Hi stoptheinsanity
SETTLE DOWN SETTLE DOWN SETTLE DOWN
"don't get your knickers in a twist" or as we say here in Canada "don't get your shorts in a knot"
Now, go and make yourself a hot cup of tea and sit down and listen to what I have to say.
I can sympathize with you and your frustrations because I have collection agencies calling me constantly. I deal with their calls very effectively and I sleep well at night. Here is what I do.
First, I have caller ID. I purchase this service from Bell Canada and it costs $8.95 per month which I consider an excellent investment.
Second, I have a land phone with a window that shows the name and telephone number of the caller. I do not have a voice mail as it gets cluttered up with all kinds of junk calls. I think you know what I mean. Now, each time the phone rings, I used to go over to the phone, look at the window to see who is calling me and then decide if I want to answer the phone. Finally, I said :to hell with this". I purchased from the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) an AUDIO caller ID which I can hear from anywhere in my apartment. When the phone rings, I can hear the number and then I can decide if I want to answer the phone. This device can be adjusted for volume and holds up to 10 calls. You may be able to purchase a similiar device commercially such as Future Shop, Best Buy or The Source.
Thirdly, if I hear the following, I do not answer the phone. "1-800", "number blocked", "number unknown", "000-000-0000",,a phone number from an area code other than the one I have or a phone number that I do not recognize. Especially be wary of phone calls before 8:00a.m. and after 5:00p.m. as these tend to be calls from collection agencies. Here in Ontario, collection agencies call legally call you Monday to Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. They are prohibited from calling you on Statutory Holidays.
Fourthly, if you get a call from a number that you do not recognize, go to your computer and do a reverse telephone lookup. Enter www.white pages.ca/search/reversephone. This will give you the name of the party to whom that phone is registered. You can then decide if you want to return the phone call.
And lastly, if the collection agencies cannot reach you by phone, because you are not answering the phone, they can always write you a letter which you can choose to ignore if you wish. You will find that after a while, the phone calls will fall by the wayside and the chances of you getting a letter are slim to none.
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Educating one Consumer at a time