Harassing calls from a debt collector? Here is what you need to know

You DO know the person - you just have not been related or spoken to that person in over a decade. Tell that to Allied Interstate - not the inadvertent partial lie that you don't know him.
If he gives your phone number to others, you may need to get an injunction or restraining order (whichever is appropriate) making it illegal for him to give out your number.

If you were sued for some debt of his, it should be easy to handle without even going into court. A copy of the divorce decree, a demand to see a loan document with your signature on it - and a sworn statement that you have not communicated with him for over a decade should be sufficient to get you dropped from the lawsuit.

Of course, if you did get sued for some bill of his, the first thing to do would be to get a free consultation with a lawyer. He/she would advise you on how to legally proceed. It should be rather inexpensive to resolve, and you might even be able to get the judge (when he dismisses the case) to require refund of your lawyer fees.

Calls every weekday...Have advised them they have the wrong number and that the person they seek does not reside here...they do not have my name or address...they use at least 4 different numbers...Have an app which intercepts the call and plays pre-recorded BOT messages and records the response, if any...my phone logs the call but it blocks the call so it does not ring through...silence is wonderful...my app does not sleep or takes vacations and i never talk to them...

Please block this thread

No it is not legal doesn’t matter the time zone they are in it’s your time zone time zone that cannot  thir I. Violation and can be sanctioned for doing

I have been getting calls from a collection agent for years, I never answer the phone, but sometimes they leave a message saying who they are and give me a phone number to call them back, I won't do it.  I have never received any letter saying I owe anyone, they use all kinds of phone numbers to call me from, and they have never said what the debt is for.  If they really want my money they have to send me a letter, I can play their game and never answer the calls. After 7 years they can't contact me anymore, so I may be having to put up with them for that long, but I will.

just want my money.

DP, You said, "If you want to be called between 4pm and 7 pm, tell them in writing." Give the time AND the time zone, e.g. 123-45-6789 PST (Pacific Standard Time).

DP, You said, "If you want to be called between 4pm and 7 pm, tell them in writing." Give the time AND the time zone, e.g. 4pm-7pm PST (Pacific Standard Time).

Check your state's recording laws. Texas is a 1 party must know state meaning if i know i am recording i don't have to tell the other person. I have used in court and in my investigations. So you may eant to revord first if your state allows 1 party and at end tell them.

Block their phone number

give them the name to the cemetery too...if thats where they can find him lol!

They keep calling everyday but won't tell you who you owe the money to or how much you owe and you ask them to send you a letter which they haven't .  They call every day from 2 different numbers. I don't owe anyone money and when they call it is robot call and they don't leave a message.

look on the consumer financial protection bureau website, they have a form letter you can print out and send them certified mail stating that you dispute the debt and that will show on your credit report as well.  howie I hope you would know who to send this letter to.

Howie either won't tell us or doesn't know who "they" are. He should be commenting in the threads for those "two different numbers" if the latter problem is true.

If all else can be taken as true, look what he's up against. The unnamed agency won't send letters, won't answer questions, and abandons those calls which don't reach a human. Secretive behavior patterns point usually to cowardly thugs with no valid claim. Dispute letters are wasted on goons like that. Better they should receive a notice to "go play in highway traffic" or "get stuffed in a rain barrel", if a working address is ever found.

My support for Cert Mailed notices is well documented on this website. It's also known my support for letter templates is very weak. Sadly the CFPB versions don't improve much on the genre. Looks like they were all spewed out in a single afternoon eight years ago. Their grammar is awful and they have the "voice" of a grade school child. The dispute letter you thought of functions like a rambling set of interrogatories which might work for a court case but are overkill for the very low debt validation standard set by the FDCPA. Upon the letter's release, opponents of the CFPB said the same thing. It's the sole time I'd ever agreed with them on anything.

How to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and scammers - CFPB blog, Oct 2018
What should I do when a debt collector contacts me? - CFPB, contains links to their collector response letters

What was not mentioned is the fact if you chose not to engage with the collector and the statue of limitations expires they can no longer invoke a judgement - the time frame varies per state. At that point you continue towards the 7 years of the default when the debt expires and all are required to be legally removed from all 3 credit bureaus. Bit of a risk but it's reality also. It's important never to engage with the collector or the clock restarts the 7 year process. Concisely know the default date of the original account as the default date starts the clock for the 7 year removal of the negative debt.