Financial Planning Facebook Fan Q&A: A Credit Card Company Won’t Stop Calling Me! Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this: Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn Written by Mint.com Published Dec 27, 2012 3 min read Advertising Disclosure The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. Third-party blogger may have received compensation for their time and services. Click here to read full disclosure on third-party bloggers. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice. The content on this blog is "as is" and carries no warranties. Intuit does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, reliability, and completeness of the content on this blog. After 20 days, comments are closed on posts. Intuit may, but has no obligation to, monitor comments. Comments that include profanity or abusive language will not be posted. Click here to read full Terms of Service. Question: I hope you can help me. I’m getting four to five automated notification calls a day from a credit card company. They’re looking for someone who used to have my phone number. I finally got fed up with the robocalls and pressed zero multiple times to be connected to someone. A representative wanted all my personal information, including my name and mailing address. I refused to provide that, since I have no desire for a business relationship with the company. I was on the phone for more than half an hour and spoke with four people, including two supervisors. I’m not sure this will fix the issue. Even though I filled out a “non-solicitation” form, I’m not sure if it worked. Is there anything else I can do? — Donald M., Washington Answer: No one should call your number five times a day — not even someone trying to collect a debt. Under federal law, debt collectors are not allowed to phone you repeatedly. They’re restricted from phoning you before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. and they’re not allowed to call you at work if you ask them to stop. (You can read more about what a debt collector can and can’t do on this helpful Federal Trade Commission page.) Bottom line: a business can’t harass you by phone, and clearly that’s what this credit card company is doing. How could something like this happen? Easy. The previous owner of your phone number might have given his credit card his phone number and authorized it to update him. I had a similar case a few months ago with a woman whose dead mother was getting calls every day from her bank. Technically, that’s legal, but practically speaking it was the worst kind of torture a company could inflict on a survivor. There’s an easy way to end this, and it doesn’t involve giving the company any of your personal information. You can ask your phone company for a new number. It’s an extreme solution – but it’s the only way to be sure. I was faced with a similar problem a few years ago when I got a new phone installed. The calls came in every day, always asking for the same person, always from the same company, and there was no way to get rid of them. I was naive; I thought that if I surrendered all the information they wanted, they’d go away. They did — almost a year later. I should have just switched numbers. By the way, this kind of activity (and particularly the robocalls) should be illegal. But it’s a gray area when it comes to the Federal Do Not Call Registry, because it’s not immediately clear who authorized the calls. I would presume it’s the person who owned the line before, which means they are allowable. There has to be a better way to opt out of nuisance calls. And if this harassment continues, please let me know. I’ll do my best to help. Do you have a question for MintLife columnist and consumer advocate, Christopher Elliott? Head over to the Mint.com Facebook page and ask away! Christopher Elliott is a consumer advocate who blogs about getting better customer service at On Your Side. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook or send him your questions by email. Previous Post Infographic: How Good are Minters at Budgeting, Saving and Paying… Next Post MintStyle with Rachel Weingarten: Ringing in the New Year Fabulously… Written by Mint.com More from Mint.com Browse Related Articles Mint App News Intuit Credit Karma welcomes all Minters! Retirement 101 5 Things the SECURE 2.0 Act changes about retirement Home Buying 101 What Are Homeowners Association (HOA) Fees and What Do They Cover? Financial Planning What Are Tax Deductions and Credits? 20 Ways To Save on Taxes Financial Planning What Is Income Tax and How Is It Calculated? 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