Calls from 319-433-1442
GMAC Mortgage calls me five times a day trying to reach someone else. I've never been a GMAC customer. What can I do?
Hi - I don't know whether this is the kind of question you can answer or not, but if not, maybe you can point me in the right direction. I've been receiving four to five calls daily for the last five months from a third party bill collector for GMAC. (The # is 319-433-1442, which has many, many complaints about it all over the web.) The thing is, I don't have, and never had, any account with GMAC. I don't even have a mortgage. The calls are always an automated computer system asking for "Maria Rojas," who I definitely am not and have never heard of. When I go through the automated prompts to say that I am not Maria Rojas, the computer apologizes, but the calls never cease, so obviously I'm not being taken off any list. And if I don't answer, the call results in a voice mail. It's very annoying. Can the Better Business Bureau or another agency help? Can I send them a Cease and Desist letter even though they're not my creditor?
- Calls from 319-433-1442 are from a GMAC Mortgage call center.
- Try blocking calls from 319-433-1442.
- Send GMAC Mortgage a Cease Communications letter.
The number is owned by a call center in Waterloo, IA that is either owned by GMAC Mortgage or a GMAC Mortgage contractor.
You have three options for dealing with the nuisance calls.
- Endure the calls
- Passive resistance
- Cease communications
I will discuss each of these below.
Endurance
The American poet and lawyer James Russell Lowell once said, "Endurance is the crowning quality, and patience all the passion of great hearts." Endurance may be an admirable quality, but James Russell Lowell was never interrupted by GMAC calling for Maria Rojas on his telephone five times a day. If you want to live up to James Russell Lowell’s ideal, continue to endure GMAC’s calls. Look at it as a service: You know your phone line is being tested five times a day, and when the calls stop you will know your line went down.
Passive Resistance
Many land-line and cellular telephone plans allow consumers to block calls from certain numbers. The easiest thing for you to do is check with your service provider to block calls from 319-433-1442. You were polite and tried to inform GMAC’s call center it was calling the wrong number. In a polite society GMAC would have stopped bothering you. In light of GMAC’s boorish behavior you would not be rude to block calls from 319-433-1442.
Cease Communications
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 USC 1692, gives you legal rights to sue debt collectors who threaten, berate, intimidate or harass you, call you late at night or early in the morning, make false representations about the debt or their intentions, or otherwise act in other prohibited ways.
Your third option is to assert your rights under the FDCPA. The FDCPA applies to all US residents, and you have a right under the FDCPA to not be harassed. You mentioned you were never a GMAC customer and are not Maria Rojas, and therefore certainly are not the debtor GMAC is seeking. GMAC Mortgage does not have the right to continue to call you in error, an then claim the FDCPA does apply because you are not the debtor it seeks.
Go to the Bills.com Debt Self-Help Center and download the sample cease communications letter. Tailor this letter to your situation and facts. You can find the street address of GMAC Mortgage by following the link on the Bills.com GMAC Mortgage profile page.
If GMAC takes no action, consult with an attorney in your state who has experience in consumer law. You may have a cause of action if GMAC Mortgage continues to call you five times daily.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.
Best,
Bill