I had to do a loan shop where I had to provide my actual details. It was three months ago and I get between 3-6 phone calls every day from loan companies. They are hounding me to death!! I blocked each one and yet they come back. They give the option of pressing 9 to opt out of calls and I have worn the 9 button down!! My husband had a stroke a month ago and I was trying to deal with that and all these damn calls! Shop totally not worth it.

I have done assisted living and nursing home shops where I foolishly provided real contact details- well I had to as I left messages for call backs. I am being annoyed months later- I presented a scenario of having an elderly parent in need of care- I have started to say the parent passed away to get them off the phone- problem is I used both mother and father scenarios or sometimes a couple scenario and obviously did not keep notes on each and every one after report was submitted- When they call and ask if we need still need- I have to say no, my parent died and hope they do not ask anything else. Sometimes these shops can be annoying! Sorry to read of your problems and best wishes to husband for a quick recovery. I have a spouse with a serious incurable and progressive illness so I know how hard it can be to deal with unwanted phone calls!

Hugs to you both in what you're dealing with. MSing is not important in the scheme of things..

Is there a way you can update your information? Tell them your phone number changed and give them the new number (their phone number) so they call themselves :-)

Ugh, I feel for you. These “loan shop” aftermath calls are like telemarketer zombies — block one and two more crawl out of the grave. I’ve been in the same boat and finally got ahead of it. Here are a few strategies that actually work to reduce or stop the calls:

Register your number at donotcall .gov
It’s not magic, but it helps filter out some of the legitimate callers after about 30 days.

Report repeat offenders
If you keep getting calls after being on the Do Not Call list, take note of the number and file a complaint through the FTC. It takes a few minutes, but they do investigate patterns.

NEVER press “9” to opt out
I know, it’s tempting — but it often confirms to scammers that yours is a working number, and they’ll just sell it to others. Better to hang up immediately and block.

Oh, and I tried one of those Robo apps once… 0/10, would not recommend. Felt like trading one pain in the butt for another.

If you’re still dealing with the flood, I recommend calling your carrier too — they sometimes offer free spam filters or call-labeling services.

Consider a Google Voice number for future shops
It’s a free, alternate number you can use for mystery shopping that forwards to your real phone. You can screen or block calls without messing with your actual number. Life-changing!

Hang in there. It’s wild what we go through just for a few bucks and a report.

Darn near everyone gets my google number.

I feel you, been there, and am so sorry. Take care of you and your family.

Those banking and loan assignments are not worth the personal cost, due to the harassment and the credit inquiry dings. You’re the one paying in the end for all that time, gas, follow up, cost of hard credit checks, and …residual cleanup the client and MSC could care less about. This is why I keep scrolling and avoid the increasing bonuses and misleading scheduler sales pitches.

Warning based on experience in a sales job- Google numbers will get your real # reported as a spammer after a certain number of calls and you don’t get all the services (vm, c/b etc) unless you pay, and your # will show as a spam call for at least 6 months.

I set up an additional line/number for free just for this business with my plan provider to keep things manageable.

Setting up a separate email to give the targets works well because you can monitor the MSC communications from your profile email, keep business and personal separate, stay organized, cherry pick the useful replies, and trash/spam the rest.

DO report harassment/spam to the FTC if you have the bandwidth because…they are predators, which is a priority at the FTC.

In addition to what you shared, I can also validate the senior living pests. The “for profit” ones are …dogged in thier thinly veiled sales calls. The non-profits are not so persistent because it’s a different mission.

With Sr. communities I usually chat up the contact/target as I do the discovery call. If they’re good people genuinely interested in Mom’s well being, I’ve been able to reach out personally and just make an excuse. “Out of our price range” works well, as does “decided on another location/death” to end the communication. For those who make the effort and genuinely care, I complement their ethics, offer gratitude, and blame taking the other option on “family consensus” so they don’t burn out and continue to care in real situations.

In the end, we all have to live with ourselves. Remember that Live us what matters most, and remember to be kind to You, and say yes to needed help as well.

Sending you all the good vibes…

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2025 11:07PM by SBP.

I tried Google phone, using home phone vs. cell phone, but eventually I run out. Lately I've been using Burner app (android) to generate new phone numbers. I pay $2 per month for it, but it's a legitimate business expense, and I can choose to keep the new number for future use, or toss it.

It would be nice to have a burner email generator as well. Does anyone have ideas other than opening multiple Gmail accounts?

On shops that require feedback, I give my google voice number. They either leave a voice mail or don't. But I answer that number. It rings off the hook now.

Tell them the loan has been funded.