Non-motoring > Wrong number etiquette	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: WillDeBeest	Replies: 25

New Wed 26 Jan 11 17:37   Wrong number etiquette - WillDeBeest

When I started my present job I was issued with a company mobile phone. The phone itself was new but the number had previously been used by someone who had left a few weeks before I joined. I use my work number purely for work, but its previous user was evidently not so scrupulous and seems to have spread it liberally around her social circle. I would regularly get texts and even the occasional call, and I could have umpired a fair few netball matches in the Newbury area if the mood had taken me. For a while, I would patiently explain that no, I was not Ms C and no, I didn't know how to reach her. But it's been more than three years and I still get the occasional text. I no longer respond, reasoning that it's not for me to reacquaint Ms C with contacts from her distant past - not that I can anyway. But what would you do? A related question: my main personal email is one I've had since the mid-1990s and is very simple, because that was possible in those early days. As a result, I get the occasional misdirected Christmas round Robin or social update from someone I've never heard of, meant for someone with a similar name to mine. Not wishing to draw further unwanted attention, I just delete them, but would you? Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 17:41   Wrong number etiquette - FotheringtonTomas

Send 'em back with a standard text. If the e-mail arrives, the sender won't get a "bounce" message, and will assume all's well, if you don't. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 17:45   Wrong number etiquette - Bigtee

Play the game and send silly texts back or better still pictures rude pictures.!! :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 17:48   Wrong number etiquette - Ted

I ignore wrong numbers unless I feel it's worth a call back. I got a txt informing me that our meeting had had to be cancelled. I txted the sender to say he'd got the wrong man........I got no reply but I hoped it might have helped. With phone wrong numbers, Callers generally apologise....I reply ' Don't worry, I had to answer the phone anyway as it was ringing '....Had a bit of a chat with some of them. Ted Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 19:43   Wrong number etiquette - Focusless

At a previous job in a mobile phone company, I did some handset testing using a SIM belonging to one of the test team. I was a bit surprised when I got a text asking when the sender could come round for some 'grass'. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:00   Wrong number etiquette - Runfer D'Hills

Back when phobile moans were still quite a relative novelty it was still common courtesy to leave them on your desk while out of the room attending a meeting. This also served the subsidiary and possibly more key purpose of being sure that everyone passing your desk had the opportunity to notice that you were important/stylish enough to own one. One office joker, fed up with the yuppy wannabes took just such a chance to remove the sim cards from about six of the phones in our office and shuffle them before randomly replacing them. Irresponsible of course but very funny for an hour or two. As in... "Hi Darling it's me" "Who" "Me" "Sorry?" "I'll be home soon, wear the..." "I'll call the police..." Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:29   Wrong number etiquette - R.P.

"Wear the Crocs" Not at all surprised she wanted to call the Police. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:30   Wrong number etiquette - Runfer D'Hills

Not a good look on their own. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:31   Wrong number etiquette - R.P.

Not a good look at all. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:38   Wrong number etiquette - Runfer D'Hills

Bubble's burst now anyway. Can't give 'em away. Thank goodness. Had to happen sooner or later. Hideous sheepskin "cavegirl" boots are next to do the lemming impression. Mark my words. Not naming brands for obvious reasons eh cobber? Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:41   Wrong number etiquette - Iffy

...Not naming brands for obvious reasons eh cobber?... Think they were being advertised on here - must make them the height of fashion, I thought. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:45   Wrong number etiquette - Zero

The UGGly ones? Nasty things, Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:46   Wrong number etiquette - Runfer D'Hills

You might be right Zero. Couldn't say... Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:32   Wrong number etiquette - Stuu

Our home number was previously the number for a local removals firm. After over a year, we still get a few calls. I do now have fun with it, see no reason not to. I just make up something outrageous on the spot. Actually, the last time a member of the public rang up asking for a removals quote, I told them 'do it yourself you lazy *******'. I cant imagine what they thought of that, but it was a long day :-) Reply to this message | Report message       2

