Phone co's giving out #'s to collectors

Can someone tell me how can the phone companies give out unlisted numbers to bill collectors. Both Verizon and AT&T told me if a creditor calls them for a phone number for the people they are looking for-THEY WILL GIVE THEM the numbers they want. THEY ARE ALLOWED TO DO SO. What is this crap? My mother last year kindly paid a bill for us out of her own checking account and now is paying the price for it. They evidently made a note of her name on the check and now that my husband and I are having problems, she was being called on her own home phone. When she asked how they got her number, unlisted-unpublished and do not call list, they said they have their ways. So, she called the phone company AT&T and they told her if a creditor called they give out the numbers regardless of unlisted or unpublished status, they admitted to her they gave it out to people looking for my husband. Its not her bill, she just helped us one time and now she had to get rid of her phone because of the phone company. I called Verizon to ask the same question and they told me they will also give it out to creditors. Since when did this become legal? Does anyone know if this is true and/or legal if not I have some lawsuits to file. Thanks to anyone who can answer this.

i know that happens to me all the time, its crazy.. i do not have a landline at my apartment so when a new collector is looking for me, they always call my mother first.

Phone companies do not give out unpublished numbers. Unlisted is something different I think. My neighbour works for the police department and she has to go a specific police number to get nonpub numbers.

CA's do have their ways and believe me it is not the phone company. They have several skip tracing tools that can supply them with nonpub numbers legally. Nobody is admitting to giving out numbers...that is a crock.

Do not call list does not apply to CAs.

soaplady, thanks for the clarification - i always wondered why they always starting calling my mother;s house whenever someone is looking for me..

IT IS NOT CROCK, I asked if it was legal because I have them recorded saying they GAVE IT TO CAPITAL ONE. Both Verizon and AT&T admitted it to me. I have it on tape and I only asked if it was legal. Because I know big companies will skirt every law they can until they are caught. They also have contacted my daughter in TX, different last name, unpublished and unlisted numbers(CELL PHONES, no less). We havent talked to her in over a year and they find her to find us. I only wanted to know if they can legally give out these numbers, if not I am going lawsuit happy, I have Verizon recorded admitting they will give out numbers!!

if it is unlisted, i think it can be given away, just not listed in a public record. is that right? my family's number is unlisted yet it shows up on internet people finders..
i really do not know..

The way it was explained to me is unlisted means it is not in the actual printed phone book, but if someone calls information or whatever it is available and they will give out the phone number.

Unpublished means it is not in the phone book or available from information. Unpublished costs more than unlisted. I have an unpublished number.

Here is a bit of advice for anyone being harrassed by CA's or collectors and don't want to be botherred by them anymore(I'm suprised no one mentioned this already):

Just simply write them a letter asking them to stop all communications with you and your family. Then mail it to them via certified mail and request delivery conformation just to have for your records. It's one of the many rights provided to all consumers from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

I would say try this as one last act to get them to stop harrassing you. After 30 days of them recieving the letter if they haven't stopped then by all means, go right ahead and sue.

Good luck

smckaybiz - many of us send the C & D letters out but sadly many of the collectors, espeacially illgeal ones, do not listen - some of the times they are not even calling for the right person and still harrass..

Have you ever tried to lookup a phone number to find out who the owner is but discovered that the number is private and you could not find out the person's identity? In many cases, when a private number is looked up it turns out that it is related to a cell phone. However, not all private numbers that are not published in phone directories belong to cell phones. Some of these numbers are the property of landline phones that are unlisted or unpublished.

Are unlisted and unpublished numbers the same? No, there is a slight difference between the two. The following is a brief description of each type:

Unlisted phone number - An unlisted number referrers to any telephone number that does not appear in a directory, or in any other listing. Phone consumers with these numbers have made the request to their phone company to have their number withdrawn from public view. A phone user is required to pay a small monthly fee to have their number unlisted. However, most people who sign up for this service feel it is worth the monthly charge as it helps them to have more phone privacy and security. Therefore, they receive less telemarketing and other unwanted calls.

Unpublished phone numbers - An unpublished number is one that has not yet been published within a directory. Thus, it has nothing to do with the phone consumer requesting their number not to be published. These numbers have simply not appeared in the directory due to the fact that these numbers may have been created or distributed after the directory was published. Therefore, while they may not have made that particular issue, they will be published in the next one when it is developed at a later time.

Hence, if you have found that your number is not listed within your local phone directory, but you have not made the request to your phone company to have it unlisted, your number is simply unpublished and will appear in the next issue.

that's from google

Some where some how Portfolio found my cell phone number.

For whatever it is worth, I have been able to find unlisted and unpublished phone numbers for people. There are databases available online that will give you the information if it is available. You just have to know where to look, and how to ask.

i agree, you can find anything online, especially if you are willing to pay them

There are huge information clearinghouses (databases) that exist; they buy, store and resell information on people. LexisNexus happens to be one of the biggest I know of.

You know when you go to a store somewhere and there are sweepstake coupons you can fill out to try to win a prize? It asks you for your name, address, phone #, etc. One of the main purposes of those is so that they can compile and sell that information that you list.

You give your phone # to a lot of places. Have you ever read the privacy policies they give you? Most privacy policies allow them to give or sell your information unless you specifically request them not to (ie "opt out"). If you don't opt out, they are free to give/sell your phone number to places like LexisNexus. [[That may be the case with AT&T and Verizon as the OP mentioned. If they gave you a privacy notice and you never opted out, you might not have legal grounds to stand on if you try to sue them.]]

Then collectors will pay LexisNexus a small fee to search their database and find your current phone #.