I got 1 call this morning at 8:38am, 1 call at 9:09am, then another call at 6:02pm, no messages. I have no idea who it is as they didn't leave a message. No legit company make weird calls like this lol.
I'm not sure if this is a "collection agency" or just an outsourced calling and "reminder" service that leaves actual ConEd staffers free to devote their time to actual consumer problems. When I called the 718 number, which is probably linked to a ConEd 800 number, I pressed the prompt for account information and it automatically detected the number of my phone, looked up my account information, and told me my last payment, what I owed, and what it would take to reinstate a lapsed payment agreement. I doubt that an independent service unknown to ConEd would have access to that information, unless, of course, it simply forwarded one's call to an actual ConEd number and somehow got credit the way a blogger gets credit for an ad click that links to an advertizer. Why they don't leave messages is anyone's guess - probably a privacy thing.
The only problem I see with making payments through third parties (if this is one) is that they may also represent other creditors, or potential creditors, to whom you might not otherwise give your personal financial information. So, if you someday incur a debt with someone who gets a judgment against you, they would have all kinds of personal information about you, like your social security number, bank account number, actual home address, etc., which they might otherwise have to get through a subpoena or costly private investigation. And then there's the problem of identity theft. If you don't know who has what already, there's really no way to trace a misuse or misappropriation of the information.
But since third parties already know what we eat if we shop with supermarket discount cards, what we own if we register our warranties, and just about everything else about us if we carry insurance, shop online, or participate in so-called "surveys," our lives are an open book anyway. Googling someone is just a drop in the bucket. There are linked consumer databases that make the Department of Homland Security's supposedly anonymous data-mining efforts look tame, and someday your health or life insurance rates may reflect whether or not you bought the diet mayonaise the last time you grocery shopped.
The problem with these unsolicited phone calls is that nobody wants to do this stuff on paper anymore. We communicate by email and pay our bills online, by telephone, or by automatic electronic funds transfer. ConEd will send the obligatory bills and notices by mail, unless you opt out, but they try to make it "easier" for us to pay them by calling... and calling... and calling. In an increasingly cashless society, it's the squeeky wheel that gets the oil. But not leaving a message is downright rude, and should be illegal, and every phone or phone account should have a blocking capability for such repeated intrusions. Perhaps there should be a "Do Not Call" list for creditors and collectors like there is for telemarketers. But then, how would we identify anonymous "third parties" so we could prosecute them? Welcome to the future!
Hey this maybe also be away to get people to trace and pay to trace unknown pain in the a@#*, #'s since they all hv some type of fee for Detailed listing information. Who knows.
This number popped up on my cell phone, it was a recording asking me to please hold there is a important call on this line. Of course I hung up. There is a lot of fraudulent activity going on and I believe it is also a scam. I am reporting it to the FTC.
Whatever you do, do not hold on. Hang up until we can get to the bottom of this call.
This is a way to get your credit card information, it is not affiliated with Con Edison at all. Our information has been compromised either within or outside of Con (Artist) I mean Edison.