Monday, November 09, 2009

Ending the Debt Calls to Last Owner of My Number

Ever since I moved to Albany and was assigned this number, I've gotten the calls. There were hordes of them at first. They were all debt collectors, or most were, trying to collect money owed by the person, Kate, who had this number before me. There have been all sorts of calls for this person, from people at a pharmecy trying to contact Kate about a prescription, and she had just given them "my number", they said, as hers, that day, to the school where apparently Kate's kids attend, trying to get ahold of her with a very outdated number.

But for the last few months, I've received robocalls from a collection agency. The message they leave, sometimes two to three times a day, begins with an obnoxious noise, apparently to be nasty and to get attention. The robovoice continues that by continueing to listen I am acknowledging I am (pause in robo message) "Kate ......".

After three such messages left on my machine in one day, I had had enough. I called them. They answered the phone by saying "Kate ....." like I was that person. How bad are they at their jobs? I've lived here with this number almost three years!

I told them that robocalls are now illegal and that I am on a national do not call list, so it was illegal for them to call on those grounds also, and number three: I AM NOT KATE .....!"

They hung up on me. My next call was to the attorney general's office. I filed an official complaint against that debt collection company for using illegal practises and harrassing innocent parties.

I hope the AG nails them. I've suffered this crap long enough.

The other problem I have is my tracfone. Apparently these stupid ass debt collectors, convinced my landline number is still Kate ....'s number, bought my personal information off tracfone, which included my landline number, and now spam my tracfone with debt collector asswipe calls, eating up tracfone minutes. Note to others: don't get a tracfone.

I filed another complaint against the tracfone debt collector, with the attorney general's office. This bad at what they do company: Alliance One. I'd like to sue them, to get back my lost minutes. And when these minutes I bought originally with my $10 tracfone and three months of service have been used up, it is going into the garbage can where it belongs. They are not my friends.

I sent an e-mail to tracfone to let them know I know they are violating their own stated privacy policy. The only way these debt collectors could get my tracfone number is if tracfone sold them my information, which included my landline number, which the developmentally disabled debt collectors still think belongs to Kate .....! I told them I didn't get a tracfone so I could be harrassed because they immediately violated their privacy policy so they could sell a hot off the press tracfone number associated with a red hot landline. What a landfall for tracfone. Are all these people stupid?

Probably just greedy. Really greedy. I bet these debt assers think if they harrass me enough I'll go find Kate ..... and hand her head over on a silver platter. Actually, I already did find her. After two months of never ending debtor calls, when I first got this number, I located her, easily, using the web. Why can't they do that? Isn't that like their job?

I couldn't care less who she owes money to. I have no stake in that at all. I do have a stake in being illegally harrassed and I will go after the assholes doing so any way I can.

Alliance One. Asset Acceptance. Your employees will soon start getting many many many calls at home if you don't stop harrassing me.

Also, my bathroom sink has leaked off and on forever, since I moved in actually. WE always assumed it was a pipe leakage issue and have changed pipe pieces, replaced the bottom of sink hardware, etc.

Finally I took the trap off and then tried to take off more pieces of the PVC pipe but they are glued and there is sludge, in layers, some thick, probably built up for years, in the horizontal second of the pipe, including, probably, after it makes a 90 degree turn, inside the next under sink cabinet, and into the wall. It's interesting in a way and disgusting in a way. The layers peel off, with all this slimy sludge, thick in spots, attached to these long hard pieces that peel off. It's way back in pipe beyond the trap.

I can't find anything to snake it with. I've had it disconnected now almost a week. Which means washing my hands and brushing my teeth in the kitchen.

And it means remembering the pipes are disconnected! The hardest part.

4 comments:

  1. I had the same experience when I got this number, but I called the phone company and insisted that they give me another number. They did, and that took care of the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you end up getting another number, start using Google Voice before you hand out the number to anyone. Let me know if you want an invite to Google Voice.

    http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. I thought about getting another number. But....I got rate jacked by my credit card company from 9% APR to %30, despite paying my bill on time always. When I protested, they said they rate jack by zip codes that are problematic in bankrupties, failure to pay on debt and foreclosure. I cancelled my credit card account and cut up the card. But I also figure if I change my phone number, there is a high liklihood it will be the former number of another debtor.

    ReplyDelete
  4. then keep changing it till you get a number that is yours alone...those companies are notorious going after debtors....often they will use Neighbors to reach a person who owers money. We got a call once from a collection agency asking us to get our next door neighbor on OUR PHONE BECAUSE they weren't able to reach them on their phone..can you believe that?

    ReplyDelete

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