Collect Calls from Cook County Jail [Archive]

scoblitz

01-25-2007, 10:55 PM

My wife takes a call and it is a recording letting her know that we have a collect call from Cook County Jail - she immediately hangs up.

So it rings again and I'm curious enough to answer. Message says it is from Cook County and a voice says "hey - I got locked up". I press the option to refuse the charges and hang up.

Rings again - voice says "hey, why are you hanging up - I'm locked up". I press the option to refuse the charges and hang up.

Rings again - voice says "stop hanging up on me" - Refuse - hang up.

2 or 3 more times the same (at this point, I'm really enjoying listening to his outrage) before he gives up.

So did it ever occur to him that he might have the wrong number or that without saying who he is that perhaps whoever he was talking to didn't know who he was.

And what happens if a collect call hits an answering machine?

Sue Ann

01-25-2007, 11:05 PM

Damn you ... you could have helped me when I called !!!!!!!

RegBarc

01-25-2007, 11:20 PM

Trust me, you get used to them after awhile.

Then they really get interesting, too. Christ, you could make a drinking game after those calls.

The best part of your OP is that the guy probably wasted his allotment of calls for the given day/weekend by trying the wrong number so much. Heh.

Better yet, when he answered, you should have listened to what he said and responded, "sorry man, your P.O. dropped a detainer on you" then hang up.

Fleegle

01-25-2007, 11:22 PM

After the third time or so, why would he not try someone else?

Faerie

01-25-2007, 11:25 PM

Well, if he was so brilliant that he got caught doing whatever he got caught doing and got put in jail, I don't give him too much credit for figuring out the wrong number part of it all.

~Muse

01-25-2007, 11:37 PM

In my former life, I was a long-distance operator for 5.5 yrs. The prison calls were always *fun*. :p

The prisoners only have access to an automated system to place their calls. They can't hear the person on the other end so they have no idea why the charges are denied. Occasionally, if there's a problem on the billing end - dead air, the system doesn't recognize it's reached a machine, etc.,- the call will bounce to an operator who will then retry the call and tell them what happened.

Depending on the system, if the system gets an answering machine, the caller is told either 'reached an answering machine' or 'charges denied'.

JYoung

01-26-2007, 12:43 AM

The calls are originating from inside the house!!!!
Get out now!!!!

HeyItsCory

01-26-2007, 01:10 AM

JETarpon

01-26-2007, 03:07 AM

There were times when I was in high school or college and had to call my parents that I would say a whole phone number in place of my name. Then mom would refuse the charges and call back for cheap.

Warren

01-26-2007, 04:14 AM

I really needed your help man.

montag

01-26-2007, 08:07 AM

I bet it's inmates calling on behalf of the Daley campaign.

geko29

01-26-2007, 08:28 AM

I liked using the collect call system to get rides from my friends before the days of ubiquitous cell phones.

"Hi, this is Cory from School"
"Hi, this is Cory from the Music Store"
"Hey, this is Cory from Vacaville Prison."

There were times when I was in high school or college and had to call my parents that I would say a whole phone number in place of my name. Then mom would refuse the charges and call back for cheap.

I used to do that kinda stuff too, to get my parents to come pick me up from whenever. But after doing it for a few years, they sharply limited the amount of talk time you had at the "name" prompt. So what used to be "Hey, pick me up from the arcade" or "call me back at 630-224-5435" had to become "comegetme" or "63022" and then a second call of "45435" because I'd get cut off. Still worked about as well, but was frustrating.

mercurial

01-26-2007, 09:04 AM

bruab

01-26-2007, 09:07 AM

"Collect call for Wehaddababyitsaboy..."

davebogart

01-26-2007, 09:17 AM

davebogart

01-26-2007, 09:18 AM

There were times when I was in high school or college and had to call my parents that I would say a whole phone number in place of my name. Then mom would refuse the charges and call back for cheap.Is this stealing?

davebogart

01-26-2007, 09:18 AM

I used to do that kinda stuff too, to get my parents to come pick me up from whenever. But after doing it for a few years, they sharply limited the amount of talk time you had at the "name" prompt. So what used to be "Hey, pick me up from the arcade" or "call me back at 630-224-5435" had to become "comegetme" or "63022" and then a second call of "45435" because I'd get cut off. Still worked about as well, but was frustrating.Is this stealing?

mercurial

01-26-2007, 09:31 AM

Is this stealing?

Is this stealing?

Is this stealing?

Is this annoying?

dobrien

01-26-2007, 10:06 AM

"Collect call for Wehaddababyitsaboy..."Meathead! :)

dobrien

01-26-2007, 10:09 AM

I got scammed by one of these calls, but it was from a "hospital". I thought it could possibly be my mom in trouble, but it turned out to be a prisoner scam. :rolleyes: The cost of his call to someone else was billed to me. I ended up calling the LD company and getting the charge removed.

davebogart

01-26-2007, 10:43 AM

Is this annoying?Probably. And possibly somewhat humorous maybe? Or would you agree with the stick in the mud who left me the comment, "Kind of lame posting that 3 times. Ever hear of multi quote?"?

mercurial

01-26-2007, 10:47 AM

Probably. And possibly somewhat humorous maybe? Or would you agree with the stick in the mud who left me the comment, "Kind of lame posting that 3 times. Ever hear of multi quote?"?

