OT how do I fight back?

I think I'd go for the whistle, myself. Had something similar years ago with window sales people. I'd get up to 6-10 calls in ONE DAY! from them. Just about all of that was resolved with the 'do not call' list. Of course, politicians are exempt from that. One other thing to consider...check your credit report as odd as that sounds. We have a 2nd phone line that is used primarily for faxing - it is not our listed phone #. Creditors (to whom we did not owe money) would call on that line asking for me. Come to find out it was another person w/ same name but different social security number. Not sure if it was my ex SIL or not (who had the same first/last name and didn't pay her bills that they were looking for.

Kim in NJ

Have you registered with Do Not Call?

Our calls dropped to almost zero.

Good luck!

Lenore

Yes. Thanks, Lenore. We are registered. We would simply not answer but have kith and kin just all over the world who might be calling from a number we don't recognize. Polly

"Lenore L" Have you registered with Do Not Call?

How about telling the caller to wait while you get Polly Aster & then put the phone down for about 10 minutes & then hang up? By then, I would hope they have already hung up & if they have to sit & wait more than a few times, maybe they'll leave you alone. Or what about just saying, yes, this is Polly Aster, what can I do for you?

Mmmmmm. We have no doubt that they are looking for someone who doesn't pay her bills . . . but she's not here. The calls must be from a barbarian collection agency. Being reasonable doesn't thwart them. What would? Polly

"AuntK" I think I'd go for the whistle, myself. Had something similar years ago with window sales people. I'd get up to 6-10 calls in ONE DAY! from them. Just about all of that was resolved with the 'do not call' list. Of course, politicians are exempt from that. One other thing to consider...check your credit report as odd as that sounds. We have a 2nd phone line that is used primarily for faxing - it is not our listed phone #. Creditors (to whom we did not owe money) would call on that line asking for me. Come to find out it was another person w/ same name but different social security number. Not sure if it was my ex SIL or not (who had the same first/last name and didn't pay her bills that they were looking for.

I have had that happen, and it's absolutely infuriating! I was home studying for the BAR EXAM and some idiot published my number by mistake for people to call to register for a tennis tournament. It was extremely frustrating for the callers since there was no way I could refer them elsewhere, and a ghastly situation for me, which went on for days and days. The phone company was no help at all, and I called my family and told them I was going to take the phone off the hook, which is what I did. Now when that happens it's usually a misdial from some business thinking I'm a fax machine, and with the automatic redial features the calls repeat every 3 minutes or so. However, I have caller ID, and don't pick up the phone unless it's a number I know. Any legit call from an unknown number? -- I let the answering machine pick up, and I can decide later whether I want to return the call. In reference to the hateful guy who has threatened to continue calling, I would take that up with the phone company and the police -- it's harassment! Write down the number he calls from and give that to the phone company and the police, and they should call him and get him stopped. If they don't, you can try to track the guy down and get him into small claims court -- not expensive to begin with, and when you win he has to pay all your costs. Have you checked the phone book for a person named Polly Aster? I would be calling all of the Asters listed, and if there is a Polly at the number, tell Polly to give out the correct number because Polly is missing all sorts of calls. In the meantime, as to the callers other than the jerky guy, use caller ID and don't answer. If you don't have caller ID, get it! It's not expensive, worth its weight in gold, and very helpful not only for this sort of situation but also for those times you know the caller but simply don't have the time or inclination to talk right then. I have a cordless phone with the caller ID screen right on the back, and I often keep that phone with me so I'm not jumping up and down to look at the phone and decide whether to answer or let the machine pick up -- very convenient while I'm sewing!

I know it's hard not to answer the dratted phone, because it just might be important, but that's what caller ID and voice mail are for. All my friends and relations know to send me emails, because I don't pick up unless I'm sort of expecting a call from someone I want to talk to. Or unless I happen to be really close to the phone and not doing anything important like staring out the window.

I wonder how hard it would be to get a business-type number -whatever the prefix is in the US -not the free 800 numbers but one that costs the caller money. Then get a Skype setup for talking to your loved ones.

Until then, next time the jerk ph>hoooooo Boy! is this OT but I need your help.

I once just shouted 'BANG' very loudly when I had an unpleasant phone call. Cheaper than buying a whistle and very effective!

Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk

Polly Esther wrote:

I looked up the numbers on Google and they are apparently from a collection agency out of MN. The descriptions of the rudeness when told they have the wrong number sound exactly like what you describe.

