I.C. System has a computer somewhere, and i'm pretty sure that computer's only task is to auto-dial my cell phone all day. They call for my wife, we don't have a "home phone", we each use our cell only. Apparently, they call her too, but it can't possibly be as often as me.
Anyway, i did talk to some lady one time who told me my wife had a Verizon bill for $400 and some change from 4-5 years ago, i don't remember exactly. Point is, i don't remember having Verizon at all. It may be a valid debt, i can't verify it. Why? Every time i do answer my phone, it's an automated voice telling me to press 1 if i am my wife, 2 if she is not available, or 3 if it is a wrong number. Even if i press 3, i am told i will speak to a representative to get my info. (if i'm a wrong number, why would i give you my "info"?) then i am put on hold. Wait a minute, YOU called ME. My patience is thin, the longest i have waited is probably about 8 minutes. The shortest? Uh, what's less than one second?
The one time i did talk to somebody, she was surprisingly rude. I sort of bluffed a little, told her i was talking to a lawyer and i knew my rights (i thought i did). I told her to correspond by mail only, that i had the right to ask her to stop calling. She literally laughed at me, told me that, while some states may have those laws, Texas does not and that "I can call you as much as i want." i told her that the more she called me the longer i would ignore it. This didn't work either. I am considering taking Dave Ramsey's advice and getting an airhorn to blow in the phone, but i'd have to wait on hold for who knows how long to get someone to hear it.
The calls now usually start at about 8:50 A.M. And come in somewhat steady hour to hour and a half increments, sometimes two or three in a row, rapid-fire. I just keep my phone on vibrate and ignore them all, except for the occasional smoke break where i will take the call, spend 5-6 minutes on hold, then hang up and go back to work.
If anyone has any advice, let me know. I just want a paper copy of the bill so i can verify it is valid, i'm not stupid enought to send money to every mr. Bob that calls and asks for it. (mr. Bob, by the way, is a tiny, little, insipid employee of the company, who will undoubtedly respond to this, most likely by telling me to grow up, or quit crying, or get a job, lazy. This guy is a real peach) so if anyone can tell me how to enforce the FDCPA rules, please respond. Any lawyers want to give some free advice in the Dallas area?
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