These people started calling me – automated – about once or twice a week. Friday afternoon, my cell phone buzzed, awoke me, disturbed the cat, and it was another automated message asking me to please update my mortgage information with them so my insurance would be current.
Pissed me off. Pissed me off, bad.
I did a quick web search and came up with this as the contact information:
1-866-466-3702
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.
4500 Park Granada,
Calabasas, CA 91302
I called, asked nicely to be removed from the automated voice notification, seeing as how I don’t have a mortgage with Country Wide, nor, for that matter, do I ever plan to have a mortgage with Country Wide.
Cell phone. Unlisted. Not available. Used for clients. If you’re calling on the cell, you’re either family, damn near family, a close personal friend, or a client. I’m figuring, it’s an advertised rate, $120 per phone call, for Country Wide.
At that rate, we’re now over a thousand dollars, yes, they’ve called me that many times. For starters, it’s a blocked number, and secondly, it’s a work number.
The first two or three times, it was a sales call, soliciting my business. Just irritated me. But then, the tune changed, to another, kind of message, “This is an automated notification from Country Wide Mortgage (whatever), reminding you to update your insurance information….”
I. Don’t. Have. A . Mortgage. With. This. Company.
Friday afternoon, I lost it. I did a quick web search, located the toll-free number, called and asked, politely, after jacking with the automated phone tree, to be removed from the call list.
As I was reading off the cell number, the operator said, “Oh, you’re in Austin, yeah, we’re just up in Dallas….”
We completed the transaction, with a promise that I would be immediately placed on the “do not call” list.
30 seconds later, cell phone buzzes. Automated message from Country Wide. This is not good public relations – at all. Very bad.
I was livid. I dialed back 1-866-466-3702, and punched at the phone until I got very timid voice. I had to speak up to be heard, and then I let loose with a torrent of obscene words about removing me from the list.
“If you can’t stop swearing, I’ll have to disconnect the call, sir.”
That’s what I wanted.
I called again, 30 seconds later, and played phone tree bingo until I got another operator. He sensed my rage, and bumped me up to a manager to help solve the problem.
The problem is, the company is calling, asking me to update something I don’t have. And they don’t get it. All they’re doing is pissing me off.
Three is a charm, correct?
Apparently not.
Monday afternoon, I got another call from 1-866-466-3702 Country Wide Mortgage asking me to please update my mortgage insurance so we would be current, otherwise my rate might go up.
I don’t have a mortgage, much less one with Country Wide.
I got two more calls from them Monday afternoon, which I didn’t answer. I don’t know if it was them, or if it was an important call from overseas, as the cell showed “no number,” but I wasn’t taking any chances.
Download the video, it’s an M-60 doing 850 rounds in less than two minutes. I can think of a call center in Dallas that would be a much better target.
