now its me with the phone problem

Shirley

Sorry to hear about the constant harassment. Have you tried doing a search on this Paul Strout. I found one that lives in your state. Check your private messages for the info.

Also, anytime you receive a collection call (or any incoming call for that matter) you have the right to have the conversation recorded. Depending on your state, you might not need to even announce that the call is being recorded (incoming only). I can check for you and get back on that. However, if you mention it, and state that they have wrong number, perhaps something will happen then.

Regards-
Mike

Thanks for the info. Not sure whats going on. Okay, a question. I have heard it several times through the group about recording calls. how exactly would I set that up? do you have an answering machine that you hit the record button on, or do you hold a hand held up to the phone? I have one of those answering machines thats with the phone company and I have to call the phone company to get my messages. You can't see it and its not in my home. so I can't record with that. thanks for any input. shirley

Shirley

I'm still checking on the laws of your state. Luckily, my roomate is from your state, and is a 3rd year law student. So I'm asking him about those laws.

As far as recording calls, depending on the answering machine you have, it could be possible. However, you can get a wiretap piece from Radio Shack (for about $3.99). It's a little black suction that fits on your phone. Cordless phones will not work. You'll also need a minirecorder. The suction piece of the wiretap fits on the phone, the other end of it goes into the mic part of the recorder.

Prices of the recorder vary by location, and what other functions you want. There are cheap ones out there if you did decide to purchase one.

Regards-
Mike

do you know this is a collection agency for sure? all legit agencies will cease calls to #s they know are bad. sounds like this is some other type of company. cussing and yelling at them only makes things worse (as you've found out). and be very careful about recording phone calls, in a lot of states you need permission from the other party, otherwise you will be violating federal law.

yeah, that was my son that got upset. They were being rude and refused to accept that they had the wrong number. He kept trying to tell them and they were getting smart with him. he lost it. But after my husband called them back the other night and told them to stop calling, they haven't called back. So maybe that fixed the problem. If not, then the next time they call, I plan to find out if they're a company or collection agency. Right now, we don't know for sure. since 'some' and I do clarify 'some' collection agencys have the reputation for being rude and aggressive, I just assumed that it was. BUT I know of some companys that can be this way too. hopefully, we have heard the end of these people. we'll see. thanks for responding! shirley

I'll check into that phone number. I have seen it before (gotten calls from there). I think it is either T-Mobile, or American Express. I'll see what I can find out and post it here when I do.

Thank you Clay, I would really appreciate that!
-shirley-

Just to check in, I haven't found anything yet, but still workingon it. Now i'm thinking it may be Dell Financial Services.. I was receiving call from that number a few months ago, but can't for the life of me remember who the heck it went to.

thank you Clay. So far though, they haven't called my house again since my husband got on the phone with them that night. maybe that did the trick. I still would like to know though, if you can find out, just in case they start up again. Thanks for your research!! shirley

I wonder if it was really the High School calling? It might have been the collection agency trying to "trick" you into verifying that "Paul Stout" lived at that location. You might call the school back just to verify the information.

My sister had a similar problem w/ Asset Acceptance and they only ended when she threatened legal action.

Good luck! I hope your husband has taken care of the matter.

You have a good point there, I didn't even think of that!!! but I think you may be right. I forget how sneaky these people can be sometimes!
thanks for the thought! shirley

The number you listed goes to Penncro Associates.
From what I can gather doing Internet searches, they are a collection agents (even though the lady I talked to asked for a claim number). I was receiving calls from them a few months ago, but I cant for the life of me remember who they were calling for. My best guess would be T-Mobile. If thats the case, they weren't all that aggressive, and the lady I talked to today was decent enough.

I just told them the number was on my phone bill and I was trying to figure out what the number was.

You guys need to quit calling people on the do not call list, especially time after time and hanging up. How about getting a real job!!??