Unending Collection calls

I got a new telephone number and since getting this number, I have had at least 30 calls a week from collection agencies for the person who had the number before me.  I have told them numerous times this is a new number for me, but they keep calling.  I have my number on the do not call registry and filed complaints against them, not sure if this even does any good.  Besides changing my number, is there anything else I can do to get them to stop calling????

Having changed addresses and phone numbers several times in the past decade, I can tell you it could be a few months to shake off the debris the former phone number holder leaves behind. Usually my problem was nagging charities and sales reps, which each require different strategies and often can be silenced painlessly.

Debt collectors are a more persistent (and often lawbreaking) breed and must answer to their own rules. First item for homework is to get friendly with the FDCPA, the federal laws which regulate industry behavior. Learn your rights and response tactics at FTC-dot-gov. See also your state laws for additional support, particularly with original creditors, which the FDCPA does not cover.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm

You are finding that you don't need a valid debt or a derogatory trade line on your credit reports to be hassled by debt collectors. They call third parties to alleged debtors all the time for permitted skip tracing purposes, or at times pretending it's a trace to annoy and shame the intended target. Your number is a "last known position" of sorts, and it will forever be the faulty starting point for collectors chasing old debt accounts which have your number in the files. Misdirected calling is arguably the practice which draws the most complaints against the collection industry overall.

You are also realizing that debt buyers and collectors are notoriously deaf to verbal requests and denials. The usual problem is that collection reps are trained to disbelieve anything they are told which thwarts payment. You must understand that collections is a meat grinder business wherein a single rep might work accounts by the dozen every hour. Reps are paid to seize assets, not behave like librarians. The bad collectors don't need much for an excuse to call, and they don't much care whose name is on the settlement checks they want.

SO ... with that background in mind, return to the FDCPA for what to do when the debt henchmen call. If you're not their intended target, you must tell them in writing. It's called a "cease-comm" for short, and it is best sent USPS Certified with a return card. By law they must comply with your written notice or face your wrath in court. The verbal notice is supposed to stick, but it cannot be proven, therefore it's often ignored.

The FTC and many consumer forums can give you guidance in composition, but really the simpler the better. Something like, "It's not me you want, do not make contact, never call aaa-xxx-nnnn again" is adequate. I disagree with advice you may find to pile up angry threats and legalese you don't understand. That's the collectors' way, not yours. By the way, *do not* sign this notice. You don't want to later find you've "signed" some bogus contract you've never once seen.

You may if you like hire a lawyer at $300 an hour to send the same cease-comm you can for $5.54, but it won't work any differently. The FDCPA is designed to let people enforce such simple rights at the least cost. I would consider legal aid only if the offending agency is foolish enough to violate your demand. You may already be due some payback if you can prove foul language or other hostile tactics were used in an effort to collect. It's good practice to carefully document in print all calls, Caller ID, and the steps you have taken with each agency. Having a means of cleanly recording phone audio can help as well.

You will likely catch resistance when you ask for a business name and mailing address. The worst actors don't want your mail, they want to keep using the phone as a primary weapon. Also, they are often touchy about the privacy regs in the FDCPA, a sore spot for consumer lawsuits. As a "not me" case, you may be prodded into divulging sensitive personal data before they feel ready to talk. However, you need not answer anything, and they *must* give you at least a business name on request.

Please note the DNC registry exempts all non-sales calls; they are not included in the FTC definition of "telemarketing". The following URL links to the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site *twice* coaxed you to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt107.shtm

Your complaints are therefore better directed at the FTC and attorneys general, any relevant state consumer agencies, and the bar associations when dealing with debt lawyers. But understand that you must confront collection agencies directly if your goal is to halt or punish their mistreatment of your privacy and consumer rights.

Thank you so much for this information!

Resident47 did a great job of summarizing the FDCPA and your options.   If I could add one thing, make a point of recording calls, but make sure you are in a "one party state" which means it's legal to record telephone calls without the other parties consent.   Check here to see if your state allows one-party recording: http://rcfp.org/taping/

Also, if you tell them before they start their spiel you intend to record the conversation and (if in a two-party state) won't speak to them unless they consent,  they may just leave you alone.

if it is a cell phone they call to, just save them to your contacts (put a "Z" in front of their name to keep the nos. at the end of your list out of the way), then put "no ring" by them under your prefferences.  This way their call will never ring and disturb you.

Thanks for that Toby.

Vinny, no it's my house phone they keep calling.

I've recently looked up this problem for a friend. If you've told them time and time again that your number is new to you and they still call for someone else, you have the right to ...

1. Ask them for their name, company name, licence number ... all collection agencys must be licenced.
2. Tell them that they are on notice to cease and desist or you'll be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau.
3. Tell them that if they don't stop that you'll file a court order of phone harassment against them and their company ... hopefully it'll never come to that.

