reverse phone lookups

[Deviant Ollam]

heya,

i figure some folks here may be able to point me in the right direction on this one. we have had an individual whom we don't know calling our phone just about once every week or so around 16:30. the routine is the same each time...

1. we see a caller and don't recognize the number (it's a non-blocked number from 267)
2. as is our policy, we don't answer
3. the caller (always the same guy) leaves a message (always the same message)
4. the message is "hello, this is Pat, i need you to call me back right away at <800 number>." (this is in a rather gruff tone)
5. i ignore and delete the message

a while back i wondered if the calls were always coming in from the same place. they are. i noted the number in my phone's address book and even once had someone pick up when such a call came in. (they did the typical screener's "who shall i say is calling" and "what is this regarding" routine only to have the guy get rude, loud, and unprofessional.)

now, most folks who would hear such a story would think that this is some sort of creditor calling to hassle us about money. however, we have no outstanding bills (by design, our life doesn't really involve any bills... aside from the utility company. i only have one credit card which is paid in full each month, i have no loans or home/car payments, etc) and there have been no court judgements against me or children i've abandoned or anything like that which would result in such a problem.

i'd really like to know who the hell is calling and harrassing us (since i suppose there's an outside chance that something funny happened with my records somewhere) but because of who i am i will not give this asshole the satisfaction of simply answering his calls.

what services would anyone recommend to reverse-look the number that's been calling us so that we know whether or not it's a financial institution, a marketing ploy, etc etc? i've done the typical "free" lookups on both the 267 number as well as the 800 number. they turned up nothing.

i'd be prepared to pay for one of the "commercial" search and lookup services... i've seen a few online. are they worth anything, however? are some better than others? are they all a big hoax and full of outdated info? i'd like to know what's what before i sink even a simple $10 into this problem.

[Rance]

Re: reverse phone lookups

Why not just use the yellowpages.com? They have a reverse look up or did it not work. I'd say you could have some fun with him but it sound's like he might get rude and you might get dead.

[theprez98]

Re: reverse phone lookups

Deviant,

We get a couple of the same types of calls...Perhaps going the phone company route for "harassing calls" is the way to go.

Not sure which ones you've tried, but here are a few more. Sometimes one is better than the others and vice versa.

http://www.anywho.com/rl.html
http://www.infospace.com/revphone.htm
http://www.reversephonedirectory.com/
http://www.switchboard.com/bin/cgirlookup.dll
http://www.whitepages.com/find_person.pl?fid=p

[Nikita]

Re: reverse phone lookups

i'd really like to know who the hell is calling and harassing us (since i suppose there's an outside chance that something funny happened with my records somewhere) but because of who i am i will not give this asshole the satisfaction of simply answering his calls.

For sometime due to a car accident and a bad breakup afterwards, I have had a lot of creditors calling me. For money i didn't legally owe i tend to get rather pissed off when they insult me or call me names. ( They have said some nasty things before) Thankfully my settlement came in after a few years of waiting (sarcasm). The lawyers paid 90% of the creditors off, and spent all the money i deserved to spend on myself with a shopping spree etc on cleaning up the mess my ex caused to my credit. (lesson learned )

I learned a few things: Lawyers do scare them when they believe you are sincere.
One creditor did not believe me when i informed her she can not call me again after this point, under any circumstances, and she needed to call my lawyer's office to proceed with negotiating or collecting any debt. She called again, and the 3rd time she called i went off a little bit. My lawyer informed me after i told him she called 2x's again, she is now fully aware and unemployed.

They can't harass you. Period. If you tell them they are calling a work number and they call again, tell them they are harassing you and you are going to call your lawyer and start asking them for all their information. A trick you can do if you happen to have a lawyer as a friend, have them call, or give them his/her number to call. Once they know they spoke with an actual lawyer they will seal their sphincters. Request all documentation on your debt too.

Sometimes you can go back to the original creditor and fix it without being slammed in the butthole with these Interest Fees and Fines the creditors place onto a debt. It's so wrong what they do.

I had a medical bill from the accident, these people charged me a 50$ fee for the bill itself, and 15% interest monthly, on top of the original debt which was like 75$ for an er x-ray. I didn't make an agreement with those people, they have no right to charge me that, i don't care if you bought my debt, show me my signature where i accepted an agreement with you or those terms. Anyone can do that to you at anytime?!? Most people pay it and deal with it, rather than fight it. These creditors bought your debt for a fraction of what you originally owed... they hire people who intimidate others into giving up their money and they win.

I hate debt collectors, If they were a tad bit respectful, decent and didn't try to rape you in fees id have respect for them, i imagine its a really damn hard job. But aside from one guy, Ive never been treated with respect from a collector. Maybe people wouldn't hate them so much if they acted like decent human beings... man, now I'm all amped up and wanna kick something...... Seriously.....amped.....I have to go smoke now.

Give me his number, I'll sort it out.

