Is this a scam or annoying collection call?

[Dennis S]

My Mom gets one or two recorded calls a day from 866-802-6985, asking her (not by name) to call Mrs. Newberry or Mr. Fry at 1-866-247-1087.

She used to get a few calls from some outfit because she let my niece use her credit card number so my niece's husband could have emergency dental work. Apparently, my niece got behind on the payments and someone started calling Mom.

None of the numbers ever show upon Google. I was going to call them from a phone booth to see if they announced a compnay name, but those are hard to find now.

[SteveJobs]

first #: put on hold.Didn't stay on.

[threeprong]

Just use caller id blocking and call from anywhere...

3p

[Gareth]

I don't think you can caller-id block your number when calling a toll-free number.

[tahoedrew]

THere was a scam a few years ago where you got a phone message and it asked you to call to collect money you had won or something or other. You called an 800 (or 888 or 866) number and it actually transferred you to a pay line without your knowledge that went to australia or something. You ended up getting charged for the call (which was like a 900 number here in the US) at a HUGE dollar per minute rate.

I would say your idea of calling from a pay phone first is a good idea!

~A

[OWC Jamie]

I've been getting a recordedcall (even on Sundays) for the last few weeks as late as 8:55PM for some sort of credit card offer. Quite vague. No Name. At least they give the number to call back v e r y s l o w l y.

If they don't give a company name they're a crank call in my book. Not worth a second of my time. Delete.

[SteveJobs]

I dialed from a large corp's exchange. You can always use a payphone, or borrow someone's phone.

[MacMagus]

866 numbers can't forward to pay-numbers that charge-back to the caller.

What you're describing is very typical of collection callers. They don't leave their company names.

It's actually illegal for them NOT to disclose their company's name when/if you call back, but they may not give you any more information than that -- including the reason why they called -- because they have a duty of confidentiality to the debtor.

The way to get the calls to stop is to call them back and tell them that the person they're looking for is not at that phone number. It may take several calls, but eventually it does work (usually).

More importantly, this points to a serious problem with your mom's credit history that will need to be addressed. If it's gotten to a collection agency, it's probably also screwing up her credit reports. You'd better make sure that the credit-line is cancelled and that the niece is paying off the debt. Call for copies of her credit reports from all three reporting agencies (you are entitled to get a free report from each once a year). You may want to consult a credit-counselor to fix the damage to your mom's credit history.

Free credit report information:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/20..._free.html

[rz]

MacMagus nailed it. I'd bet it is legitimate, and is a collection agency. At the house I owned before my current one, I was getting these calls all the time, looking for someone named Gary. Apparently he used to have that number. I finally started asking if these were collection agencies and was told (reluctantly) yes. Then, about 6 months ago, I was getting them on my cell phone, looking for some woman. Since I rarely carry my cell phone, I was always getting messages. When I called the number, I had to tell them that I was not this person and had never heard of her, and that she probably gave someone my number either on purpose or mistakenly. The calls stopped immediately.

It looks like the calls may be legitimate based on the scenario you presented. I would address them as MacMagus suggested immediately.