If you can, record all calls (make sure you tell them that this call will be recorded for evidence for possible court proceedings <-- get that statement on the recording too, not sure if Canada is a two-party recording or not. So saying that before they continue and letting them know, should cover your actions) and/or make a list of all the times that they have called, the more times they call, the worse it looks for them.

Don't get frustrated or swear, etc... just calmly tell them they're on notice to stop.

My best friend used to get these calls while still able to talk before cancer took her voice and life. She was a lawyer, she pulled up online a 2006 Pennsylvania Federal District Court case,  Watson v. NCO, or NCO v. Watson, which holds that once the debt calls hit a certain point, it becomes a TCPA violation, 47 USC section 227. Some of the calls stopped after she read them the riot act, i.e., Watson, and finished with, "do you feel lucky [under both the FDCPA and TCPA]?"

Heh ... If I wanted to summarize the FDCPA I'd be here two more pages, getting into the validation process for those whose names actually appear on debt claims. The RCFP site naturally leans toward journalists, but I send people there myself due to its clarity and thoroughness on the topic. There are more points to consider regarding the party consent "gotcha":

In August 2010 the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that single party consent is just peachy for recording the phone person-to-person, so long as your intent is not in some way criminal or malicious. (... like that of certain debt collectors ...) One ruling in a high New York court is not binding for all, but this case is said to set an important precedent, and would be a powerful tool to use before a "Mayberry judge" who needs help spelling "FDCPA".

I say roll those recorders quietly and with confidence. Let the collector decide how far to stray from FTC regs, and let a judge or arbitrator decide what's admissable. It's possible the audio media cannot be admitted, but it's perfectly okay to come in with a written memorialization *based* on the audio recordings, which would be hard to refute. Under the twisted logic of some courts, words you can move around on a page with any crummy text editor are somehow more reliable than an actual recording of the real event, made by a device you could not compromise without an advanced engineering degree. Oh well ....

Also, if the rep announces and you give consent that, "this call may be monitored", that is considered good enough for *both* sides to record, even if one side does not counter-announce. Sure, you could hedge your bets and announce recording, but this often causes a collections rep to either refuse to continue, or grudgingly switch to Very Best Behavior.

In "not me" cases like RedRose faces, her decision rides on her intended outcome, meaning how litigious she feels. I think recording is most critical when a debt claim can be pinned to the victim, though certainly lawbreaking can occur in skip tracing. I'm of a mind that I don't know what evidence I will need at the time it's created, so I maintain a 'practical paranoia'.

Some corrections:

1. "... all collection agencys must be licenced"
Some states require licensing, or bonding, or both. Other states let agencies run free with neither.

2a. Verbal cease-comms are meant to work but frequently don't, because it's your word against the agency's. Again, this is best done on paper and sent USPS CMRR. It doesn't hurt to include in the letter a reminder of when you tried to revoke consent verbally, just to lay down the damage for a potential suit.

2b. Threats to write complaints won't bother the worst of them, either. BBB is usually toothless, and you cannot count on your attorney general or the FTC to bring the hurt and solve your personal problem.

3. Again, there is no point in waving your fist and making threats. Harassment and annoyance is already part of the FDCPA language and probably your state collection laws. Autodialed or canned calls to mobile devices can score TCPA fines as well. If you think you can make a case, go on and sue without a friendly warning.

One strategy is to draft the civil complaint and send it to the offending agency's legal desk and/or its registered agent. You tuck in a cover letter saying they have xx days to make you happy or they will see a summons. This is the Intent To Sue package, which may prompt a settlement. The DebtorBoards forum has about the most comprehensive discussion of this practice.

The BBB is useful in some respects, but all a company need do it respond to a complaint  and say they tried to fix the problem. It doesn't matter if they're as arrogant and lawless as the first time, the BBB judges it "Closed".

Triple-B listing can work -- sometimes, if accurate -- as a barometer for trust granted to a given company. Some people need to learn that BBB is not a "bureau" of government, it holds no real power, and it's hardly immune to payola-like fraud. A few people report success in getting satisfaction through its complaint channel, but that would mostly rest on a nuisance value. When a company wants to haul away your savings and has no trouble violating your rights to get them, triple-B can't defend those rights for you, nor should it try.

Yet another number for Portfolio Recovery.  They buy up ancient beyond the legal date for debts and try to get you to acknowledge the debt even though it's beyond the statute of limitations.  Do not talk to them because doing so might set the SOL back to 0.  I am still getting calls from them 11 years after my date of work injury when I lost everything and it took years before I could get back on my feet and that was beyond the SOL.  Yet another one of the criminal Bush family crimes against the rest of us.  I just block their calls so when they try again - they don't even get the courtesy of using VM.

SOL is an interesting acronym-it can mean 'Statute of Limitations' or 's*** outta luck', which applies to telemarketers who call people who are aware of the rules!

I think the same thing when I see SOL.