New Wed 26 Jan 11 20:48   Wrong number etiquette - Bromptonaut

>> Our home number was previously the number for a local removals firm. After over a >> year, we still get a few calls. That stirs a memory Stu. As a kid c1969 we moved to a new bigger house in a smarter suburb of Leeds. The previous occupiers, moving 'cos their kids had flown the nest, were only going round the corner and took the number they'd had since 1950 with them. The GPO allocated us the number recently vacated by Barclay's bank following their merger and branch combination with Martin's. For years afterwards we got callers asking, after giving the exchange and number in the fashion of the time, 'is that Barclays Bnak?' At least once the call was from the company delivering cash and on another occasion my parents were woken at 04:00 to be told the alarm was sounding!! Only stopped c1977 when Post Office Telecoms changed the number from 4 to 5 digits by adding a leading 7. Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 26 Jan 11 at 20:49 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 21:19   Wrong number etiquette - Iffy

I used to get calls at Iffy Towers for a taxi company which had a similar number. At one time they were running at more than one a week, and that was just when I was at home. The frequency declined to hardly ever, although oddly enough, I had the first one for ages a few weeks ago. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 26 Jan 11 21:42   Wrong number etiquette - henry k

At our previous home after having to endure a shared line for years we then got our own number which was nice and easy to remember. The problem was it was one digit different from St Georges Hospital London. We suspected that the old telephone exchanges were mis- routing.The advice was " Ask the caller where they are calling from.......etc". Our reply was NO, we are not going to quiz someone in the wee small hours when they are calling a hospital. We opted for a new number. A few times a year we get a call " Two cod n chips and a pickled onion". Yes you guessed ... we are one digit different from a chippy in our region. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 27 Jan 11 00:00   Wrong number etiquette - Ted

Our breakdown freefone number was a digit or so out from a taxi firm in town. We used to start getting calls from slightly inebriated characters after 11 at night. We used to have a bit of fun and tell them we were very busy but a cab would be there in 20 minutes. Probably still waiting ! Ted Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 27 Jan 11 00:13   Wrong number etiquette - rtj70

The phone number for my home as a child had the last two digits transposed compared to a popular pub restaurant. We got calls all the time at one point. Sometimes you got fed up explaining... so we took the bookings for some who didn't listen to us telling them they had the wrong number. Wrong I know but we tried. So easier to teach them to listen. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 27 Jan 11 09:00   Wrong number etiquette - Perky Penguin

Pity the poor soul who has rung his girl friend, from Afghanistan, to propose marriage but has rung the wrong number! How sad is that> Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 27 Jan 11 09:03   Wrong number etiquette - R.P.

Even sadder that the media chose to blab to all an sundry. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 27 Jan 11 09:25   Wrong number etiquette - Iffy

...Even sadder that the media chose to blab to all an sundry... The woman who wrongly received the message contacted the press to get some publicity. She was concerned the non-arrival of the message might upset the couple's relationship. If you have to analyse it, marriage is a public declaration, so there cannot really be a problem in publicising the proposal. Bear in mind the lad remains anonymous. If he hears of the publicity, he has the option of contacting his girlfriend direct and saying no more about it. Clearly, the ideal follow-up is 'proposal accepted' and a picture of the happy couple. But that will only happen if they come forward. In any event, telephone communications should not be regarded as confidential in the sense there's always a risk of mis-dial or the network mis-directing the call. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 27 Jan 11 09:32   Wrong number etiquette - R.P.

or some hack hacking into them.... Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 27 Jan 11 09:37   Wrong number etiquette - Iffy

...or some hack hacking into them... The NoW might have tried to do Sir Richard Dannatt's phone, but not this lad, he's cannon fodder. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 27 Jan 11 09:45   Wrong number etiquette - R.P.

Sorry should have put a smiley on that - no directed at you. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 27 Jan 11 16:08   Wrong number etiquette - Ted

Publicity seeker, she could have just clicked on ;reply ' and told the poor lad he'd got the wrong girl...seemples ! Ted Reply to this message | Report message