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Does anybody know why the NRA robo calls people and then simply hangs up on them when they answer? I've had it happen to me several times. What do they hope to accomplish? I finally called the number that called me, got a NRA recording with no options given to remove myself from their calling list until I hit a random number during their "please tell me more" recording. I'm almost tempted to think that some anti-NRA group is doing it to turn everyone against the NRA. Is the NRA really that stupid?

Oy. To you and the others advising me to use the Do Not Call list: my number is already on there. These people don't care. They spoof their caller id so they are largely untrackable. I think maybe "telemarketers" was too nice of a word. They are definitely scammers out to rip people off in any way possible. They aren't about to let a little thing like the law get in their way.

The number on my caller id was 858-346-2222. Lots of complaints from other poor souls getting harassed by these scumbags. And go ahead, try to call it - you'll get a message that "Your call cannot be completed as entered..." (I suspect they chose that number to spoof precisely because it's not valid; and thus why they don't just spoof a random number each time). The complaints on that website indicate that it's something about timeshares (I've never owned one in my life), but I'm sure it's just like the scams that say "your car's warranty is about to expire!" or "this is your bank calling about a problem with your credit card" and proceed to try to get your CC number. I got one of the latter once and told them "No thanks, I'll call you back at the 800 number on the back of my card" when asked for the number. Immediately got hung up on.

I'll say it again: every phone should have the ability to completely ignore unwanted callers. Doubly so for any "smart" phone. It would be ridiculously easy to implement, and even more ridiculously useful.

If you actually see the number, write it down look it up on http://800notes.com/ and if it's not there, report it. Sometimes I see class action lawsuits form based on illegal collection agency actions. Also, report it to the FTC.

If you have that much credit card debt, you should seriously consider bankruptcy. I know that sounds scary but in many cases you get to keep the house, most of your assets (including 401k/etc), and the credit card companies get left holding the bag on the irresponsible loans they made.

Well, I'm doing one better. I haven't paid the credit cards since we separated -- with each one, I called while I was still in good standing and said "I can't pay any more, wanna work something out?" and they said "No". As for the house, my ex got it! I pay the bills I consider important (including the one CC left, from my credit union, interest rate 10% even with my awful credit), and the predators who feasted on my ex-wife's indiscretion can suck it.

If you can handle the constant phone calls from people who you owe money to (800notes.com is a Godsend), there's no reason to declare bankruptcy. No point bothering with the predator-approved plan from the local predator-sponsored "non-profit" credit counseling agency, either -- I tried that when I was still in good standing, too. And paying someone 10% of your debt just to answer those calls (yes, I talked to them too) is silly. That's what voicemail is for. :)