Monday, August 28, 2006

Collect This!

A couple of years ago I purchased a cell-phone through Sprint, and not only did I get a lousy signal, but I got something else that was lousy.

Something that doesn't even Apply to me!

I can't even remember when it first started. The first call I got, I told them, "I'm sorry, but you have the wrong number". I thought it was done and over with, boy was I wrong. The next day they call again, and...

You have the wrong number!

So then I decide that if I don't answer the phone, then it will go away. Sure enough it did, for about three months or so. Then they returned again, with a new number.

I didn't even bother answering this time. Then they stop calling for a short period again, and when they returned, they had a new phone number. I think I have three phone numbers listed in my phone under "Unknown" because of someone named N. Lopez. With my old phone, at least I had a "no ringer" setting for phone calls if I wanted to ignore them. My new phone doesn't have this feature, so I have to use a beep to alert me when they are calling, instead of hearing nothing at all.

I bet you this would annoy anyone that had the same issue!
I bet you that just by reading this you feel annoyed for me!
I bet some of you already know what I am referring too!

I'm talking about these damn bill collectors!

You'd think they would get it through there thick skulls that when someone says you have the wrong number, "YOU HAVE THE WRONG FREAKING NUMBER"!

But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

You'd think that when someone deliberately doesn't answer the phone, these annoying anal cavities would get the point.

But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

At one point they called my phone 5 times in one day. I just wanted to used every four letter word I knew in the dictionary, but I decided to ignore them. I figured that it would just go away.

It did, for about three more months!

They recently started back again, and it is annoying the hell out of me!

I'm curious! After a certain amount of time, a debt collector get there lawyers involved to get the money through legal channels. I know someone who had there bank account emptied because of it. So why haven't they collected this money from this N. Lopez?

It must be either because they have fallen off the face of the freaking Earth.
Maybe its because that person is dead!
Then again maybe N. Lopez could be flat broke and on public assistance, rendering these calls unnecessary and useless I might add.

And get this, recently they started using the words, "If you aren't N. Lopez then disregard the call". Well what the hell do you think I have been doing for the last few years. Who ever this N. Lopez is, will you pay your freaking bill for Pete's sake!

BC (Bill collector): Good Morning I May I speak to N. Lopez.

Me (Charles) I'm sorry, you have the wrong number!

BC: Okay Thank you!

That should be the conclusion, but it's a bit more like this!

BC: This call is for N. Lopez.

BC: Must not be there, I'll call back.

BC: This call is for N. Lopez

BL: Must not want to talk, I'll try back.

BC: This call is for N. Lopez

My Voicemail: Please Leave a message!

BC: Why do I keep getting voicemail?

BC: I'll call back later!

BC: This call is for N. Lopez. (Charles is thinking to himself...Get a Clue!)

BC: I'm so lonely, I think I will call back tomorrow, and see if he is willing to talk!

BC: This call is for N. Lopez.

BC: He must hate me. Am I too fat? (Charles is thinking, go and do some investigating, instead of wasting my time and cell-phone minutes on this futile endeavor)

I think some of the processes of the world are so boneheaded and backwards. It's like there stuck and neutral.

You don't even want to get me started with what I think about government bureaucracy and my opinion of how our system of things are set up. I would make a lot of people pissed at me, the same way I feel about these ignorant debt collectors.

10 comments:

DesLily said...

I will add this to my list of "why I won't buy a cell phone!".. I wouldn't even know where to begin to make it stop, with the exception of tossing the phone in the deep deep ocean!

Anonymous said...

I think if you answer the phone call and tell them not to call again, (insist to be placed on their "do not call" list) they have to stop in compliance of federal law - it wouldn't hurt if you told them you were recording the call.

SeniorGato said...

Because they have no contract with you and assuming your on the national do not call registry, they are violating it. Report them online. Make a note of everything.

Kelly said...

ah, you still crack me up! next time answer the phone ask for the supervisor and give them a piece of your mind!

Emily Suess said...

You're right. I totally feel annoyed for you. Everyone's giving you good advice--don't let them get away with anything.

Bedazzzled1 said...

Have I ever told you my name is N. Lopez?

::grin::

Anonymous said...

Oh My...I have to deal with both of those. Many "Someones" keep calling me looking for Monica. I have even put in my voicemail..."This is no longer Monica's phone number"
My home phone is constantly ringing with Bill Collectors. I have had my current phone number for about 4 years and they are still calling! I just unhook the line to my answering machine if I am home...

X. Dell said...

You have to tell them sepecifically that you don't wish to hear from them. You can also request the company give you an address so that you can explain that you got a new cell which was apparently programed with Lopez's old number. They can't harrass you. In fact, they're not allowed to hound N. Lopez, either.

If you don't get any satisfaction from that, you try contacting the state Attorney General's office.

Galen Brannagh said...

Please accept my input from a legal standpoint. Lots of people think that by registering on the National Do Not Call Registry that a problem such as yours can be alleviated. It does not apply in this case because the Registry only involves telemarketing calls - not debt collection calls.

Don't kust ignore the calls. The collectors will believe that the debtor still has the phone number and is just dodging their calls.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Write down the name of the company and the person who is calling you, along with the date and time of the call. KEEP THIS LIST!
2. Tell him that your number no longer belongs to N. Lopez (or whomever)
3. Tell him not to call you anymore and to note this as a formal request to CEASE and DESIST

If you follow all of the steps above and the same company continues to call you, then it is a violation of the FDCPA - the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and you can take legal action. At the very least you can try to recover the cost of the cell phone minutes that THEY are eating up. Your list will be a key piece of evidence.

Good luck!

Angela's Designs said...

I'm a debt collector and believe me, getting wrong numbers is just as annoying on our end.

Last week was screaming at me, "@#$%#$% I am so tired of you people."

Me: "You don't need to cuss at me, I don't want to waste my time either. And I don't blame you. We've been calling you for a year and a half. I can see that would be annoying."

"I know, and I'm sick of it."

"You could have called up a year and a half ago and saved us all the hassle."