Monday, November 05, 2007

A Letter to You, Sandra B.

Dear Sandra,

Shortly after we moved to our current house, we started to get telephone calls for you. Because we get quite a few wrong numbers here, we thought nothing of it.

Then we started to get several calls a day. And when they left messages, it was evident that these callers were trying to collect debts from you. Some of the calls were automated or pre-recorded, while others were from actual human beings.

I think you gave out our number, fraudulently, to your creditors, to avoid being contacted.

Now, I've done something like this myself. Years ago, I would change one digit of my phone number when required to give it. However, my intention was not to avoid paying my bills. I simply did not want to be harassed by sales calls. This was before our wonderful Do Not Call legislation.

So, in a sense I can sympathize with you. However, I dislike having the phone ring so much. It disturbs my peace. And collectors do tend to call at unusual hours, like meal times. Or when I'm trying to pee, or cook dinner.

Luckily, when I've been able to speak with an actual human at these collection agencies, they have been courteous and it's been no trouble to explain:

1) Yes, they reached the phone number they were trying to reach.
2) No, Sandra B. does not live here.
3) Sandra B. probably never lived here because the woman who lived here before us had been here for many years, and her name is not Sandra B.
4) No, the address they have on file for Sandra B. is not this address. It seems to be an apartment about a mile away, in the same telephone prefix and area code.

After the first round of calls and my attempts to explain the above points each time, these collection calls ceased. Recently I've had to field a few more, which tells me that either they simply are trying again, they sold your debt accounts to new collection agencies, or you've racked up new debt that you do not intend to pay.

Could you figure out some other way to handle your finances?

Sincerely,
Anthromama

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sandra B - You do realize your little game with the phone number is not only annoying, but one day very soon it will catch up with you.

Collection companies have access to all kinds of public records, so please don't be surprised to find a collector knocking on your door.

What you are doing is a federal crime. You signed a contract and are not abiding by it. That collector knocking on your door? There will be a cop standing right behind.

thegoodwitch said...

Sandra B. sounds like some girls I went to university with! I hate the phone...now I just turn it off on school days.

Anonymous said...

I had someone do the same with a train ticket - and I started getting some very nasty letters. There've also been fishing calls (texts!) from a credit agency with a very nasty reputation.