Monday, November 3, 2008

Bill collectors...


I just read a story about the increase of bill collectors looking for people who owe money... and Pat and I have experienced some of this ourselves in the last few months.
We've gotten six calls from bill collectors looking for one of my family members... and they never call at 5 p.m. Most of the calls have come before 9:30 a.m.... during the time Pat is trying to get his sleep.
It's frustrating to say the least... especially when you have to explain the person they're looking for doesn't live in the same state and you have little contact with her. Both Pat and I have had to explain this to companies... and then pass the company's information on to the person they're searching for.
The callers never say who they are or what they're calling about, but when you look up the telephone numbers they come back to bill collectors.
The story says bill collectors have to call between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and they can't harass a person... but the story says nothing about harassing family members and neighbors. I found information online that explains debt collectors are now contacting family members and neighbors if they can't get in touch with the debtor themselves.
The story does say that people can only expect this problem to get worse as the economy continues in a downward spiral.
I'm just bracing myself for more early morning phone calls.

4 comments:

Megan said...

Those sound like some calls y'all need to just let the voicemail pickup :)

Sharon's New Life said...

I wish it was that simple... if you don't answer the phone they will continue calling until you do.
We realized this after the second call from the same company.
Sharon:)

Anonymous said...

How about getting an unlisted phone #?

Sharon's New Life said...

We're on the no-call list, but haven't thought about getting an unlisted number.
Unfortunately I'm not sure anything will deter these folks except talking to the person they're looking for.
Sharon:)