me voicemails, for me to check call status online, but they can't block unknown numbers?! Riiight..

Does anyone know offhand the legal stuff behind this? From what I've read, they aren't allowed to attempt to hide themselves, and I think they're using a loophole in the law by giving their real name (as in, the person calling), when it doesn't completely identify the company they're working for.

05-10-2006, 08:20 AM	#1 (permalink)
Stompy Banned from being Banned Location: Donkey	Debt collection and consumer rights I have (I think) debt collection places calling me. The reason I don't know for sure is because it never gets beyond them asking if it's me. 1. It's from an "unknown" number. 2. They ask to speak with me and I reply, "Who's calling?" and they try to be all suave and say, "Oh, this is Crystal!" as if I know them.. so I ask "Crystal who?" and she asks, again, to speak with me. So I ask what company they're calling from (I believe I read somewhere that legally they have to disclose their company name), and at that point they either hang up or repeat themselves and ask for me, ignoring my question. Problem is, I don't owe any debts. There was a mixup a while back where a collector called saying I owed Visa, but the last 4 digits of the Soc. didn't match mine, so it was clear they had the wrong person. But I still get calls, and I'm about to file a police report for harassment. The thing is, I'm not gonna give in and entertain their calls by verifying my identity to resolve it - if they're legally entitled to disclose information to me about who they're calling from and hang up when I ask them, then I'm gonna start taking legal action and at least get something out of it. Another thing that irks me is having Vonage for my phone line. They have all sorts of technology available to email me voicemails, for me to check call status online, but they can't block unknown numbers?! Riiight.. Does anyone know offhand the legal stuff behind this? From what I've read, they aren't allowed to attempt to hide themselves, and I think they're using a loophole in the law by giving their real name (as in, the person calling), when it doesn't completely identify the company they're working for. __________________ I love lamp.