Good Saturday morning readers and interested parties. May I first say that these phone calls I am about to report as harassment, are not FOR me. The variety of bill collection agencies who have called me repeatedly, are calling for OTHER people who happen to have their first names begin with the letter "J" like mine.
Since I was granted a final divorce in November 2010, I had to establish myself in a new residence with new telephone service. That is when the calls started coming! You see, I opted to do as guided and that was to list my phone number with just an initial. Perhaps that was to try and protect my identity? Or perhaps to protect the fact that I was a female? Well, I don't think that has really worked as aren't people smart enough these days to consider that somebody with an initial for a first name is most likely a female? I'd say in the majority of cases, YES.
During the last week I realized that the calls had turned the corner to a level of harassment and that the collection agencies are OUT OF CONTROL for sure. To illustrate SOME of the phone calls I have been receiving, I went back through my telephone log and recorded the most recent phone calls. Take a look; tell me what you think; have any of these people called you too?
972-217-8329 – West Asset Management – 8/22/11 3:22pm; 8/20/11 10:42am; 8/19/11 6:54pm; 8/19/11 3:52pm; 8/19/11 9:36am
917-793-5694 – The Debt School – 8/26/11 9:29am
703-656-9956 – NCO Financial 8/29/11 4:53pm; 8/29/11 11:05am
813-283-3864 – Unipoint Services – 8/29/11 5:53pm
800-373-1577 – Enhanced Recovery Collections – 9/6/11 10:39am
412-282-1421 – Portfolio Recovery Services – 9/10/11 8:36am
312-625-1467 – Portfolio Recovery Services OR Prize Distribution Headquarters, Chicago, IL – 9/11/11 9:14am
914-513-0163 – Portfolio Recovery Services – 9/11/11 2:29pm
443-313-1381 – Portfolio Recovery Services OR Sunrocket – 9/12/11 8:30am
303-317-8523 – Integral Recovery – 9/15/11 4:13pm; 8/26/11 12:31pm
866-315-4996 – PFG Medical – 9/16/11 8:38pm; 9/15/11 12:55pm; 9/13/11 11:38am; 9/9/11 2:58pm; 9/8/11 11:31am; 9/1/11 2:44pm; 8/27/11 11:38am
800-860-0644 – Portfolio Recovery Services – 9/17/11 8:33am
I have taken time to actually call back the people from the numbers who have called me the most. I think it was West Asset Management who actually read off a list of people ... "Are you Janine, Jill, Jim, James, Joe, Joseph??" etc. "Do you know Janine, Jill, Jim, James, Joe, Joseph??" etc. "No, I am not Janine, Jill, Jim, James, Joe, Joseph and for that matter, I don't know any Janine, Jill, Jim, James, Joe, Joseph." Looking at the series of phone calls after that, I do believe West Asset Management has finally stopped calling me.
NCO Financial had been as aggressive as West Asset Management with their phone calls. Before I had my telephone number changed to the current one, NCO called me 3 times on a Sunday ... I believe it was for a Janine. I called them back and asked that they stop calling me.
Hey, now I see Portfolio Recovery Services is the leading contender for the harassment award. I've called them twice in the last week! They're still calling for a Jill. Hey, that's not me! Also, they are apparently rather sly with their telephone methods, changing phone numbers and actually trying to pose as somebody else with the caller name that shows on the ID.
I'm wondering about the series of phone calls from ITT Tech Ins. They are calling for a Joseph ... not sure that they are trying to collect money or to sell education services.
Do you owe money? Oh, never mind, that's too personal of a question. I don't seriously owe anybody at this point in my life; and should not be getting any bill collection agency phone calls. But, my ex DOES owe me and I am seriously waiting for him to cough it up. It surely seems that being newly divorced and establishing myself all over again, that I am going to have to contend with harassment.
Good Grief! The divorce was stressful enough ... what I've learned with this bologna? I should NOT have kept the ex's last name ... you wouldn't believe just how many people with his last name SEEM to owe money! I will say a little prayer for the people with my last name who are seriously trying to recover and pay their bills. Oh, I will not be including the bill dodgers.
P.S. Judging from the phone calls coming my way, less than 1 in 12 is for me. Perhaps it's time to cancel home telephone service? I got to think about that. And, something else!! I am on the Do Not Call Registry and have been taking time to submit complaints along the way. It surely seems it doesn't help to deter Collection Agencies Harassment; you know? Got similar issues? Tell me about it!
UPDATE: It is September 2014 and I am back to add a quick update. I started getting those bill collection agency calls again for that same gal with the initials C.S. What the heck is going on? Did the collection agencies sell their records to another agency and not bother to correct the wrong phone number for Miss C.S. ????