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annie1971_gw

Venting--for lack of a better place

annie1971
15 years ago

I don't know where to sound off, but this seems like a good place to start. I have neighborhood aquaintances that live on the same street. About six months ago I started receiving phone calls from people "concerned about the health of one of these people because they haven't been able to get in touch with them for several months, and would I get a message to them that they needed to talk". Unfortunately, I passed on the message and I suspect I have been put into the computer system as a viable contact to these people.

I have received phone calls requesting that I pass on phone messages, which I have refused to do; I have received phone calls that I don't answer because, via caller id, they are from people that I don't know; but subsequently they are from collection agencies seeking info on the neighborhood aquaintainces. Some of these go onto the answering machine.

Here's my anger: When is it ok for collection people to seek out neighbors to get to people that they cannot contact on their own? Don't people, whoever they are, have a right to some respect, dignity and privacy accorded to them regardless of whatever financial dilemma they're facing? Why is it ok for those people to have their financial problems spread through their neighborhood because someone has done a neighborhood search to seek out households close by?

The other day I received a phone call from a collection agency. The message went onto my answering machine. The first part of the message was that it was a message intended solely for ______ _______. And if I was not ______ ______, I was to "disconnect now". How can I disconnect now when they're leaving a message on an answering machine?!!!

This is an invasion of my peace and space and it disrupts my friendship with people that would be hugely embarrassed to know that their neighbors have become embroiled in their financial issues.

Isn't it just wrong for collection people to be targeting neighbors as go-between's?

Does anyone have suggestions as to what I should do? I guess there's no harm in fielding phone calls; but I certainly don't want some goon showing up on my doorstep because someone doesn't believe I'm not these other people; and I don't want to bring embarrassment onto these neighbors in any way. What should I do?

I guess I'm just really angry that these collection people can invade my home and peace of mind (such as it is).

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