Get any calls from "cardholder services"?

turbo

Every week, I get one or more of these. Am I that much of a geezer? That much of a clueless dolt? Just got another one, and I'm ticked off.

At least the calls from Arizona have stopped. The calls came from a company that collects bad debts on student loans. Problem: I paid my own way through college and never had any loans at all. Plus that was ~40 years ago.

Why are scammers like these allowed to operate? Is "capitalism" and the so-called "free market" so precious that we can't crack down on scammers? [/rant]

pergradus

Never had any loans? College must have been cheeeep back then.

turbo

Nope! But I had worked and saved all summer even when I was maybe 14 or younger. Also, I worked all through college buying, restoring, and re-selling guitars and amplifiers and playing music for frat-parties every weekend. My parents were not well-to-do and could only offer me some basic help. I was the very first person in my extended family (both sides) to attend college, and I wasn't about to screw it up!

pergradus

I don't mean to derail your thread, but did you go to a state or private school?

The typical tuition of a private school these days is around $40,000, but state schools are about 1/4 of that or less. Sometimes I wonder if I'd have been better off going to a good state school.

turbo

I went to the University of Maine at Orono. A land-grant college with probably the best engineering school in the whole state.

I got early acceptance to MIT, but the financial aid package was insufficient. I also got early acceptance to Michigan State and the University of Arizona, and I never applied to either of them. I really couldn't afford travel/housing, etc, so I stayed in-state.

D H

Those calls from Rachel, or Heather, or whoever robocalling calling from 1-800-TheJokesOnYou? Haven't had one. I've had dozens. You're on the do not call list? They don't care. You've pressed 2 to be removed from their list? Doesn't work. You've pressed 1 to talk to a real person just so you can waste their time? That doesn't work, either.

It's very annoying.

turbo

And what can we do about it? It's hard to see how reporting offending telephone numbers can be effective. With huge phone-banks, and computer-generated phone numbers, how can you track those miscreants and fine them?

Jimmy Snyder

I have a recording system on my phone. I never answer it unless the person leaves a message. Then I can tell who it is and pick up. I know some people don't like to speak to the answering machine but I am willing to filter out any call that isn't important enough to override that dislike.

Evo

Be sure to register all of your telephone numbers here. I did when it first opened and haven't had a single solicitation in years. I got a few the first few months until they got used to the registry, but all you do is tell them you're on the "do not call list" and they'll be gone before you can blink. A $25,000 fine for each person they call that's on the list.

https://www.donotcall.gov/

PAllen

Doesn't work. I re-register there regularly, report all violators religiously, yet get 5 calls a week from 'card holder services'.

turbo

I'm on that list, Evo. There is a huge loophole that allows people to call you pretending to be a pollster. What can you do? The GOP is phoning and push-polling already, and the 2012 election is a year away. Is there any way to stop all unwarranted calls? Short of unplugging the phone, I don't know of one.

Evo

Sounds like you both got on some list through affiliations. PAllen, do you have accounts with these companaies? If you've had an account with them, they can legally call you. It's brand new solicitations from companies you've never dealt with or that don't act on request from a company or association that you did/do business with.

So some solicitations are legal. I closed all of my accounts and changed my phone number and registered. MUWAHAHA.

PAllen

I'll share two things my father does (yes, as old as I am, my father is still alive). He has a beeper of the type used in smoke alarms. Answers call, and fires beeper. His other tactic is simply answer and say 'please hold', and put phone in a drawer and go about his business. Time is money for these fraudsters.

PAllen

No affiliations with these companies (by my research, they are not legitimate companies at all; they escape penalties by re-organizing and moving regularly). Do I have credit cards? Yes. Do I want to change cards - no way - I have grandfathered terms which have not been offered in 25 years (which by some miracle they haven't changed). For example, my main credit card has:

- no late fee
- no foreign transaction fee
- no penalty interest rates
- no annual fee
- 1.25 % rewards
- no cash advance fee (not that I've ever used it)
- modest interest rate (nice if I miss a payment by a few days)
- mind boggling credit limit
- great exchange rates when I travel (much better than banks)

Borg

Whenever I get calls for numbers that I don't recognize, I check them against this site: 800notes.com. People leave comments related to each number and often leave extensive research about the companies and their scams. You can usually get hits on non-800 numbers also.

QuarkCharmer

Someone probably used your phone number to open a credit account or something. Or, they either had that number before you tied to an account, or the debt collectors simply found some clue somewhere that maybe they are at your number.

I get calls all the time, 3 times a day sometimes from someone trying to collect a debt. They leave voice mails that go "This call is for <guys name>, if you are not <guys name> please hang up now, (pause for a second)... <guys name> we need you to call us back over this important matter...", and so on...

I talked to them a few times, informing them that I am not this guy, but it makes no difference. I have no outstanding debt, and I don't know this guy they keep calling for. I would change my number if it wasn't such a hassle.

turbo

I'd change my phone number, too, QC, if it wasn't such a bother. I have elderly relatives (including my father who is 85+) that really need to be able get 'hold of me from time to time, and I can't just unplug this land-line, at least for their sake. What can I do? I need to be available to them when they need me, and I don't want to change phone numbers for my convenience when it might make it tough for these older loved ones to get in touch. My father calls me at least once a week to "touch base" if I haven't called him. I got him a TracFone cell so that he can call toll-free whenever he'd like to talk, and he's piling up the minutes because he hardly ever uses it unless he calls his "baby sister". He will never use those minutes!