I just thought it was deceased equine flagellation....

davebogart

01-26-2007, 10:58 AM

I just thought it was deceased equine flagellation....Yeah, I would agree if I had just done it once. But once for each example of getting around a long distance charge was kind of original, I thought. Believe me, I wouldn't have done it again in the thread. That would be beating a dead hourse.

Pendragn

01-26-2007, 01:25 PM

Is this annoying?

Probably. And possibly somewhat humorous maybe? Or would you agree with the stick in the mud who left me the comment, "Kind of lame posting that 3 times. Ever hear of multi quote?"?
(unofficial, not moderator speaking)
I agree, annoying, not humorous.

tk

scoblitz

01-26-2007, 03:12 PM

I did feel bad that the guy wasn't reaching who he thought he was reaching but there really was no way of communicating back to let him know. It was all automated and recorded (including his message) so there was nothing I could do but either accept or refuse the charges.

davebogart

01-26-2007, 04:21 PM

To those I annoyed: I'm sorry.

scoblitz

01-26-2007, 05:33 PM

Dave - I thought it was pretty funny actually

HeyItsCory

01-26-2007, 05:46 PM

Is this stealing?
Yes.

I also take tabasco bottles. I also munch on produce at the grocery store. I also don't return merchandise I wasn't charged for. I also download music I don't pay for. I also don't pledge to NPR. I also rob banks.

Okay, I don't rob banks.

Gai-jin

01-26-2007, 07:26 PM

I also don't pledge to NPR.

Of course not, Dave was accusing you of being a thief, not a communist!

:p

Travis

01-26-2007, 08:59 PM

When we lived in Buffalo Grove, Illinois we got calls from one of the prisons. He kept calling for a week asking for Christy. I'd hang up, but he kept calling. One time he called back and told Christy "to take the damn call." I got tired of this guy calling so I called the prison and had our number blocked.

Warren

01-27-2007, 12:52 AM

"Collect call for Wehaddababyitsaboy..."
it was

"Bob wehadababyitsaboy

sonnik

01-27-2007, 01:05 AM

I used to work at an answering service in Chicagoland. Doctors, lawyers, and apartment complexes seemd to make up the bulk of our clients.

On the lawyer side, we received a good deal of these calls.

One interesting note, a lawyer who had been assigned to John Wayne Gacy's death sentence appeal was a client. He'd call on a daily basis to the point where he knew me by name (calls routed through me as a supervisor) and would often make small talk while I was trying to connect/patch JWG to his lawyer.

JohnJr

01-27-2007, 01:11 AM

At $100/hr you were happy to oblige, I mean, do your duty for $4.50 an hour.

The lawyer, strikes me like most lawyers, perverts, of justice.

-John

JohnJr

01-27-2007, 01:12 AM

Did you speak to John Wayne Gacy?

-John

thevargasgrl

01-27-2007, 08:55 PM

Probably. And possibly somewhat humorous maybe? Or would you agree with the stick in the mud who left me the comment, "Kind of lame posting that 3 times. Ever hear of multi quote?"?
I'm that stick in the mud... must have forgotten to sign the rep I gave you.

sonnik

01-28-2007, 08:32 PM

Did you speak to John Wayne Gacy?

-John

Yes, on a daily basis for a couple weeks leading up to his execution.

RegBarc

01-28-2007, 10:19 PM

Yes, on a daily basis for a couple weeks leading up to his execution.
Did he tell you, "kiss my ass"?

He seemed to enjoy sending out that invitation. (http://crime.about.com/od/history/qt/lastwords_gracy.htm)

davebogart

01-29-2007, 11:30 AM

I'm that stick in the mud... must have forgotten to sign the rep I gave you.I'll never look at sticks in the mud in quite the same way now.

sonnik

01-29-2007, 03:18 PM

Did he tell you, "kiss my ass"?

Actually, he was eerily polite and somewhat jovial.

Mysteryman

01-29-2007, 03:25 PM

Actually, he was eerily polite and somewhat jovial.

That's the way they always get ya. They butter you up and then dive in for the kill! "Would you like to start selling in the wonderful world of Amway products?"

Wait, are we talking about the same thing?

:)

JohnJr

02-11-2007, 03:38 AM

hehehe... dive in for the kill, indeed. ;)

-John

Kiyo

02-11-2007, 03:02 PM

I really needed your help man.
Is it sad that you were the one I was literally thinking about when I saw the thread title?

:2funny:

Angie

02-11-2007, 04:43 PM

Actually, he was eerily polite and somewhat jovial.
That's pretty typical. Want some weird reading? Try this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Victim-True-Life-Journey-Serial/dp/0446608270/sr=8-1/qid=1171230113/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8341025-0226430?ie=UTF8&s=books

About a kid who took up a correspondence with Gacy in prison.