One person filed comlaints with their AG office and . You can also file a complaint with the Do Not Call Registry. I doubt the whistle would stop the calls but it would certainly give me some satisfaction to think they're hunkered down in MN drawing straws to see who gets to call you next. :o)

A collection agency?!? In a few regards you might just be in luck! In almost all states it is illegal to harass a person by telephone to collect a bill if the person harassed is NOT the debtor! Thus, your Attorney General should be willing to take action. If not, you could take action in small claims court against the collection agency, and will very probably win, not only a court order against them calling you but also damages! Or, if you have a friendly attorney in your family or close friends who would write a letter to the agency at no charge to you about mistaken identity and harassment and court action, that might stop it cold in its tracks. Collection agencies always try to bully a debtor into paying rather than go to the expense of court action, especially if it's one they know they might lose.

My sister provides a cell phone for me, and I get very persistent calls from sales people, debt collectors, and stockbrokers who got the number from who-knows-where. So I know what you mean. Luckily, my cell phone is off most of the time so I merely miss the calls.

I like the whistle idea. Or can you get Yogi to give the caller an earful? Or merely set the phone on the table and walk away. They do get tired after a while.

If you can call the number back, you may get results. Or simply get another salesperson. Wish I had some constructive advice.

Jeri, I like the way you think! Thanks for the laugh. I believe that would give me a great deal of satisfaction, too.

I once had a phone number one digit off from some 'party-hardy' type college girls' apartment. I got many-times-a-day phone calls all hours of the day and night- this was before caller id was available. I patiently explained this was the wrong number and asked the callers to please dial more carefully. It didn't help- they usually laughed at me or said something rude and hung-up on their end. Finally, one call woke me in the wee hours. When they asked for "Judy", I acted like I was crying and said she was killed in a car wreck a few hours ago- the caller thinking they had "Judy's" correct phone number and I was "Judy's" roommate. The caller freaked out. (Sometimes I embellished and said she's been out drinking and got killed in a car wreck on the way home from the bar!) I only had to do this a few more times and the calls mysteriously slowed to a trickle and then stopped- maybe the party girls moved or dropped out of college??? Maybe the shock of hearing their friend died was enough to teach the dummies how to dial correctly? Not a very nice solution, but it worked.

Now I get bill collectors calling for "April". After many years of this, I say "If you are calling for 'April Sxxxxx', I do not know 'April', I have had this number for more than four years, I do not owe you any money, my name is Leslie XXXXXX and you can verify my name as owning this phone number." The caller usually laughs, thanks me and says they will remove me from their list. The "April" calls have slowed to about once a month or less. This prolly wouldn't work for your persistent callers, tho. They must get paid for the number of calls they place and not for the amount they collect???

Good luck, Polly. I truly know how frustrating this is for you and Mr. Esther.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Here in the UK they could be prosecuted for nuissance calling or harassment. I'd tell the police: initially they could do nothing, but you would get an 'incident number'. When they call again, just tell them to hang on a moment as you need to write down the date, time and duration of the call, which number it is from, and the name of the caller in your call log so that you can pass the information on to the police *when you send them the call log as evedence for procecution*. Tell them that with this, the police WILL be able to trace the calls and verify them... And ask them to repeat things several times so you get the information down correctly...

I bet the calls stop forthwith, if not fifthwith! And if it doesn't work, you'll have the evidence ready to get some nice legal teefs in their rear ends.

You can then tell the party you are registered for the do not call. If they call again, report them.

I've run both numbers through reverse lookups and google and they both come back to a medical cost management company that makes sure that the right insurance company is paying medical bills. As far as I can make out they go after one insurance company on behalf of another. I'm not the goddess of financial tangles though. Any road they have nothing to do with you. My but they do seem to make phone calls like you are talking about a lot. They have a fair few people talking about them on the complaints boards. They call a lot of people in error, and extremely rude is a phrase that pops up, in one form or another, a lot.

Next time they call, ask them who they are, and who they represent. Then get on to the Michigan State Attorney General's office and tell them that that company is harrassing you by mistake. You might also want to get on to whoever they are representing and tell them that you are being annoyed on their behalf for no good reason. If they refuse to tell you who they are collecting for, that is a violation of federal law that needs to be reported to the FTC.

NightMist

How about getting an answering machine, Polly.

As part of the message you could state that "Polly Aster" does not live here.

Let your friends and family know that you are doing this and that you will be screening your calls for a while, so tell them identify themselves when the message beep comes on, and then you can only pick up on the ones you want to take.

-Irene

Just thought of something else.

Get the caller's name, place of business, and contact information. Then write to them, and copy your lawyer.

-IRene