Thursday, February 13, 2014

When You Need A Reverse Phone Number Lookup For Free

By Jayne Rutledge


Before caller ID and cell phones (and, for a little while in the 90s, the short lived *69, of REM song fame), if you missed a call there was no way to figure out who called you. Now, you can see the number, but often not the name. This is a case where you might want to use a reverse phone number lookup for free, to figure out who the unidentified caller might be.

You may not be able to get all of the details about the caller. Many of these services will tell you the region from which they were calling, and whether it is a business or a residence. However, you may have to pay extra for further information, such as the name of the person or business that is calling.

The good news is, even when you cannot get further information from the service, sometimes there are other options. The website may include a message board where people can post information about the number in question. If that is not the case, try looking further. Someone may have posted this information somewhere else.

This kind of info is helpful in several different situations. For example:

1. You are being hounded by debt collectors. Anyone who has been in this situation knows how stressful it is. Debt collectors can be relentless in their pursuits. The original creditor may have sold your account to a scavenger agency because it got too old. Then, the scavenger agency tries to trick you into answering the phone and admitting to the debt, so that they can get you on record and reestablish the statute of limitations on your debt. Then, they can legally pursue you for longer than they could have if you had not acknowledged the debt.

2. The shady locksmith. This is a weird thing, but more common than you might think. Some "locksmiths" (who often do not have a physical location established for their business, so they are almost untraceable) will advertise emergency services. They take advantage of the blurry thinking that results from stress in these situations. They pick your locks, or just break them, and then claim that you own them five times the going rate for this service. If you refuse to pay the exorbitant amount, they may call and hound you for days.

3. An ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend. Some people save these contacts in order to avoid this situation, but others delete them. You ex might call without leaving a message. You think you recognize their number, but you aren't sure. You want to know, so that you can either prepare for the conversation, or avoid the calls completely. Imagine how awkward it could be if you answered without knowing who it was, and got flustered.

All of these are situations in which you might make use of a reverse phone number lookup for free. As soon as you know who is calling you, you can decide whether to answer, to ignore the calls, or to block the person from calling altogether. Remember, harassment is illegal, even over the phone.




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