Any way to get bill collectors to stop calling the wrong number?

[shmokes]

I get at least five calls every single day at my office for Forest.  Every single time I tell the person that they have called a business that I have worked at for more than seven years and a Forest has never lived or worked here, and that their calls are really irritating and to please stop calling, but they keep calling.  Is there anyway to put a stop to this.  The number is already on the do not call registry, but thats just for sales calls.  Any suggestions?

[crashwg]

I'm wondering the same thing.  A while back when my brother in law didn't have a phone he'd use mine on contracts and such.  They still call me and they don't seem to hear me when I say "there is no chris here!"

[ChadTower]

Report it to your company and let them handle it. 

[shmokes]

Heh . . . if I reported it to my company I'd be reporting it to myself.  If it has electricity running into it, be it a computer, telephone, calculator, fax machine, etc., I'm the go to guy.  We're not real big - probably only about 80-90 employees. 

[Stingray]

I used to work for this giant monster corporate collection agency*. If you used the magic words "cease and desist", you would never hear from them again. I have no idea how widespread this policy is, but it sure did the trick for that place.

-S

_{*No I didn't work in the collections dept.}

[boykster]

unrelated to getting asshats to stop calling you, I also worked in a collection agency (when I was in HS)....what a dismal place to work.  I didn't work collections either, but I was the target of their rage at the front desk who had to take their money if they came in to make a payment.

 

[ChadTower]

Heh . . . if I reported it to my company I'd be reporting it to myself.  If it has electricity running into it, be it a computer, telephone, calculator, fax machine, etc., I'm the go to guy.  We're not real big - probably only about 80-90 employees. 

Yeah but your company has an attorney.  One phone call from an attorney stops the issue permanently.

[Stingray]

unrelated to getting asshats to stop calling you, I also worked in a collection agency (when I was in HS)....what a dismal place to work.  I didn't work collections either, but I was the target of their rage at the front desk who had to take their money if they came in to make a payment.

The one I worked for was a pretty good sized company. Something like 12,000 employees. They had a private school for employees kids. That's where I worked. We were a massive tax write off and had stupid amounts of money thrown at us. That was the funnest job I've ever had.

-S

[TOK]

I love getting calls like that. Whenever I get a wrong number, I pretend its right and tell them some crazy stuff. In this case, I'd nicely tell them I was Forest, get the reps name, then say I was coming down there to chop off their hands and flush them down the toilet while they watched.

Some woman called me looking for Joe. I told her Joe was here, but couldn't come to the phone because he was in the other room with Heather (a great slutty chick sounding name, IMO). I bet Joe had a ---smurfy--- night when he got home. 

Yes, I'm a horrible person. 

[Bones]

Reply, "Yes, this is Forest" and then just go with the flow.

[AtomSmasher]

Reply, "Yes, this is Forest" and then just go with the flow.

Except you should do it with a Forest Gump accent, it would make it a lot funnier.

[NightGod]

I had that happening on my cell phone of all things about three weeks ago. Three days of "you have the wrong number, call again and I'll be taking this up with my attorney-note this in the file and never call my phone again" in a 'gritting my teeth because I'd be screaming at you otherwise' voice got them to stop.

If I had a personal lawyer, they woulda been in trouble, I tells ya.

[lokki]

how to deal with Telemarketers....May work for collection agencies...
 

http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com/

[shmokes]

That's pretty funny even if the whole thing is staged.  If it's real it's ---smurfing--- hilarious.

[fredster]

Who are "they"?  After all these calls, do you know who this "Forrest" is?  Is it a bill collector?
Do the calls originate from the same place?

If it were me, I'd first complain to the phone company. Maybe they could put a block in for you if it's comming from the same place?  If not, they can't help much.

You can put them on hold or send them to the companiy's voice jail if it exists.

I like all of the "cease and decist" stuff too. Good idea. 

Methinks that Forrest is using your phone number on some applications for credit?

[shmokes]

It's lots of different places.  It's pretty obviously bill collectors, though.

[ChadTower]

So start telling them you are Forrest and that you will never pay.  Tell them to start up collection via the courts.

[shmokes]

Yeah . . . I'm really partial to the idea of doing a Forrest Gump impression.  I should know better than to complain.  Back when I had a land line at home I used to love getting telemarketer calls because after saying, "hello," and getting the usual, "hello, may I please speak to Jonathan Moses," I'd follow up with, "Oh, sorry.  I don't speak english," in my normal voice and accent.  Either the person would hang up immediately or hilarity would ensue. 

This Forrest Gump thing changes everything.  I'm going to start looking forward to their calls and the more I get the better I'm going to get at talking to them.  It ought to be pretty good.  Come to think of it, we're getting a new phone system installed in a couple weeks and I think I can record phone calls on it.  This ought to be REALLY good.

[JackTucky]

Play some junkyard willie tapes to them from the touchtone terrorists.

-J

[ChadTower]

Tell them that they have reached the Very Gay Escort Service and that their Very Gay Escort Account is overdue.

[NightGod]

"Momma always said these were my maajik shews....she said they'd take me anneeewhere"

God, the fun I would have had if that company calling my cell phone had asked for Forrest.

[RayB]

Even if you WERE the person they are calling for, there's a point at which it becomes harassment and they know it. Just tell them you'll be filing a harassment complain with the cops.