Telephone Harassment Getting Worse From Creditors

Q: We used to get hang up calls and one thing you can try is answer the phone and answer by saying "this one operator" If they hear that it may make them think twice. Also, the phone company can put a trap on your line but it does take a police report. We did it over the phone. Explain the situation to the cops and they should make a police report and give you a case #. You give that to the phone company and they put a trap on your line. You then record the time and date of each call. Then you give that info to the phone company and they can nail it down. They in turn report their findings to the police referencing the case number. If you recorded and reported correctly they can nail them. This should not cost you a cent. It didn't us with Pac Bell. Don't let the phone company BS you. If it's creditors using their office phones they can trap it. If it's coming from a cell phone that's another story, but if it's the same idiots eventually they'll screw up.

A:Well, you could sue and then subpoenae the calling records that the creditors made. But there are a couple of technical solutions. 1. You can

get caller id and a caller id unit that blocks unwanted calls. Unfortunately, if you block the out of area creditor calls, you have to also block all other out of area calls, which might include job offers from out of the area. 2. Get another phone under a different name. Then keep your number secret. That way nobody will give your number out because they can't. 3. Get an internet voicemail account. You can either use this to give out to everyone who asks for a phone number after you get a new, clean number, Or you can give it to only people who might contact you about work. lycos.com has such a service. The drawback is the voicemail number is long distance. But it is free.