h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've just had a SECOND wrong number on my mobile in the last two hours.

First asking for Alison, the second for Darren. I know *no one* with those names.

I find this rather ...is this getting more commonplace in this growing advanced modern world, or have I got people playing silly b****rs with me tonight?

Most likely idiots that can't dial a number properly.

We get loads at work and quite a few at home. They always ask what number we are and I always ask them what number they dialed. If they meant to dial your number for a they generally hang up. If they misdialed they will tell you what they thought they dialed and you can just say that they got it wrong.

We are ex-directory at home so we never give out our number except to family and friends.

During my nurse training I lived in residence and the payphone was always ringing. a few of us started one of two things; 1. pick up the phone and say "Hello, secure unit" or 2. just say hello and then start chatting up whoever was on the other end. Great fun!

turvy

A girl typed in a wrong icq number () and got me...
we chatted anyway, and are now really good friends!

I just find it odd that I'm getting regular wrong numbers on my mobile...that's all. Just must be lots of stupid people conscious tonight then.

Weird, maybe one person got there number wrong when they told a load of friends thier number?

My phone does one ring about every 25 minutes, so I've left it off the hook for the last few days, I really should see the phone company...

I used to get quite a lot of 'wrong number' calls, usually from abroad.

There was one regular caller in particular. I never got to speak to him, because the time zone he was calling from meant that the calls always came in the middle of the night, and it was my office number he was calling (an ex-dir private line). He would always leave a message, sometimes quite a long message, asking after 'my' father and various other members of 'my' family, by name (there was never any member of my family by any of the names he mentioned), and saying how he and his family were, and all that sort of thing.

Although he obviously never got a reply, he would phone quite regularly and always left such a message. It got to the stage where I wanted to call him back and explain the situation, but he never gave his number, so I couldn't.

It puzzled me for some time, then I worked out what must have been going on. My phone was in London at a time when the UK dialling code for London was 01. So to call me within the UK you would dial 01-441 6292 (not my number any more, by the way). The international dialling code for the UK is 44, so to call from abroad you dial your code for international access (often that's 00), then 44, then the UK number minus the leading 0. So to call me from abroad you would dial 0044 1-441 6292. I realised that this person was trying to dial a valid London number 01-629 2xxx. But instead of correctly dialling 0044 1 629 2xxx he was dialling 0044 1 441 629 2xxx. But as soon as the system receives enough valid digits it disregards any further digits dialled.

These days that number would of course have become 020-8441 6292, so I don't suppose you would get that problem any more. But I guess anyone on the old 441 exchange would have been liable to get wrong number calls from abroad.

I also get letters wrongly delivered, and personal callers too, especially since I live in -- Road and there is a -- Avenue nearby. Through various postal mixups I got to know the name of the people at -- Avenue, and we would often pass across misdelivered letters, in one direction or the other, although we have never actually met. Anyway, one day an ambulance arrived at my address. I was a bit puzzled, since no ambulance had been called. Turned out it was for the man at -- Avenue, so I sent it on its way. Naturally I was wondering if it was serious, but didn't like to intrude at such a possibly difficult time, particularly on people I had never met.

A couple of weeks later a vicar rang my doorbell. Again, he needed redirecting to -- Avenue. I found out later, through an obit notice in the local paper, that the man at -- Avenue had died.

My roommate and I got wrong numbers for a "Monica" all last year in our old dorm room. ALL YEAR. We'd tell them every time they had a wrong number, but they never caught on.

The funniest wrong number I ever had was some guy who *thought* he was calling his girlfriend... well... the exchange went something like this:

Him: What do you think you're doing?
Me: Who's this?
Him: You know who it is, !
Me: No, really, I don't have a clue.
Him: Where HAVE you been?!
Me: Hang on a second- I really think you have the wrong number. Who is this?
*pause*
Him: O my God, I'm so sorry... I feel like such an idiot.
Me: That's okay. *thought: you are, no problem *
*click*

Bels -

Amy -

That actually went on much longer... but that was the general jist of it. I hung up the phone and laughed my head off.

One place I lived in London, the phone number was similar to one of the ones of the London Tourist board and their number had been misprinted on some stuff sent to France - so I frequently got French people wanting tourist information. The number was one for French speakers because they acted surprised when I asked if they spoke English. Anyway, in French, I asked one the number he had intended to dial and it was my number... now my French was okay but not great, so I got my technical French teacher (I was doing a Physics degree) to give me the correct French for "This is not the London Tourist board but a private residence, the correct number for the French speaking desk of the London Tourist board is..." and left that on my answering machine after the "hi this is ****** I can't come to the phone right now so please leave a message after the tone and the random French I'm about to say." I got a few messages of "thank you for the information" in French

On a similar subject to Bels, and only vaguely not on topic, I get a christmas card every year for the woman who lived in my house before me from a family. These people never leave a return address so that I can write back and tell them that Elsie passed away about four years ago (just before I got my house - that's the way of council property I'm afraid, and the second I've filled in this way). I always feel dreadful about it, that they don't know their friend has died.

Some people are still not aware of the 1471 feature. Some people, when realising they've dialed a wrong number, rudely put the phone down without apologising. I always ring them back and get shirty.

yesterday I think I had con artist on the phone...
he wanted garentee number for my pc. he worked for company who handled the garentee. I do not know garentee number, but I asked him why needed it. he said he did not have. I said should call shop I bought from. he put on hold to ask the manager. I got anyoing music. he could tell why so I asked why did not asked shop for or send me letter asking for it. again I was put on hold. when came back he became angry with I said he was rude. I hanged up.

I called shop about and found strange and will keep eye open.

the con was chewing gum at start...

Mina - That's so sad!

The worst situation for me was when I had a very similar number to a local taxi firm.I got very incensed at being woken between midnight and dawn several nights each week by drunken naval ratings(serves me for living near a naval port.Eventually I complained to the taxi company and to BT.Luckily it was resolved when the taxi company went bust and I got an answer phone.It served them right-they didn't even thank me for redirecting their customers let alone give me freebie taxi rides for the inconvenience.

Incog.

Can see why they went bust then!

A friend used to have the same number as the Chinese takeaway. Trouble brewing.
Now we have 2 area codes (or rather one, and 2 extra digits that go on the front, which are the same for everyone but without which the number doesn't work...) everyone outside here thinks I am giving them a mobile no, and I bet they refuse to call it for fear of extortion. Not to mention the wear on my fingertips.

Queex's fone was rung by a wrong 'un, however his ma answered it... he asked her who she was, and later texted the same number to tell the perceived owner that 'Some bird answered your fone.'

Anyone ever continually rung the no. of a stolen mobile and asked for the rightful owner, in order to vex the miscreant?

(I kind-of think that folk who refuse to go ex-directory should not really complain about telesales. At least not vociferously. And I think it's really rude of them to get in a shirt with the telesales caller; think how dismal a time they are having? I speculate that if I worked there I would spin them a line about how my evil overlords are forcing me with whips to do their fell deeds, and we could plot together.)

By the way- tip for those with cab-like numbers etc to avoid getting woken in middle of night-0 either unplug phone or turn ring off .

I have a friend whose mobile was stolen and then sold. Friend got the bill, called the people the purchaser had called, got the purchaser's name. Friend then threatened purchaser with police involvement. Purchaser had a record and met friend with phone and money to cover the bill for the calls.