I usually don’t answer phone calls with “Unavailable” on the caller ID or numbers I don’t recognize. I am on the Do-Not-Call list, but somehow some telemarketers still get through and I prefer to just ignore them. Last week the phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize, but it was a number with my area code. Thinking it may be a friend who had a new cell phone or parent from my child’s class I answered:
Me: “Hello?”
Caller(in an urgent voice): “Is this the “sahmCFO family” that lives on “Saving Money Lane?””
Me (concerned and nervous – did something happen to someone I know and love?): “Yes, yes it is.”
Caller: “Do you know a “Mr. Debtor” who lives on your street?”
Me (relieved and suspicious that this isn’t a call about somebody’s welfare but a fishing for info call): “Umm, No I don’t think so.”
Caller: “Well, I was just speaking with him regarding something extremely important but we got disconnected and I really need to speak with him. Do you know him?”
At this point in the call I am seething mad. My 3-year-old and 4-year-old were at preschool at the time of this call and my heart had skipped many beats in the first few seconds of that call, thinking something had happened at school, and that this was a legitimate call – not a fishing expedition.
Me: “WHO IS THIS!”
Caller: “My name is “Jerk-Face” calling from “Scumbag Collections” and we are trying to reach your neighbor regarding an important business matter.”
Me: “I don’t know him, please don’t call again.”
In 2006, when my husband and I made the transition from 2 incomes to 1 income we had a rough six months, we endured endless but legitimate calls from our credit card companies. We paid our bills late sometimes, and the phone calls would start at 8am and go on until 8pm. I was home with an 11 month old and a newborn and it was one of the most stressful times of my life. We have not paid a bill late in 4 years and I cannot tell you how nice it is to be able to answer the phone again with no fear.
Until now.
It’s called a “Block Party”.
What Is A Block Party?
The collection agency or debt collector will call three or four or five of your neighbors and tell each of them that an urgent message must be given to you. “Can you please go over to his house and see if he is home?” or “Is he OK-he hasn’t called me back.” or “Can you leave a note on her door?” or “When you see him in the yard go over and tell him to call me immediately” or some similar statement. Usually the debt collector will refuse to tell the neighbor the reason for the call – “Sir, I’m not allowed to say as this involves an urgent private issue”. This only arouses the suspicion and curiosity of your neighbors.
The result is you begin to get calls and visits from your neighbors. They tell you that you need to call “Mr. Jones” or whoever the collector is and, of course, they want to know what is this about. When this happens, the effect on you is exactly what the debt collector wanted – fear and embarrassment.
Back to my disturbing phone call…
I DO know my neighbor. He is the best neighbor I’ve ever had. He is a 75 years old gracious man, with a wife in ill-health who he takes loving care of, who teaches me how to fix and maintain my tractor. He invites my kids over to feed his fish in his KOI pond. He is always willing to lend me any tool for any job I need. He helped my brother remove a dead-deer carcass from the undercarriage of his car (don’t ask:)). He is one of the “good ones” and there is no way I’m ratting him out or embarrassing him.
I know for a fact he owns his house free and clear. We sometimes get his mail by mistake and I have seen MANY elite credit card offers in there. He lives a very simple life, so this may just be a bill that slipped through the cracks.
It doesn’t matter why the collection company is calling, it is NONE OF MY BUSINESS! I am not a secretary for collection companies and I refuse to endanger the good relationship I have with him over this sleazy call.
To top it off, this was not the ONLY call from a collection company I received last week. There were two other calls from debt collectors both looking for someone with the same last name as us. Calling here in hopes we know the debtor. And Yes, we also know this debtor they are looking for – it is a family member. But again, I am not a secretary and I know the financial situation of this particular family member. It is not good. They have fallen on hard times and are trying to keep food on the table. I’m not ratting them out either.
I am VERY ANNOYED THOUGH! We pay our bills on time but still must endure numerous collection calls. This is ridiculous, but apparently NOT illegal. The collection companies also seem to be “caller ID spoofing“, so you assume the call is local and are more likely to answer.
Be aware. Even if you pay ALL your bills on time you still may get “Collection Calls!” Tell them to not call again. But “Block Parties” and “Family Fishing” expeditions are the new thing.
You should be in the clear though if every person you are related to, has the same last name as you, lives in your vicinity or works with you pays every bill on time….
Otherwise you may be invited to the “PARTY”.
(If you are being harassed by collection companies you may want to read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (via FTC.gov) and know your rights.)
UPDATE:
This is the phone number who called me about me neighbors debt:
(954)538-7533
UNITED COLLECTION BUREAU, INC
I did a little research to get their “real number” – Apparently I’m not the only one getting these types of calls…
I do plan on calling the FTC (filed online – reference number: 25959253) and my AG’s office to file a complaint.
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March 22, 2010 at 11:32 am
That is absolutely insane! And, I’m pretty sure, completely illegal. If that company ever calls again, I’d threaten to call the State Attorney General with the information.
It must have been so scary for you, to hear such trepidation in the guy’s voice. I am always hoping (and simultaneously fearing) that I’ll develop the ability to set people on fire with my mind. There are situations, like this, when it would come in very handy…
March 22, 2010 at 7:11 pm
That is a great suggestion about calling the AG. I really think this is way out of line. And because of the great respect I have for my neighbor, I think it is also the right thing to do.
March 22, 2010 at 12:39 pm
I had no idea that collection agencies call neighbors! It is crazy. We’re also on the do-not-call list and I don’t pick up the phone when I don’t recognize the caller. I figure if it’s really important, they’ll leave a message.
March 22, 2010 at 7:15 pm
I had no idea either. It WAS completely crazy. It may be worth it for us to pay to get our number unlisted.
