Hurley's Gold

Bill collector call on a Sunday? WTF.

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  • candcallen

    Crotchety, Snarky, Truthful. You'll get over it.
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    Jul 23, 2011
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    Little Elm
    I never answer the house phone anymore since we just dont use it. In fact I dont think it's been off the hook in 4 or 5 years. But this morning it lit up and being as I was still zombified/mostly asleep I blindly grabbed it.

    The slick bastard said Hi Chris how are you doing. Still groggy and thinking it was a family member or friend I responded in kind and they said I need to talk to you about a hospital stay from 1992. Dafuq? I say now waking up I said who is this. They proceeded to tell me that while in the hospital for back surgery with Dr... you had an unpaid balance of 1500 dollars. They got the hospital, date and Drs name correct.

    Being unprepared to repel boarders I didnt have access to the air horn i use in instances like this so I stalled for time while I looked for it. I mean they deserve a terminal case of tinnitus for this crap right? I asked who this was and they gave a name like rj2 recovery services, sounded like that anyways.

    Pissed that I cant find my air horn I asked where to send the check to and dont give me a Ugandan address either. Of course they would be happy to take it over the phone. I laughed and said you're smarter than you sound but let me tell you where you screwed up. First you called on the weekend, 2nd your trying to collect a debt from almost 30 years ago which you cant do and as such you have no leverage to compel payment as you cant sue me or ding my credit and thirdly...this is the really important part...that Dr died 12 years ago, the hospital was torn down probably 15 years ago and a new medical center is there now, the entity that owned it has changed hands a dozen times and my employer provided insc that was all but 100 percent full coverage with only 50 bucks copays for a surgery like that. Add to that I've never had an outstanding or unpaid bill in my life and you failed spectacularly in you planning stages. I said did you miss that day the the Ugandan school of internet and phone scams for dummies?

    He stammered out, that the police were on their way to serve a debt lein and debtor arrest warrant. I said now your not even trying and where did your American accent go, you sound brittish now.

    He hung up I blocked the number, spoofed probably, with a Wyoming prefix. So I guess it was more of a fishing call/scam but I wonder how he got the info he did and my number in Texas since the dr and surgery was in Scottsdale AZ. That was pre internet and computerized medical records and I wouldnt even know how to get them.

    Maybe a data breech from a DR/surgeon in Texas who scanned copies of that info into a chart here?

    I guess nothing's safe anymore.
    .
    Texas SOT
     

    lonestardiver

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    Dec 12, 2010
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    Actually it is a scam using info from a data breech.
    They spout about being served with a lawsuit in order to scare people into paying up on something to prevent a judgement being placed and not knowing their rights.

    My wife got one similar to this...also medical, using her maiden name. Supposedly they were going to send proof...never arrived. Never heard back.

    Googled the “company” they purported they were lawyers and there is a collections company with that name....again well past the statute of limitations with which they can attempt any of what they were claiming. Claiming they were a lawyer is another no-no.

    What time did they call on a Sunday? If before 0900, that is another fail according to the FTC.
     

    JCC

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    Pretty sure after 8AM and before 9PM any day is fair game. I may be mistaken.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
     

    Bozz10mm

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    Yeah, I think the SOL has expired on that one. I believe it's 4 years from the date you went into arrears. In Texas anyway.
     

    oldag

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    I don't even answer the phone anymore if the person calling is not in my contacts list. If it is real and important, they will leave a message.

    Gave up on the landline when AT&T would not keep it working.
     

    candcallen

    Crotchety, Snarky, Truthful. You'll get over it.
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    Jul 23, 2011
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    Little Elm
    I've seen notices saying we cant sue you or report this to a credit bureau any more but were offering you this chance to make it right. I get one from some new agency every year or so from a credit card I never had. It's not on my credit report so I just toss it.

    I keep track of my credit and know I've never had unpaid Bills so I dont know where they get the info. They buy and sell that crap in huge bundles from one agency to the next for almost decades it seems. I guess some skip tracer puts a name and a history together and throws a shot in the dark and sends out a notice.

    This however was a fishing scam I guess.

    Still looking for my air horn. Damn kids probably took it to a football game last friday night.
     

    JCC

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    I heard something about an app or something that you can have deals with those kind of call.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
     

    TexasRedneck

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    If you have a name similar to one that they're skip-tracing, they'll call you as well. I had one a few years ago that called me on a 20 year old debt that I knew I'd paid. I played along, got all their info on where to send payment, and promptly mailed an unsigned "check" I created on my PC - no tracking number on the check, the account number was "FuckYou4ever", and signed it "Alfred E. Newman". They called me all upset - I told them that my "check" was as legit as their claim and hung up. Oddly, they never called back.....
     

    Mowingmaniac 24/7

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    TRN,

    You sir, are an artist fudging with so-called scam artists...and it's fun isn't it?

    Back when I answered my phone to each and all, the tele-scammers were great fun to scam back, but no longer do I have the patience to mess with these turd wranglers...
     

    Army 1911

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    Dallas Texas or so
    I know my home phone will allow me to forward calls to another number even after I answer him but I've lost the instruction manual and don't know how.

    I think it would be fun to forward calls like these to the non-emergency police number 311 or whatever it is.
     

    benenglish

    Just Another Boomer
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    Nov 22, 2011
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    an artist fudging with so-called scam artists
    First among equals is, of course, Mr. Veitch. There are dozens of his videos on youtube and they always cheer me up. He does it with email, phone scammers, wrong numbers, anybody that shouldn't be contacting him.

    Picking one at random -

     

    WT_Foxtrot

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    Jan 23, 2019
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    Great vid Ben....love messing with scammers and wasting their time. Haven't done it in a while but used to quite a bit.

    As an example, I remember one with a thick Indian or Pakistani accent that called when I was home alone and bored about some fake debt or back taxes or some such. After a long back and forth with me changing the subject on a dime to something totally (and I mean off-the-wall) random multiple times.....even changing my accent several times......and him feverishly trying to get me focused back on the real issue at hand, my fake debt and the fact that I'd be arrested if it wasn't paid, I finally agreed.

    He then asked for my credit card info. I told him I was happy to provide it to avoid my impending arrest, but I only had a Sears card and asked if they accepted it. He put me on hold while he asked his "expert." He came back and said they weren't familiar with Sears and asked what it was. I feigned disbelief at him not knowing of the American retail giant and then went into why I had the card in the first place, that my wife and I used it to buy our first washer/dryer years earlier, Kenmore brand and how happy we had been with the purchase. The washer had finally bit the dust after 20 years and we weren't as happy with the replacement that we'd bought at Home Depot, but the dryer was still going strong. This led me to ask him what his thoughts were on various brands of appliances as far as quality, price and warranty and even throwing in random thoughts like about the game on TV and asking if he was watching it too...….on and on and on while he got more and more frustrated. At some point between 30 minutes and an hour of being on the phone, HE finally hung up on ME out of complete and total frustration.

    I despise thieves, which is all they are, and take some satisfaction in getting their hopes up and wasting their time and money while they chase their tail for awhile and end up with nothing.
     
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