Strange Phone Call!

Years ago, after moving house, we had a new phone number. Soon after moving in the phone calls started. Always early evening. Whoever had previously been allocated our number obviously owned a Holiday property in Spain, which they let out.
Every evening there were several calls. It could sometimes be hard to convince the caller that we knew nothing about the holiday house or the owner and therefore, couldn't help them. After a time we requested a different number and peace prevailed once more.

Septimia

Many years ago my aunt used to get calls for the Bishop of Guildford...

Many years ago my uncle WAS the Bishop of Guildford...

We used to have a number just one digit from the local newsagent. We lost count of the number of times we got irate, sometimes abusive, callers, usually at the crack of dawn on Sundays, complaining that their newspapers had not been delivered. It was often difficult to convince them that we were not the newsagent.

That reminded me a bit of a strange phone call I had when I worked in boutique, at the time in the seventies I think it was the start of the name tags worn on out blouses, hello and he said my name I’m just ringing to ask you as I think you are very attractive what colour bra are you wearing! At the time I was in my first job and was so shocked I dropped the phone🤣 the start of the weird phone calls, a couple of the other young girls also received them after mine

We were one digit different to a local "very sheltered accommodation" run by the council. One morning I got a call from one of the other homes wanting to borrow a member of staff. Wrong number. Two minutes later she called again and apparently it was me who was wrong (!!!) because she got the number off "the list". On the third occasion I just said "Yes of course, they'll be with you in 40 minutes" and hung up!!

Many years ago our number was regrettably one digit away from the council tenants repair department. We had some very interesting calls. On one occasion a very irate gentleman was requesting in fairly colourful language, that someone be sent to repair his leaking roof. There was no interrupting him, but when he stopped to draw breath I pointed out that the number he had called was a private house, nothing to do with the council. He reply was that he didn’t care who the h—l I was and that I had better get round with my b—-dy ladder sharpish, and with that he slammed down the receiver. I wonder at what point he realised that he had given me neither his name nor address, otherwise of course I would have strapped a ladder to the roof of the car and set off!

A while ago I kept getting calls and text messages on my mobile for ‘Ellie’. It quite interesting when I got a text that obviously needed an urgent reply so I rang the number to say they had not got through to Ellie and had quite a chat about her - I found out what her job was and that she was going through a difficult time. A bit later on I got calls from estate agents as she was obviously moving house. Then I got a text message from a guest on the day of her wedding saying that he was delayed. Later I got another congratulating her on the birth of her baby. I got quite fond of her! I am still getting calls from companies for a Mrs X so I am not sure if that is her with her married name. I do, of course ask the callers to remove my number from their database.

Oldwoman70 What presence of mind you demonstrated! Well done ✔ Many would have answered those questions automatically and risked being scammed in some way.

Some years ago we started getting calls for a Mini Cab service, sometimes in the middle of the night. After a bit of research we discovered they did in fact have the same number as us. We asked them to change it. They refused because they were a business. But we had had the number for over 20 years. When the calls continued my husband called them to ask what they charged for journeys from N.London to Heathrow and Birmingham. Thinking he was a customer they told him. He said "You're overpriced, I can undercut that by a third." The man demanded to know who he was and DH said "If you don't change your phone number I'll steal every customer that calls us by mistake, it's a nice little earner" The cab company changed their number.

When we moved house we used to get calls from people thinking they were calling a garage. For months I spent time telling callers they were calling the wrong number and some used to get rather angry. I later found a salesman was giving the number to customers. I telephoned the correct number to let her know that the salesman was giving out their old number and was told there was nothing they could do about it! From then on I 'booked' car servicing appointments with callers. They soon stopped the calls.

You should be so lucky - I once shared a flat where we started getting calls saying they'd seen my card and could I supply details. Eventually I asked what the card was advertising, and he said "um... well... a 'model'" 🤣 As in "attractive blonde seeks position" presumably?

Our telephone number is similar to the local cemetery office. It’s quite sad when someone calls who is obviously upset but we have got to know a local undertaker show occasionally misdials and gets us!!

I once had a call from a man asking what colour my knickers were. I told him I had no idea I'd been in a rush to get dressed so just grabbed a pair and I hadn't looked since. He hung up, I think I bored him.

Sorry meant who occasionally misdials!

I have a phone blocker on my landline because I dont want calls from people in foreign countries offering me double glazing or to fix my computer. The "white list" only lets through close friends/business associates and family.

People wanting to contact me on business are likely to be in the USA or elsewhere abroad. They email me first and we fix up a mutually convenient time for them to call me.

I once worked on a chat line for about 6 months and I learned some excellent tricks to deter weird callers. Ive also done call center work. Oh the tales I could tell ....

I recently had a call on my mobile at 11.30pm from a lady waiting for a taxi outside a pub. Told her she had mis dialled. 5 mins later she phoned again rather irate that her taxi still hadn’t arrived and insisted it was the local taxi number she’d dialled.

I was just drifting off to sleep when she phoned again and demanded her pre booked taxi. She then went on to say she was in a wheelchair and the taxi company had never let her down. By this time I had the name of the taxi company, the woman’s name and the town 100 miles away. I googled the company and phoned them and told them Sheila was fed up and cold sitting in her wheelchair waiting for a lift home. They assured me they were on their way and would be there in 5 mins. I texted Sheila to let her know then blocked her number as she’d already wrongly stored mine as her taxi contact!

Years ago I used to get phone calls every week at 3.30 AM on a Wednesday. I would have to pick up as I use to be on call. but there was never anybody there. So a disturbed night for nothing.
After a couple of months of sleepless Wednesdays I contacted BT who initially didn't want to help.
But it turned out, my landline was registered as a callbox, and it would be dialled automatically by the exchange in the middle of the night to ensure the line was still working!

My mum recounted the time she had a phone call asking if she could do afternoon tea for a coach load of holidaymakers- about 40.
She was quite concerned and doubted she had enough cups and saucers or indeed space, and asked would they mind eating at garden tables outside?
Puzzled silence.
“This is the Buccleuch Arms Hotel we are speaking to…?”
🤣🤣🤣🤣

Brilliant!

My grandparents lived in Norwich and regularly had people wanting the Nottingham police station. There was one different number in the area code.

I used to get long rambling voicemails on my mobile from a plumber! Just to let me know something didn’t fit………. There could be 15 minutes of this. Two or three times a day.
I called, messaged numerous times he just didn’t get it, just kept hitting redial! Goodness knows what the actual client thought.
I blocked them but still kept getting them. He must have had multiple numbers. I got to feel quite persecuted. I don’t give out my number so these were all the calls I got.
Changed my number in the en d!

That was to Pen50

Our number is one digit different to the local Specsavers! We don’t get many misdials just the odd one.

Some years and two houses ago our phone number was one digit short of the Samaritans, and we got quite a few calls from distressed people. I always worried about them when I had to say you’ve misdialled, but do try again.

A few years ago the design department of Cadbury (ten minutes away) had mistakenly given our number to its clients. I had daily calls from all over the world and many interesting chats before giving them the correct number. Eventually It became too much so I politely advised Cadbury and said much as it had all been very interesting could they now rectify it. I had a lovely package from them - a huge box of chocolates, a real Parker Fountain Pen and other odds and ends - and no more calls.