I'm posting under the General category because this is not really about personal finance, it's more about recreation.

For the past several months I've been getting calls every few days on my cell phone from a collection agency looking for someone who has apparently defaulted on a student loan. I have no idea who this person is. The calls come from many different numbers and have gotten very annoying. I've told them not to call but it does no good.

Today is a slow day at work. I got one of those calls this morning and, well, kind of went ballistic. I've spent the day researching the company and filing complaint letters against them with various different state and and federal agencies.

No, I don't think it will do any good but man is it cathartic!

My wife and I have never had anything go into collections. But we have had collectors try to come after us because of similar names. This seems like a trick used to try to intimidate people into paying something.

We've been fairly successful at getting collection agencies slapped down in the past. We got an executive fired for illegal practices, a major national company fined by our state, and my wife even had the general counsel of a major national collection agency in tears one time after we presented the attorney with indisputable evidence of criminal activity going on for over 5 years after she had been notified! She broke down when my wife gave her 4 hours to fix a false report someone at her company filed against us in retaliation. But, the poor lady came through and we didn't have to file a criminal complaint after all.

In any case, this has gotten very annoying and I decided to make some noise today. I have collected evidence of their wrongdoing over the last few months. Today I filed complaints with the FTC, Department of Education, and the FCC (because they have falsified callerID information). The DoE claims to investigate all complaints. The other two I doubt will do anything.

But it has been a fun day!

I've gotten some calls, but never anything like you've gotten. Perhaps I am just more believable when I say I am not who they are looking for... that or the fact that I generally mention being an attorney and quote passages from the FDCPA to them.

I do however constantly get the calls (on my cell phone which I never give out to businesses) warning me that they've tried contacting me several times and this is my "Final Chance" to lower my credit card rates. I just need a balance of at least $10,000.00 to participate. I got bored and pressed the button to get to a live person, and told them "I don't have a balance on any of my credit cards, and if this is really my final chance, why do you keep calling?" He forcefully hung up (really I heard the phone slam down), and I still get the calls on a weekly basis. I can't figure out what company is doing it though, so I can't file a complaint.

I also did file a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General about similar style automated callers to my home phone. They were calling five times a day. There I figured out who they were and documented it (and they were dumb enough to leave messages). Those calls ended soon.

Interestingly enough, I had someone whom I believe to be a process server although I dont know for sure(was holding papers and a pen on him, no uniform) show up at my house just yesterday asking if I was (name of previous resident).

I briefly thought he was going to argue with, but thankfully he just left.

I had the cops show up at my place over the same matter. They were looking for an ex roomie of mine that hadn't lived there in years. I happened to be outside when they showed up and we talked for a while about the business that I just recently sold, but when he showed up he was all business. At first I dont think he believed me about them not living there and I told him to feel free to go inside and look around if he didn't believe me.

He declined to enter and they haven't been back since.