Author Topic: Debt collectors for the previous resident  (Read 11569 times)

DOPOLI

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Debt collectors for the previous resident
« on: October 27, 2014, 12:09:14 PM »
Does anyone else have the experience of being contacted by debt collectors for the previous occupant/ resident of your home? Or is it just me?

- The previous 3 residents of my current home owe the IRS tons of money. I get lots of mail/ certified mail notices about this.

- Today I got a landline at home (need it for work). I'm getting constant calls from debt collectors from the guy who used to have this number.

- In the condo where I used to live, the landlord was in deep trouble financially. She owed money to the IRS, student loans in default, and the condo was in foreclosure. There was a constant barrage of people from the bank, realtors, etc coming over to evict her. Luckily, we were protected as tenants.

Any other examples?

It makes me think the average person is drowning in debt or something.

robotclown

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2014, 01:13:14 PM »
I used to get a ton of those calls when I got a new phone number.  Apparently the former owner owed money to some colleges, and maybe an insurance company of some sort.  Most of the debt collectors stopped calling when I explained the number has a new owner.  Some of them were really stupid though.

fantabulous

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2014, 01:29:41 PM »
I've always gotten a few of these calls when I get a new cell phone number, because of the whole prepaid plan and number recycling. They've always been "we'll take this number off our list" when I answer and say "Not me. This is a new phone number."

If you get the really slimy collectors and want to have some fun, ask when you can expect payment from them. Since your sudden invented claim of a debt owed by them is usually about as much proof as they have of the debt they're trying to collect.

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2014, 02:05:20 PM »
Not me, fortunately. However, we have gotten a lot of hospital bills for some woman who never lived here. It seems that when she needed medical treatment, she just made up an address--which happened to be ours.

frugalnacho

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2014, 02:22:32 PM »
I used to get a ton of those calls when I got a new phone number.  Apparently the former owner owed money to some colleges, and maybe an insurance company of some sort.  Most of the debt collectors stopped calling when I explained the number has a new owner.  Some of them were really stupid though.

Yea, like they've never heard that excuse before.   If the person answers i'm sure that's one of the excuses they give them.  I used to tell debt collectors that all the time when they would call for my dad and I was sick of getting the damn phone calls.  Either that or he is dead, but they were able to verify those pretty easy.


dcheesi

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2014, 02:33:26 PM »
I get calls for the  ex wife of the previous owner. I never answer since I'm usually out of the house anyway; they just keep leaving the same ominous sounding messages over and over...

Elderwood17

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2014, 02:57:56 PM »
I never had that happen.  We did get a nice gift box of chocolates, candies, etc, delivered one Christmas to the former owners of our house.  It was left at the door and the delivery guy was long gone by the time we realized the name wasn't ours.  Called the company it came from and they just said "merry Christmas"!  Much nicer than a debt collector.

Guses

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2014, 03:30:56 PM »
I never had that happen.  We did get a nice gift box of chocolates, candies, etc, delivered one Christmas to the former owners of our house.  It was left at the door and the delivery guy was long gone by the time we realized the name wasn't ours.  Called the company it came from and they just said "merry Christmas"!  Much nicer than a debt collector.

Did you check if they were poisoned? The collectors might have been peeved!

MrsPete

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2014, 03:57:14 PM »
Yes, I have had that problem!  When we first moved into this house (recycled family house), the same debt collector called right about the time I came home from work -- and as soon as I'd start to say, "No, he doesn't live . . . " the collector would hang up before I could explain.  SO ANNOYING.  I'm 100% sure they thought I was lying. 

The real kicker:  The person for whom they were looking was my brother. 

Yeah, I could've told them his new number, but anyone stupid enough to lend money to him gets what they get. 

Rural

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2014, 06:54:53 PM »
We get fairly constant calls for the same guy who must've had this landline number before us. We've had it a year and a half now, DSL only but incoming calls and 911 are free, so I keep a phone hooked up. I put an old school answering machine on it and just let it answer all the time.

DocCyane

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2014, 07:15:48 PM »
I used to get great Christmas letters for the people who lived in my apartment previously. I was so sad when they stopped.

hodedofome

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2014, 08:49:31 PM »
No matter if it's a debt collector calling the wrong number or just some guy trying to sell me something, I always just tell them "he died." Conversation ends right there.

robotclown

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #12 on: October 28, 2014, 03:36:40 AM »

Yea, like they've never heard that excuse before.   If the person answers i'm sure that's one of the excuses they give them.  I used to tell debt collectors that all the time when they would call for my dad and I was sick of getting the damn phone calls.  Either that or he is dead, but they were able to verify those pretty easy.

Yep, I get it, I'm sure they hear that all the time.  But they would ask stupid questions like if I know his new number or when he got a new number, and other stuff that I have no idea because I am a different person and don't know the guy. 

infogoon

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #13 on: October 28, 2014, 06:59:49 AM »
I have an acquaintance with terrible money habits and tremendous credit card debt who finally found a job working in a debt collection call center.

She hadn't been working there more than a month when she got a call at home from the guy sitting across the aisle.

VirginiaBob

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #14 on: October 28, 2014, 07:09:40 AM »
No matter if it's a debt collector calling the wrong number or just some guy trying to sell me something, I always just tell them "he died." Conversation ends right there.

For sales calls, I have fun with them.  They start the conversation with thier hard non-interuptable pitch, but I do a hard interuption and say something like, "whoa whoa whoa ,stop!  Before you try to sell me something, let's get to know each other first?  What is your name?  Where do you live?" etc. etc., then I get into the awkward questions, "Just by chance, are you sexually attracted to your mother?" etc. etc.

damize

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #15 on: October 28, 2014, 08:26:00 AM »
+1 for the new phone number!