March 22, 2010 at 1:07 pm
I had one call my work once- that was really embarrassing. And it was the credit companies mistake too! So I hadn’t even paid a late bill. Crazy. I would hate to have their job- just making people hate you all day.
March 22, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Oh yeah Ted, sucky job no doubt. I have been a legitimate target of collection calls in the past and I always understood it was their job to call. But using deceit and faux-urgency to try to manipulate someone to give out information is bottom-of-the-barrel scum. You have no integrity and I have no respect for you or how sucky that job is if you use these methods.
March 22, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Wow, I had no idea that sort of thing was going on! Imagine how humiliated your neighbour would be if he knew that you’d received a call? I would be mortified. Good for you for saying no to them.
These companies are really crossing a moral line. I have no idea what the law would be in the US around this, but it’s certainly not playing fair. Guess I shouldn’t assume there is a moral line where some of these collections calls are concerned.
In Canada, you can demand that a collection agency not call you at work, and they must adhere to that. Of course, the onus is on the debtor to be in touch and have a discussion about the situation.
It’s just creepy. Thanks for being a good neighbour.
March 22, 2010 at 7:08 pm
I could never tell him. He is proud man who I have a ton of respect for, who doesn’t deserve to have his private life be smeared by ruthless collection agencies. I really think it must be an oversight on his part or hopefully not some other nefarious dealings, like people who prey on older folks. Next time I think I’ll take Abigails advice and call the AG.
March 22, 2010 at 2:45 pm
This justifies my complete refusal to answer the phone, no matter the caller. I really can’t believe how one’s private problems becomes fodder for neighborhood speculation. Poor guy. Anyone who helps remove a deer carcass is truly a friend in need!
March 22, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Was the deer part TMI? LOL!
March 22, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Wow, that should be illegal. Just wow. I’m annoyed just knowing that exists.
By the way, in the US, I never picked up the landline–I had a voice message that said, “leave a message, if you’re not selling something and I want to talk to you, I’ll pick up or call back.”
Grrr.
March 22, 2010 at 4:48 pm
My husband wants to ditch the landline completely but I don’t even have a cell phone yet! No need for one, I’ve rarely left the house in the past three years:)
One of these I’ll step into the 21st century…
March 22, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Wow, I didn’t know collection companies were stooping to that level! Thank goodness you were savvy enough to recognize the situation and not rush right over and get your neighbor, trying to BE a good neighbor.
March 22, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I WAS so tempted after I found out she was looking for my neighbor and not calling about my family to assume there may be an emergency with him. But I had just seen him outside, after I got back from dropping the kids off, working in his yard so in that split second back and forth with her I relied on my “cynical side”. Unfortunately/Fortunately? I was right, it was a scam.
March 23, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Ugh, despicable. Doesn’t that err on the side of revealing personal information about your neighbor that you should not be privy to? Do you have enough identifying information that you could blow the whistle on them now for doing it in the first place? I can’t imagine that they’d let up and I would hate for others in the neighborhood to receive calls and be initiated into his business.
Side Note: I won’t pick up blocked calls either.
March 28, 2010 at 6:10 am
[…] Stay at Home Mom CFO warns You pay YOUR bills on time, right? You still may be invited to a “BLOCK PARTY” […]
March 28, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Alright, that’s just plain nuts! I don’t even know where to start. The collection calls about someone else’s bills, the (possibly spoofed) local number and the urgency of the call, the fact that they didn’t reveal the point of the call until after they nearly gave you a heart attack; the whole thing is just too crazy to believe. Even if it’s not illegal (and it definitely seems like it should be; here’s your chance to regain some brownie points with the voters, Democrats!), it’s still incredibly unethical. If your attorney general can’t do anything about it, maybe you should call some of your creditors and let them know that using such tactics (or selling your information to those who do) is one way to lose a customer, as well as any friends, family, or neighbors who happen to hear about this sort of shady practice. THAT might be enough to motivate them.
March 29, 2010 at 3:57 pm
[…] Stay at Home Mom CFO gives us the low-down on a terrible new debt collection practice […]
April 7, 2010 at 5:38 pm
[…] You May Be Invited to a ‘Block Party’ – Now, this is disturbing; apparently, some debt collection agencies have taken to calling family members and neighbors of those in debt, in hopes (I’m guessing) of putting pressure on the debtors. As Stay at Home Mom CFO notes, though, it’s more enraging than effective. […]
April 7, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Wow, I’m so glad you filed a complaint! We don’t have a home phone, so we thankfully don’t receive these calls…otherwise they might start getting air horns in response to suspicious questions…
June 11, 2010 at 5:51 pm
This is outrageous and needs to become illegal right away…. what bloody scumbags 😦
June 22, 2010 at 6:34 pm
We have a home based business, and one day, my husband got a call like this about a neighbor. My husband asked, “How much will I be paid for my time?” The caller sounded surprised and said no, he wouldn’t be paid. My husband told him, “then you do your job and stop bothering me while I’m doing mine.”
I definitely think this tactic should be illegal. It’s not our debt, so we shouldn’t be getting the calls!
September 24, 2010 at 1:11 pm
[…] You pay YOUR bills on time, right? You still may be invited to a “BLOCK PARTY” […]
March 22, 2013 at 3:20 pm
This needs to be made illegal! These agencies are nothing but scum of the earth, and this is harassment, plain and simple-not only to the person they are trying to reach, but to family members and neighbors as well-it is none of their business. I am quite certain that these agencies have the mailing address, and/or email address of the person they are trying to reach, so they should be limited to using these methods, since they obviously can’t control themselves and decide to call everyone who might even be remotely linked to that person. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE!!! SHUT THESE SCUM COMPANIES DOWN!