For the past two weeks, someone has been calling from the same number. The phone only rings maybe once. Then they hang up before I can answer. I mean too quickly for me to answer even when the phone is sitting right next to me. I don't know who the heck it is, and it's so annoying. They call early, early in the morning, well before I need to be up. And I've also been getting calls from a number that my phone doesn't read for someone named Juan. I don't know who Juan is, but if I find him, I'll smack him upside the head for giving his bill collector, or whatever it is, my cell phone number.
Anyone else have this kind of problem? I'm sure you have. At first, I thought the calling and hanging up person might have the wrong number. The FIRST time. But then again, it's a New Orleans area code calling my Tampa cell, so I find it unlikely that it would be an accidental wrong number even once.
Grrrrr.
-pH
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Have you tried calling it back and asking "Why are you ringing my phone every day?"
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Yeah...it gives me a busy signal.
-pH
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
Have you tried googling the number to figure out who it is? Maybe knowing who it is will give you better ideas on how to get them to stop.
I've done this on a couple of occasions when I've had fax machines calling my cell phone. I could figure out who was doing it and call them and tell them to quit it.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
All it will tell me is that it's a landline in Jefferson Parish, Metairie, Louisiana.
I'm on the phone with my cell company now.
-pH
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Sometimes companies "spoof" phone numbers. That is, it's not a real number (hence the busy signal, which could be a "not a real phone number" signal) but it shows up as that on your phone.
You may be able to get it blocked.
Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
Get a whistle.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Well, the people who call from a private number, they said all I can really do is *69 and see if a number comes up.
The Metairie number they tried to research, and it came up with next to nothing...
I have the name of the phone company of the number, though...I wonder if I could contact them.
-pH
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Is this on your cel phone or your land-line.
You could turn your cel-phone off when you go to sleep and see what happens. (You could also unplug your land line) but then you'd miss any emergency night calls.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
411 around here will do reverse lookups if you ask.
You can also block "private" callers.
Don't know what to do for phony numbers, though.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I use my cell for an alarm clock. Otherwise I'd turn it off. When I know I don't have to wake up, I occasionally put it on vibrate.
I called the communications provider for the possibly phony number, and they said that they've had a problem like this before. One of their directors is supposed to call me back shortly.
-pH
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I haven't had exactly the same problem, but not too long ago collection agencies started calling my house looking for two different people who had apparently given out my number as their own. I've had this number for long enough that I doubt that the agencies were just acting on old information.
I got really tired, really quickly of their belligerant skepticism when I told them that that I wasn't John XXXXXX, and that I didn't know Belinda YYYYYY. Eventually I just said "Look, are you in front of a computer? Yeah. Okay, go to www.411.com. See where it says "Reverse Phone"? Click on that. Now, type in the number you have on file for John. Does it come up with the name you've got on file, or with the name I told you was mine? Okay then. Stop calling me."
To my surprise, they actually did stop at that point.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Yeah, when I got my landline, people called me for Shaniqua for a long time, even though I continually told them that I did not know any Shaniqua. Then I told them very nicely that they needed to contact my attorney because I was concerned that someone had stolen my identity, since Shaniqua and I apparnetly have the same last name. I gave them my parents' 800 number, which they didn't even bother to call. They backed off immediately and never called again.
But this Metairie number doesn't even ring long enough for me to ANSWER. Ah, well. Hopefully this director guy will call back.
-pH
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
If he doesn't by the time they said he will, keep calling until he does. After a few calls your problem will probably be flagged as "high priority" and he WILL get back to you. At least, that's what we've had to do a few times to get high officials in phone and similar companies to call us back.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Dang, Noemon.
*impressed
I'm writing that one down.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
For quite some time I was getting text messages from someone who must have confused someone else's number with mine. And not one or two at a time, 6-8! She'd just run out of space and go on to the next one. And the next. And they weren't even interesting! They were like a really badly written soap opera.
Not only did I really not want to hear all about somebody's baby daddy, I get charged for incoming texts. 2 cents apiece, but the way she sent 'em, that was starting to add up!
So I called and left a polite "I think you must have me confused with someone else, I don't know a Portia, so could you please check the number?" Got called back by some shrieking woman who was offended by how rude I had been. I hung up on her, and when she called back I let her yell at my voicemail.
