Phone solicitors

[Scott R Nelson]

I know that theoretically, if you put your phone number on the Do Not Call list, you shouldn't get phone calls trying to sell you something, but political calls and calls from non-profit organizations are still okay, and way too many of them do call.

So a few minutes ago I got a really strange call asking for the people who used to own my house - more than a year ago. The caller wouldn't identify who they were, but I'm pretty sure it was political in nature. What bugs me is that it appears that they looked up the last known address of those people then looked up the current phone number for the address and called me. I figure that maybe the people don't want to be "found" by some of the organizations that they used to be involved with. Why else would I still get mail for them from the Democratic Party, Greenpeace, and a few others that I would never want anything to do with?

Have any of the rest of you received strange calls, that were either ignoring the Do Not Call list, or people that otherwise shouldn't have called you at home?

(The bogus text messages that occasionally show up on my cell phone are another thing that bugs me.)

[wuapinmon]

My daughter recently filled out a form online to win a free iPod, not understanding that it's a gimmick. Since then we've been getting 10-15 calls a day of people calling to give Marley help choosing a college.

Some of them have thought it was funny when I tell them that she's 10. The obvious yankees (by their accents ye shall know them) have usually just hung up the phone without another word.

[stan23]

I know where you're coming from. I used to get calls like that, too It was from some collections agency and they're looking for someone who, I think, previously owned my phone number. And these callers are unbelievable! They called me a liar when I told them that there was no Janet in my house. They harassed me, threatened to come to my house to get Janet and have me arrested for lying. Can you believe that?

[stan23]

And I know it's not only us. There's been a lot of complaints against collectors already. From http://www.callercenter.com alone, you'd see a total of thousands already.

Can the government do something about them? They don't seem to respect the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I suggest a heavier penalty than what was imposed now. Maybe closure of their business and a million-dollar fine. Let's see if they'd try to harass anybody again.

[Scott R Nelson]

I know where you're coming from.

Are you the same Stan23 from Cupertino who rides a BMW R1200GS?

[Parrot Head]

I'm not sure if it's across all industries or something unique to my company's circumstances or if there are other factors that play in, but we can get fined $4,000 per "nuisance" call so we have to keep our noses clean.

[stan23]

Are you the same Stan23 from Cupertino who rides a BMW R1200GS?

No. I ride a Yamaha.

[Moliere]

I know where you're coming from. I used to get calls like that, too It was from some collections agency and they're looking for someone who, I think, previously owned my phone number. And these callers are unbelievable! They called me a liar when I told them that there was no Janet in my house. They harassed me, threatened to come to my house to get Janet and have me arrested for lying. Can you believe that?

We had this problem when we moved to Houston. Constant phone calls for some guy named Justin. They only stopped 4 years later when we disconnected the phone and went straight cell phone only. That guy must have owed a lot of money for them to keep trying for that long.

[FMCoug]

And I know it's not only us. There's been a lot of complaints against collectors already. From http://www.callercenter.com alone, you'd see a total of thousands already.

Can the government do something about them? They don't seem to respect the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I suggest a heavier penalty than what was imposed now. Maybe closure of their business and a million-dollar fine. Let's see if they'd try to harass anybody again.

I'm not sure if it's across all industries or something unique to my company's circumstances or if there are other factors that play in, but we can get fined $4,000 per "nuisance" call so we have to keep our noses clean.

The FDCPA specifies $1000 per violation. A paltry sum really. Based on recent experiences, the penalty should be higher. Or tiered based on what the violation is.