This question may sound dumb but I recently received a phone call from a debt collector stating that they wanted to set up a payment plan for my credit card. Funny thing is, they called from a cellular number. When I tried calling the number back I got a funny signal stating that the call could not go through. How could they have gotten my information? Could they have been masking their regular number to get someone to answer their call?
2007-05-16 05:52:40 · 3 answers · asked by Marray 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Other - Business & Finance
ok, any answer to why they hung up when I mentioned that the call came from a cell phone?
2007-05-16 06:05:02 · update #1
Su J- it showed up as "cellular call" on the caller id
2007-05-16 08:38:13 · update #2
Does sound strange to me, what makes you sure it was a cell phone though... often times bill collectors call from call centers and they often times collect on debt for several clients, which makes it against their own best interest to identify a company name other than the clien't name that they are collecting for. Also, it's not to trick you into answering the phone, Fair Debt Collection Practices laws require debt collectors to attmpt to protect your privacy, they can not sugest to any party other than you the purpose of their call is about a debt, or they break the law. If you ever question giving information for pyt over the phone to a collector, ask for a phone# you can call them back on. When you call there will generally be some sort of infobot or automated answering in place, or at least someone should answer the call with the company's identification. You may want to ask if you can make the payment online or through online banking. When in doubt dont give information out. Good luck.
2007-05-16 06:13:09 · answer #1 · answered by Su J 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A phone call is a phone call. If you owe the debit, the got the information from the company you owe just like every collector. Unlisted numbers have always been a part of debit collection. Yes; cell phones are legal for bill collectors
2007-05-16 12:57:07 · answer #2 · answered by wizjp 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they are allowed to call from a cell phone, and can probably block incoming calls. They'd have gotten your information because they work for a collection agency.
2007-05-16 12:58:05 · answer #3 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