In the 12-14 months since then, I have gotten a handful of texts and calls for the same person, but when I say there is no Portia here (or ignore the voicemail/text message), that takes care of it for a few months.
Good luck, pH!
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
How does that happen on a cell phone? Seriously who repeatedly calls an number on cell phone without just storing the number in the phone? (Well, okay, I can think of several reasons, but still.)
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Dish Network keeps calling me up to try to get me to get their dish up on my roof. I've told them seven times already to put me on their Do-Not-Call List, and they hang up on me. I've asked to speak to supervisors, and they hang up on me. But they keep calling.
It is getting to be harassment, at this point.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Report them to the FCC. I do that regularly.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Can I? How do I do that? And if I do it too often, can they put ME on their Do-Not-Call List?
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
This is similar to a problem I used to have. People used to call my house several times a month looking for Pep Boys. Actually, come to think of it, it's not at all similar.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Report them to the State AG's office, they should be in big trouble for that.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I'm giving this director person until tomorrow afternoon to call. I have to see a client tomorrow, anyway. Then I'm going to call again.
And conveniently, when I received my daily morning harrassing phone call, they actually let the phone ring long enough for me to answer it AND stayed on the line. So now, at least I have more information.
-pH
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
quote:Originally posted by pH: I use my cell for an alarm clock. Otherwise I'd turn it off.
-pH
What model phone do you have? Every Nokia and Motorola I've used (about 3 of each) let you set the alarm and turn the phone off. The alarm will go off anyways whether the phone is on or off. That way you can keep using your alarm with the phone turned off.
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
A few years ago, this little girl kept calling me in the middle of the night. She sounded around four or five and kept asking for Laura. My name is Laura so I assumed it had to do with me. But then she'd start talking about things that made no sense to me and when I asked who she was, she'd say "your sister" and act like it was the silliest question ever. When I asked to talk to her mom, she said her mom was sleeping and she wasn't even supposed to be on the phone. I tried to explain that I wasn't who she thought I was, but it didn't seem to get through. She did this two nights in a row, so the next day during daylight hours I tried calling the number back. It just kept ringing, not even an answering machine. The girl kept calling, although I stopped picking the phone up, and I kept trying to reach an adult. I'd get all these really long, really obscure child ramblings on my voice mail. After a week, I finally reached an adult. Appearantly they'd written down their daughter's phone number wrong. I would hope that mother had a LONG talk with her kid about appropriate phone etiquette. But the calls did stop. :-p
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
So did you find out who it was, pH?
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Yeah, it was a collections agency that thinks I owe them money for some reason.
Their phone company is going to contact them. If I get any more calls, I'll have to step up the whole taking action plan.
-pH
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
Man, that's a pretty crummy tactic for a collections agency. I'm sorry.
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
If the collections agency is in America, feel lucky. My parents get phone calls, several a day for several weeks at a go from a collections agency in India, for someone else's debt.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Oh, it's in America. In fact, it's one parish (county) over.
I had a friend who used to get calls at 5am from a collections agency in India for his American Express bill. Which he then refused to pay...his reasoning being that he only owed $20, and they'd angered him by waking him.
-pH
Posted by striplingrz (Member # 9770) on :
Not sure, but I think its law they can only call at certain times of the day. I know for sure not past 9pm in the time zone you live. Not sure about the early time though, maybe 8am? Check with the fcc when you make your complaint. They can get in big trouble for calling outside of those hours too!
Posted by BlueWizard (Member # 9389) on :
Sweet Revenge.
This doesn't always work, and certainly wouldn't work for the person who started this thread, but I used it against a Telemarketer one time.
This person called and started into a big long sales pitch. I just got home from work and was tired, so I left the line open, set the phone down, and turned the TV back up, laid back and ignored him. After about 20 minutes I heard the phone making this beeping noise that phones typically make when a line is left off hook. So, I hung up the phone.
Later the person called back and ask why I would do such a thing. I explained that hanging up didn't seem to be effective, so I left the line open. Keep in mind that while the line was open, the telemarketer couldn't use his phone. It was only when the phone company cut off the open line that he was able to call again.
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Otherwise I'd turn it off.![[Mad]](mad.gif)
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