How to handle nuisance collection calls. [View All]

[JDPriestly]

For weeks now, we have been receiving nuisance calls from a collection agency.

When we first received them, we thought they were a fishing scam and ignored the calls. After a number of calls, we read the name of the caller on our caller ID. My husband (the hero of this story) googled it only to learn that the caller was a collection agency. We racked our brains to try to think of some debt that we might have owed and forgotten to pay at some point in our lives, but we just could not think of anything. You have no idea how much anxiety -- even sleeplessness -- these calls caused.

Today, after weeks of repeated calls to which we have not responded, my husband finally decided to find out what in the world these people wanted and called them.

Here is the important part: HE PUT A TAPE RECORDER BESIDE THE PHONE BEFORE HE CALLED AND THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT -- HE ADVISED THE PERSON ON THE OTHER END THAT HE WAS TAPING THE CALL. As we expected, the company had to admit that they were not looking for us at all.

So, if you receive nuisance calls of this type from debt collectors: TAPE THE CALLS AND BE SURE YOU ADVISE THE PERSON AT THE OTHER END THAT YOU ARE TAPING THE CALL. ADVISE THEM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CALL BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING MORE. It is illegal in many states to record a telephone call without informing the person with whom you are speaking that you are recording the call.

These companies will call and hassle anyone with a name that even remotely resembles the name of someone who (they claim) owes money. This has happened to us a couple of times. If you have elderly relatives, discuss this matter with them. Older people can feel terrorized by this sort of scam and may be ashamed or afraid or too proud to discuss it with family members and friends.