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Received call from First National Collection on 1/29/2015 @ 1:44pm. Caller ID read Debt Collector. I answered but the call was terminated without a live person coming on the line. I called back and spoke with Joann Water. Asked who she was attempting to contact. Advised I was not Patty,did not know Patty, told her my name and advised my phone number was listed and this was the 3rd time I had spoken with a rep from their company and that I was previously assured that they would remove my number from their list. She protested that this was the first time I had spoken with their company rep so had not been previously placed on notice but assured me that my number would be removed from their list. I told her that I would again report them.

For what it is worth, I previously reported them to FDCPA. They responded this was out of their realm of authority. WTF? Really. Only the debtor consumers are protected. What a pile of B.S. Too bad lawmakers can't seem to craft legislation with the finesse needed to stop the harassment.

So sick of these companies calling and threatening me. How do I stop it? They get mad when I won't verify my last four of my social.

Per the FDCPA, an automated dialer CAN call mulitple times a day legally.  They just cannot call mulitple times if they make contact with you without your permission.  I.E. phone tag does not count.  I've done collections twice.  If you call and says it's a wrong number (and they sound legit), most associates will remove your phone number.  Personally, debtors like to say "wrong number" but do not sound very convincing.  The best way to say it is "I do not know anyone by that name".  It goes a lot further than "wrong number".

Automated dialers do that.  If you answer it may take 5-10 seconds for a live person to get connected to the call.  Then you can simply state "I do not know that person" and problem solved.  Also, if it is a cell phone, you can tell them "this is a cell phone and I am not authorizing further communication via this phone number"  Seriously everyone needs to look up the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act!

It is not considered "harrassment" via the FDCPA.  The calls are annoying, yes.  But it's only harrassment if they call you or treat you outside the legal guidelines.  Google FDCPA.  Trying to reach a member of the family of the debtor is perfectly legal.  I'm sure you'd do the same thing if you loaned someone money and they didnt pay you back.

I think it's regarding a medical bill.  I dont owe anyone else.  It's quite common to find the land line of relatives when a collector is skip tracing (researching contact information).  Most collection agencies use a program called Lexis Nexis.  It has every address, phone number, friend or family that is directly tied to you.  They can also locate your utilities to pin down your current address.  It's pretty impressive how it finds people.

Why are you replying to 6 month old posts?  Why are you spouting misinformation?

...they're repeatedly calling the FAMILY of the alleged debtor.  They would be guilty of violations of not only the FDCPA but also the TCPA!

PS: why are you so concerned - are you the scammer calling these people?

how you keep responding to people, saying the call is legitimate.

Obviously you haven't read most of the complaints here.  There is rarely a "live person" on the line.  The caller just hangs up after a few seconds.  Since you have done collections, you know how hard it is to get your target to answer the phone.  It would be really stupid for a legit debt collector to drop 95% of its completed calls.  But if you are just calling people at random and trying to get them to pay silly made-up charges, who cares if you ever reach the "right" person?

And your advice on cell phones is misleading.  An automated call to your cell phone, from someone who you haven't given your phone number, is a sure sign of a scam.  You can tell them that they can't call again, but if they didn't get your consent BEFORE the call then they have already broken the law.