debt collector calling

You need to advise him that you are the owner of the telephone line, you are not the debtor and you forbid the company to ever call again. Your son does not live there and unless the phone is in your son's name, they cannot keep calling you. Don't let them badger you into taking one last message - that will give them a reason to call back again. It is illegal for them to continue calling once you advise them it's the wrong number and you own that phone line. If you don't want to get in their face just say this isn't your son's number, you two had a falling out years ago, you don't speak, have no idea how to reach him and leave it at that - do not give the impression that you have the ability to relay a message.

In the future, just tell companies (because there will probably be more that end up calling for him) they have the wrong number and you don't know whoever they are asking for. I spent a lot of time skip tracing and the nicer the person was about telling me I had the wrong number, the more likely I believed it. It probably helps if you ask them what number they dialed and say -- yeah that is my number but I've never heard of ...... have a stock fake name ready in case they ask what residence they did call. Getting defensive when you tell someone they have the wrong number is usually an immediate clue to them that they don't have the wrong number. Just be really nice and play really dumb.

Or, you could get the name and address of the CA and send them a cease and desist letter/certified mail return receipt requested. It's not your job to coax, cajole, and sweet talk a CA to stop calling you about some other third party's debt. They are allowed to contact a third party ONCE ONLY to try getting contact information for the debtor. And you are not the CA's messenger service either, it doesn't say anywhere in the fdcpa that you have to act as a messenger for the CA.

It's a shame when you tell a CA the debtor doesn't live there and you do not have their contact information, yet the CA keeps calling back. Violating the FDCPA in the process.

This has been happening to me with a very nasty CA, calling for my brother I haven't spoken to in years, and I am about to sue the crap out of them! I'm just building up my evidence. I was nice to them at first, but after the third call from them, I realized they are just disregarding my rights under the law.

If you do send a C&D and the CA does keep calling back after they receive it, file complaints with the FTC, your state's Attorney General's office, and then sue them for violating the FDCPA.

You might also tell them that the call is being recorded, they will probably hang up and stop calling.