/rant

[converge]

Re: reverse phone lookups

i figure some folks here may be able to point me in the right direction on this one.

http://www.npac.com/ ? With the right foundation you could SE his telecom for more info about his account .. buyer beware.


..in all seriousness, the way to stop it is through the law. Contact your phone company to clarify the code needed for a call trace .. generally *57. Immediately following the harassing call initiate this, then contact local law enforcement with as much info as you can provide about the harassment. They have the ability to request further details from your telco .. dig deeper, and logs can be subpoenaed legally. At minimum law enforcement can pursue the caller and resolve the situation, usually by fear from this form of escalation.

[r3coiL]

Re: reverse phone lookups

Are there other ways to stop harassing phone calls?

Yes. Other services are available, sometimes for an extra fee, from the phone company to help you deal with harassing callers. Products may also be available in stores for blocking harassing calls.

Call Trace. The phone company's Call Trace service allows you to identify the phone number of the harassing caller, regardless of whether the caller blocks the number. When you activate the Call Trace code (*57) immediately following the harassing call, the caller's phone number is recorded by the phone company. The phone number is not given to you, however. You will be asked by the phone company to sign an authorization form before the harasser's phone number is turned over to law enforcement for further investigation.

To order the Call Trace service, you must pay a start-up fee. Some phone companies then charge you each time you use Call Trace; others require a monthly charge for an unlimited number of traces.

Call Trap. When you report repeated obscene or harassing calls to the phone company's Annoyance Call Bureau, it can decide to put a Trap on the line at no cost to you. You will be asked to keep a log of the dates and exact times that you get harassing calls. The Trap will be kept on your line for a specific period of time, usually two weeks. When you give your log to the phone company, it will check the number against its records to determine the phone number(s) of the harasser and then give this information to law enforcement.

Choosing between Trap and Trace. Instead of choosing Call Trap, the Annoyance Call Bureau might decide to provide you Call Trace at no charge for a two- to three-week period. However, in areas where Call Trace is not yet available, a Trap is the only way to track down the numbers of harassing callers.

Call Screen (sometimes called Call Block or Selective Call Rejection). This service allows you to block calls from up to 12 numbers, which you identify. You can also block the number which just called you, even though you may not know the actual number. Your phone will not ring when you are called from one of these numbers. Instead, the caller will get the message, "The party you are calling is not accepting this call." There is both a start-up fee and monthly charge for this service.
Be aware that if you use Call Screen to reject calls from a harasser, that person is likely to go to another phone or a telephone booth to circumvent the Call Screen.

Selective Call Acceptance. You can program your phone line to accept up to 12 phone numbers, those callers who you most want to talk to. All other callers, including the harasser, hear a message that you are not accepting calls now. You can turn this service on or off at any time.

The phone company will release information if you tell them you are being harassed . They will even inform the proper authority to handle the situation properly.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: reverse phone lookups

latest update with my new best buddy Pat Kelly, the longtime friend and business associate who desperately needs to speak to me despite my not having a goddamn clue who he is...

this guy has taken to blocking his outgoing number when he calls... no luck for him since my policy of not answering the phone unless it's a number in my phone book doesn't make exceptions for crafty characters who use call ID block.

also, don't know if i mentioned, but these calls are arriving on my cel phone, not a land line... which violates plenty of laws if this is some retarded marketing ploy (which seems less and less likely at this point)

i imagine that cel companies (i'm with SprintPCS) have similar Call Trace and Call Trap etc features. don't know if i feel like activating them just yet. i'm going to first go the lawyer route. i have enough friends who practice law and would represent me gratis in this baloney matter. one of them just passed the bar about a year ago and is still very young... would get a kick out of her calling and explaining that she's my legal counsel. if he doesn't believe it and gets rude/profane/still calls me instead then we have quite the can of worms opened.

oh, also i availed myself of the federally-permitted free credit check from all three bureaus and, as i knew, there's nothing but blue skies and green check marks for the entire history. (having an 800+ score is pretty wicked, i have to say... hehe) if this guy thinks i owe someone money, Experian Equifax and TransUnion don't know a thing about it.

[converge]

Re: reverse phone lookups

The phone company will release information if you tell them you are being harassed . They will even inform the proper authority to handle the situation properly.

I guess that depends on the phone company (and possibly locale) as well as partially how brave they are, but generally telecoms will only release this directly to the authorities.. depending on nature of the requested info only under subpoena. Otherwise said telecom *could* find itself in the middle of legal fun, especially if release of this info violates its published privacy policy. Some telecoms have the *57 feature built as part of the default customer profile, you just won't know unless you check first. This could also be contingent upon a personal line vs a business line.

You have his number, the fact the he ordered ID block only lends to the level of harassment he is willing to pursue. Cell? He is now causing you measurable monetary damage as well that will be printed on a sweetly organized monthly statement. Lawyer, a good idea to put the breaks on him and at the start of the conversation I would slip in acknowledgment that the conversation is being recorded for customer satisfaction .. or at least provide the rhythmic beeps required in some states ;)

Sounds like he's just a douche.