How can we stop harrassing phone calls?

Question

We have been getting calls for someone we do not know...apparently she had the phone number before we did. We have told the compnay repeatedly that the person they are asking for does not live here and explain that we have only had the phone number for a couple of months. We have also asked them, repeatedly, to stop calling. As they call from several telephone numbers and ones that are unavailable we cannot block all of their calls...too many different numbers. They refuse to give us the name of the company they are calling for bur want our personal information so they can update their files. As it is not our bill they are calling about there is nothing to update. We have spoken to the phone company and they have indicated that blocking the calls will probably not work. We just changed out phone number a couple of months ago (annoying calls) and do not want to do it again. We have told the callers that we will contact the police. How can we get the calls to stop?

Answer 1

Call the police. They might be able to set a trap for the nuisance caller.

Peace and blessings!

Answer 2

Call your local phone company and ask them for a new number. They will usually do this as a courtesy the first time you ask.
Be sure to keep a list of all the calls and the number they are calling from. You will need caller ID for this.
As a last resort let them know your name and tell them to look up the new number to confirm to them that it is yours. This is what I did when I had the same problem and it worked.
Okay I found the site that can best help. I contacted them too .
Contact this site for the Federal Trade Commission .They can best help you. It would be best if you can find the phone number for them as their site homepage does not seem to open at the moment.
http://usasearch.gov/search?v%3aproject=...


The police are not much help with this but it should be criminal the way they are doing business. They do not state the name of their company due to it being illegal to keep calling and harassing you.
Had the same problem as you and I still get calls but fewer now.

PS: Also try the DO NOT CAll list for your area. Could be that they have advice and they can at least add you so you do not get a bunch of calls from businesses that may call.

By the way I have tried what one of the people said in tracing the number and it was not listed anywhere.
Back again! Try this site as it has info too
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs3-hrs2...
If for some reason this does not work then call the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and find out what more can be done.

Answer 3

What if you follow through on that threat and contact the police?

Another approach might be to demand to talk to a supervisor the next time your get a call from these people. Working for a collection agency making outbound calls is not exactly a dream job, so they probably have a lot of turnover as well as scraping the bottom of the barrel for employees. Therefore, whoever is making these calls may not be super motivated and on the ball about their job. However, a supervisor has probably stuck around long enough to get a promotion and is possibly trying to impress someone enough to get another promotion, and therefore, may actually understand that repeatedly calling the wrong person is a complete waste of time and money, and care enough to do something about it, like taking your number off their call list.

Another possibility would be to call the company that the bill is from and explain the situation, and ask them to please contact the collection agency and tell them to stop calling you. You never know - they might do it. When I had problems with a collection agency calling me about an item I'd been billed for in error, they wouldn't stop bothering me no matter what I said until the company I originally had the dispute with called the collection agency and told them to quit bugging me.

Answer 4

The refusal to provide the company name is actually a violation of debtor/creditor law and the company, if they are reputable, know that. i would recommend asking for a supervisor and lodging your complaint way or acknowledging that you are the person they seek and then asking for additional information then. this is the way forward if you want to vindicate yourself of the weeks of abuse, because you can sue...and receive damages that will more than make up for the stuff they have given you.

If you have a traditional land line, you can dial something like *97 after you receive a harassing call....even if it is an unavailable number...and the phone company will be able to trace from where the call is coming. look in your phone book under harassing calls to be sure of the dialing number you need to do.

Finally, you can file a complaint of harrassment with the local police, who can advise you of how to move forward. if the call is interstate or international, there is nothing local police can do, but they can detect the name of the person/company harrassing you.

Answer 5

One of the best things to do with this is call back the number they call from if you have caller ID. Many times it will lead you to an automated voice mail system where you;'re prompted to hit a said button for a said response. They often tend to give away the name... search the company name on line and you can find a corporate number to call. Call this number and often they'll remove you. If not think of using a unlisted number or a number cycler where it tosses certain calls out many machines have an option to automatically block calls from unlisten/unknown numbers. The only real issue with this is programming friends and family who may have unlisted or unnamed numbers.

Answer 6

Start writing down the numbers they call from and actually follow thru with your threat. Tell the police that the phone company was of no help and ask what they recommend. You may need to change # if they can't help and calls persist.

Answer 7

Stop threatening, actually call the police. I was able to do so, for harassment and threats and an officer was dispatched to my house, and the phone company was able to help. Obviously don't call 911, but the police department. Good luck.

Answer 8

Call the phone company. there is a call trace feature that is available. You hit the number after the call and it traces and tracks it. Then, there are steps to follow with the phone company and they will guide you through this with legal (included in phone service).
First step is to contac t your phone company and find out how to trace annoying/harassing calls and what they are going to do about it.

Answer 9

depends on if you actually owe it or just feel like you don't owe it. Talk to someone higher up in management from the collection company and tell them the matter is in dispute between you and the actuall collection company and that if they don't stop harrasing you about collection you will have an attorney contact them. Provide them with a copy of any leters you may have showing that you are actually disputing the claim as well.

Answer 10

soon as i get one i hang up. If there are too many call the police with a log of the times and summary of what is said