HUMANSVILLE, Mo -- Does your present phone number have a past? We all get unexpected phone calls from time to time, but one woman from the Ozarks was tormented for something she didn't even do.
Wanda Hagerman came to KY3 with a problem--she was receiving unwanted phone calls for an outstanding bill that wasn't hers. It was a case of a wrong number but not how you might think.
Humansville resident Wanda Hagerman has a jitterbug cell phone. "It's been less than a year," she explained. About three weeks ago, Wanda started getting odd phone calls.
"They insisted that I pay my bill," she said. A collection agent for Dish Network said she owed them money. "They just say this is the number we have for this account and so we will keep calling."
Because of all the phone calls, the minutes on her phone started dwindling.
"I never go over my minutes. I certainly did last month because they called every day."
Those calls doubled her cell phone bill and Wanda has never even had Dish Network.
"I just have the local stations," Wanda explained.
The collection agency was actually looking for a man. The number he left with the company is the same as Wanda's.
KY3 contacted Jitterbug's parent company Great Call. They said, to their knowledge, Wanda is their first customer assigned to that number. That concludes another company handed out the same number to another person or the number was given to Dish Network falsely.
Wanda soon contacted Jitterbug about the situation. The company wanted to change her number. It wasn't something she wanted to do.
"Mostly, because I am in the early stages of Alzheimer's. My memory is really bad," she said.
Wanda is caught in the middle of a mess. It's a frustrating situation for a woman who keeps it simple with painting and conversation.
After contacting Dish Network, they sent KY3 the following statement:
"Wanda has the telephone number of a former DISH customer sent to collections due to an outstanding balance owed to the company. We reached out to the collections agencies with which DISH partners; they understand the mix up and have confirmed that she will no longer receive these calls."
Jitterbug is pitching in as well. The company is agreeing to pinpoint all the calls made from the collection agency and remove them from her bill.
