If you haven't been harassed by NCO Financial, it's just a matter of time. This Pennsylvania company claims to be a legitimate collection agency, but they have been sued by several state attorneys general, have a huge file of complaints at every BBB in the country, and violate every rule of conduct required of collection agencies by law. Google them. Or Goggle 18666278195. Both their name and number usually show up in your caller ID.
They started harassing me about two months ago. I get at least one call a day, usually more. They use predictive dialling, so it's easy to spot them, even if you don't have caller ID. My habit is simply to hang up if a real person is not immediately on the line. Sometimes they have a recording that gives you a clue.
Today I finally got the only clue I need; the recording said they wanted to speak to David Somebody. I forget the name, but it wasn't mine.
I've had this phone number for about ten years, far longer than the statute of limitations for most kinds of debt in this state. So even if they have the "right" phone number for the debtor, they are basically beating a dead horse. That explains the horror stories you can read on the Internet about people who have been silly enough to stay on the line and try to reason with them. The NCO Financial people actually start screaming and using foul language if you dare tell them they have the wrong number.
They can do a reverse look up of the phone numbers they call and find the name of the person who owns that number. If that doesn't convince them that they have the wrong number, I'm certainly not able to do it by staying on the line and hearing their tirade.
NCO Financial is not the only bunch of crooks trying to collect noncollectable debts from the wrong people. Googling sleazy or crooked collection agencies will turn up many more.
Bottom line is that any legitimate debt collection agency will have the Social Security number of the debtor; they can easily find the current address of the right person. If they can't send you a certified letter, they are not legitimate.
Since these slimebags don't even know my name, I feel fairly safe from damage to my credit report, but I'll keep an eye out. The last thing I want to do is tell them my real name; with my luck they would claim I'm using an alias and then I would really feel their assault. Meanwhile, let them waste their time calling the wrong number. Caller ID and Google are my friends.
Now if only Vonage would offer a call-blocking feature! You would think that some bright engineer would offer a device that handles this for you, but the only one I have ever found is Caller ID Blocker and it appears to be permanently out of stock.
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2/20/09 Good news! I found a used Caller ID Blocker for 1/2 price and also found some PC software (callclerk) that does the same job and more. Also, the mystery of what became of the Caller ID Blocker company is solved. They (InterceptorID) are working on a new version and ran into quite a few unexpected snags - like their manufacturing vendor lost the tools used to make the original and they are now being recreated by InterceptorID.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Blessed BeThe Newsmakers
Steven Bates has a priceless article in Slate today titled Blessed Be The Newsmakers. His thesis is that newspapers can stop their decline by declaring themselves as a religion.
"... as New York University's Jay Rosen points out (and noted earlier), American journalism itself constitutes a sort of religion, "a belief system and meaning-making kit that is shared across editorial cultures in mainstream newsrooms." What qualifies as news reflects an idealized notion of democracy. Public corruption brings forth righteous wrath from the press's pulpit. Reporters strive to "evoke indignation at the violation of social values," media scholars James S. Ettema and Theodore L. Glasser observe in their book "Custodians of Conscience"—as, they add, the prophet Jeremiah did."
"Just as the Puritans vowed to purify the Church of England, journalists seek to purify the country's institutions of self-government. "Democracy," Philadelphia Evening Bulletin editor Fred Fuller Shedd declared in 1931, 'functions largely through the efficient service of the newspaper'—no great leap from 'No one comes to the Father except through me.' The Scripps Newspapers' motto admonishes, 'Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way.' See also John 8:12: 'I am the light of the world.'"
Bates concludes with "It shouldn't be that hard to reposition the press as a church. It's already halfway there." Well, maybe that's an average, but the New York Times has been there for decades.
"... as New York University's Jay Rosen points out (and noted earlier), American journalism itself constitutes a sort of religion, "a belief system and meaning-making kit that is shared across editorial cultures in mainstream newsrooms." What qualifies as news reflects an idealized notion of democracy. Public corruption brings forth righteous wrath from the press's pulpit. Reporters strive to "evoke indignation at the violation of social values," media scholars James S. Ettema and Theodore L. Glasser observe in their book "Custodians of Conscience"—as, they add, the prophet Jeremiah did."
"Just as the Puritans vowed to purify the Church of England, journalists seek to purify the country's institutions of self-government. "Democracy," Philadelphia Evening Bulletin editor Fred Fuller Shedd declared in 1931, 'functions largely through the efficient service of the newspaper'—no great leap from 'No one comes to the Father except through me.' The Scripps Newspapers' motto admonishes, 'Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way.' See also John 8:12: 'I am the light of the world.'"
Bates concludes with "It shouldn't be that hard to reposition the press as a church. It's already halfway there." Well, maybe that's an average, but the New York Times has been there for decades.
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