I'm getting calls from all over southern California plus Las Vegas for this guy.  I think I'm down to just one persistant debt collector, but the first month was entertaining.

I kind of feel bad for the guy; 20 years ago, I was him.

Louis the Cat

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #16 on: October 28, 2014, 11:51:26 AM »
We actually had a lady from the sheriff's office come to our house this past summer looking for a person who used to live here but several years ago. We still get her mail, too. Most interesting thing about the in person visit was that it was a woman about 25 years old in a hot pink tank top with a sheriff's badge around her neck. It was the weirdest contrast...

As for my phone number, I get about two calls a year from an older lady in Indiana (where my area code is based) looking for her husband, often in an emergency. She's always frantic and insistent that this is his number. I rattle mine off and she insists that's his number! I stay polite and eventually she gives up. It's especially entertaining when she calls back.

projekt

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #17 on: October 28, 2014, 12:34:11 PM »
No matter if it's a debt collector calling the wrong number or just some guy trying to sell me something, I always just tell them "he died." Conversation ends right there.

http://www.thecomicstrips.com/store/add.php?iid=82430

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #18 on: October 28, 2014, 02:49:21 PM »
Not me, fortunately. However, we have gotten a lot of hospital bills for some woman who never lived here. It seems that when she needed medical treatment, she just made up an address--which happened to be ours.

And yesterday an official-looking letter arrived for her from the State of California Department of the Treasury. I joked that we should open it and see if it's a tax refund.

Travis

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #19 on: October 30, 2014, 03:59:55 AM »
No matter if it's a debt collector calling the wrong number or just some guy trying to sell me something, I always just tell them "he died." Conversation ends right there.

For sales calls, I have fun with them.  They start the conversation with thier hard non-interuptable pitch, but I do a hard interuption and say something like, "whoa whoa whoa ,stop!  Before you try to sell me something, let's get to know each other first?  What is your name?  Where do you live?" etc. etc., then I get into the awkward questions, "Just by chance, are you sexually attracted to your mother?" etc. etc.

My FIL does something similar. Rather than waste their time with that line of questioning, he just sharp shoots them on how well they know the product/service they're pitching.  I remember watching my MIL be sympathetic to the caller shouting at FIL  "you know it's some 20 year old kid with a quota, right?"  He gets really pissed off when they're selling insurance or a medical service and he gets on them that they know something personal about him in order to sell him this kind of product, and if they don't actually know anything about him then how could they possibly sell him the product.

davisgang90

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #20 on: October 30, 2014, 06:27:04 AM »
We had a similar problem with an old landline number.

I think I'll try this if it happens again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmwbX9RkmEU

Chranstronaut

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #21 on: October 30, 2014, 09:54:40 AM »
We actually had a lady from the sheriff's office come to our house this past summer looking for a person who used to live here but several years ago. We still get her mail, too. Most interesting thing about the in person visit was that it was a woman about 25 years old in a hot pink tank top with a sheriff's badge around her neck. It was the weirdest contrast...

As for my phone number, I get about two calls a year from an older lady in Indiana (where my area code is based) looking for her husband, often in an emergency. She's always frantic and insistent that this is his number. I rattle mine off and she insists that's his number! I stay polite and eventually she gives up. It's especially entertaining when she calls back.

Do you think she might have a form of dementia?  It's easy for those folks to get very confused but insist that they are right.  It always seems to make perfect sense to them, but no one else.

DOPOLI

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #22 on: October 30, 2014, 01:45:10 PM »
We had a similar problem with an old landline number.

I think I'll try this if it happens again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmwbX9RkmEU


Love it!!

kite

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #23 on: October 30, 2014, 04:35:57 PM »
When we get the sales or political calls, I ask the caller if he or she has accepted Jesus as Lord and savior, and if they would like to pray together.   Works every time.   

lemanfan

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #24 on: November 01, 2014, 11:56:03 AM »
Do you think she might have a form of dementia?  It's easy for those folks to get very confused but insist that they are right.  It always seems to make perfect sense to them, but no one else.

The number I currently have as the main number for my business used to belong to a non-emergency medial transport service - and we still get the occational call from an obviosly demented person asking for a ride to the hospital.  Kind of sad.

Spondulix

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #25 on: November 02, 2014, 01:58:14 AM »
I have an old friend who used to work as a debt collection caller. He said even when he reached the actual people he/she would claim it was someone else who didn't live there anymore. So they just never take that as an excuse.

The callers were working on commission of whatever money they could collect. That's why they were pushy (and always pushed the "no longer here" excuse). Unfortunately I can't remember what he said would work to stop it... Might have been sending a letter threatening to sue for harassment or something along those lines.

Indio

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #26 on: November 02, 2014, 03:04:45 AM »
We had a similar problem with an old landline number.

I think I'll try this if it happens again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmwbX9RkmEU

Hysterical!

shallow pockets

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #27 on: November 02, 2014, 07:41:43 PM »
I was approached outside of my house one day.  The person called me my neighbors name and asked 'how is it going.'  I told him he lived next door,  but he already knew that.
My neighbor isn't much for paying his bills.  While he was away on vacation,  I watched the water department shut his water off.

Hunny156

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Re: Debt collectors for the previous resident
« Reply #28 on: November 03, 2014, 11:38:34 AM »
We have a fairly common last name, so bill collectors are always trying to get us to pay for someone else's bills.  They wouldn't take the hint nicely, so one day, when they asked if Miguel was there, I flew into a rage, telling him that he moved out w/his younger girlfriend months ago, and he owes me money too!  Then I'd ask them if they knew where he was, b/c I wanted to find him and get my money back.  They never called back after that.

Hubby Mike was sitting in the living room one day when I pulled this routine, and he was very confused.  We had a good laugh once I explained what I was telling people on the phone!