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Oddest phone call you've ever had?

(12 Posts)
jeanie99 Mon 20-May-13 22:59:55

Some years ago I received a number of really weird phone calls.

The phone rang and when I picked it up someone at the other end started playing a record/music the content of which was death.

I informed the police and they put a tap on the phone but no one was ever caught.

grannyactivist Mon 20-May-13 20:56:06

JessM you've just reminded me that one of my duties in my first job was to take over switchboard duties at lunchtimes. One day I answered a call from a client and when I asked her name she gave a very unusual surname and told me she would spell it for me. I told her there was no need as it was the same as mine and I immediately spelled it out to her correctly. As mine was the only family in the country with that particular name we quickly discovered that she was the wife of my father's cousin. smile

JessM Mon 20-May-13 17:20:19

When I was a child we lived in an all female household because my father (surname X) and maternal grandfather (surname Y) had both died when I was a toddler. Both surnames were unusual.
I must have been about 10 when I answered the phone to hear a gentleman ask for Mr X - when I asked for his name he said Mr Y. shock

KatyK Mon 20-May-13 17:04:53

I once answered the phone to a lady who asked for Maureen. I said I was sorry but that she had got the wrong number as there was no Maureen here. She got very irate and said now look, I know that's Maureen's number because she's my daughter!

grannyactivist Mon 20-May-13 16:50:18

I am enjoying reading about your odd calls. grin

Nelliemoser Mon 20-May-13 15:54:43

I had one at work which, with no introduction went, "Are you the Lady what's in charge of Herbert?
I wasn't! grin

Gorki Mon 20-May-13 15:27:10

That is weird harrigran. Spooky ! shock

harrigran Mon 20-May-13 15:20:03

A few years ago I had a phone call from a man asking if J..... was there (my mother's name) I thought I recognised the voice and asked if it was Uncle S.... Yes came the reply, I said mum wasn't there but you're talking to (my name)he said he knew it was me he recognised my voice. I have never known this uncle ring a relative so decided to ring my aunt and find out what was going on. Not only was he not in the house but was actually in hospital after having had a stroke and lost his speech.
Who had I been talking to ? I know my family names are fairly common ones but it was still a bit weird.

Movedalot Mon 20-May-13 15:14:44

Well I once had one of those calls but we won't go into that.

I had called the war graves people to find the exact location of my brother's grave in South Africa and left my number. I got a call from his old friend who had been in the RAF with him but had been kicked out just before the SA trip so had not died with him. He told me so much I had never known about my brother who was 19 when he died and I was only 14.

whenim64 Mon 20-May-13 14:57:13

......oh, and there was the woman who phoned me at work, and upon hearing me say 'hello', she shouted 'I just want you to know he's trying to swallow the tin opener now. I'm sick of this!' Then she hung up!

whenim64 Mon 20-May-13 14:53:27

Don't hide your light ga! You would be of interest to such people, given the impressive way you have reached out to include people from across the globe in your family. flowers

I once had a phone call from a renowned professor in the USA, whose work I had followed through my career. I was his gofer at a couple of conferences here in the UK. He wanted to ask my advice, he said! I was so gobsmacked, I must have talked drivel. He referenced me in one of his books, and to this day I can't honestly claim that what he wrote was what I had told him. If I had given those pearls of wisdom, I'd be very surprised. blush

grannyactivist Mon 20-May-13 14:33:38

I've just had a long phone call from a total stranger in Vienna. She saw a brief mention of me on a website and having done a little more research she decided she would like to chat to me about my life, so she phoned me up completely out of the blue and introduced herself. She's a professional woman with her own business and was fascinated (she said) by what she'd discovered out about me. She was on the phone to me for 53 minutes at peak rate from Vienna! Not quite sure what to think really - my life really isn't that interesting. confused
What was your oddest phone call?