Do you get a lot of "wrong number" calls?

[whoisjohngalt]

When we bought our house I picked a phone number and my husband didn't like it, so he called Comcast and changed it.

Wellll..... it seems that family that had this number before us forgot to inform EVERYONE in their lives that they changed the number.

Now, three years later, I know everything about them.

Their names, where they work, their medical history, names and ages of their kids, daycare place for one of their kids.  I know what sports their children play and I know what town they live in.  I've spoken to their bosses and their grandmother and aunt.  But of course, the most calls I get is from various creditors asking for money.

For the most part I just say "wrong number".  But if I wanted to, I could have really screwed with them a lot of times. 

Anyone else gets a lot of "wrong numbers" ?

[steph08]

No, not really. At our old house/number, our number was very close to a local restaurant/bar's number. If you switched the last two numbers (1234 instead of 1243 for example), they would get our house instead of the restaurant.  A lot of people wanted to place orders for food.

My FIL just got a new cell phone number and I guess the girl who had the number before him didn't tell anyone she was changing her number - he gets texts in the middle of the night - "Call me, I need to talk to you!" "Why won't you see me anymore?!" It is too funny (since it isn't happening to me!).

[CarolinaKat]

At one point in time my number was mixed up with that of a social worker. It only appeared to be about one case though. I learned a lot about the case because interested parties kept calling to ask about court dates and such.

I felt bad for one lady. She called me and immediately launched into a very detailed and well rehersed speech about how she and her husband were hopeing that the court would see fit to place the niece's baby with them. Apparently this 14yo got pregnant and there was in-fighting in the family about who was getting the baby. This lady explained all about how she and her husband had a stable job and could afford reputible daycare and how they have a family law atty who's info she provided me. She went on to say how much she and her husband wanted the kid and was there anything I could suggest for them to do to additionally prepare before the court hearing?

I didn't get a word in before she spilled all that out. I gently explained that she called a chemical engineer and not a social worker, and if I could I"d help her out, but she'd probably do better calling social services. All the other family members that called about the case were not nice at all to the social worker, even before I told them I wasn't her!!! One guy called and was so drugged up/drunk I couldn't understand his slurring words. I hope the baby ended up with the nice people

[alabamagal]

Our house phone number had three double digits.  Back in the day when people actually dialed phones (actually when the pushed buttons) we would get a lot of wrong numbers and they would say "Is this <a similar number without double digits>?"  No you dialed wrong.  

Happened less often with autodialers, and now we got rid of home phone.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

My old lab number was almost the same as the day surgery clinic, the last 2 numbers transposed. So we'd get upwards of 20 calls/day for people looking for the surgery clinic. Most times, I'd tell them the wrong number, that the number that they wanted was 1234 not 1243. They'd want me to transfer them, but while we had the same exchange, we were not on the same phone system and I couldn't. Best I could do was give them the correct number.

It does get old.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I get wrong numbers at work all the time. My number apparently belonged to a doctor on campus and he didn't bother to let people know he'd left. Then sometimes I get calls transferred to me by mistake.

One phone call I had I had barely gotten out "College of Pharmacy" before this lady spills out her entire gynecological history complete with current symptoms. I can't un-hear that!

I finally got a word in edgewise and said you have the wrong number lady. She then got mad at ME.

How about you make sure you got the right number and pay attention to what the person who answers the phone says before you launch into detailed descriptions of your personal medical history. It's not like I pretended to be whoever she was calling, I answered the phone "College of Pharmacy" for crying out loud.

[Sharon]

The last two digits of my previous home phone were transposed from the billing office of the pediatric doctor clinic.  I was guaranteed a phone call every morning at 9am.  People would tell me that they were trying the billing office number since they couldn't get through on the appointment line.

Now my phone number is 1 digit off from a local pet store.  It is amazing how many people want to die their poodles pink.

[toomuchreality]

My home number used to belong to a business. I've had the number for 10-15 yrs now, but still get calls for the business. Luckily the people calling have always been super nice, although embarrassed, because it's been so long.

I get wrong number calls on my cell phone more often. For me this is irritating because it's prepay, and the people are not usually nice. I don't usually answer, unless it's one of my kids, or I'm not at home. If I'm home, I never answer my cell (my message says that).

[Tiny]

My land line number has been in my family since 1952 (when my parents bought and moved into their house). It's my land line number now. I suspect I'll be switching it to be my Cell Phone number at some point. I'm starting to use my cell phone a bit more (it's a pay as you go phone). My usage has picked up in the last 3 months...

So, when I get a wrong number - it's truly a wrong number.

I've had my Cell Phone number for about 10 years? maybe longer.... I never really gave it out much so there's maybe only 10 to 15 people who have it (my contact list is pretty sort ). I've never put my cell number in when a website asks for it.

So, I don't get many wrong numbers.

I would say that Life Source is 'stalking' me - they call my office extension AND my home phone 2 times a day 7 days a week. I wish they'd stop. but I can't get them to do it. I do give blood - usually 2 times a year via my employer's blood drive and then usually when one of the local 'charity/church/whatever' kinda places holds a drive I'll go.

[973beachbum]

Our biggest wrong number issue was years ago when DH had a pager.  It was a teenage girl who thought the number was her fathers whom she didn't live with.   She would page DH up to 300 times a day sometimes for days on end.  Eventually we had to have the company block her from sending pages to our pages because no matter how many times or who told her she would not stop sending them to our number.  We had called back and talked to the mom and she knew it was the wrong number but the girl wouldn't listen.  Eventually we filed a complaint with the pager company and they blocked her.  That was actually more difficult back then that it is today.  We actually felt bad for her but it got so bad we just couldn't take it.  She was so stubborn about not believing it was not her dad's number I have wondered if she thought her dad had blocked her pages instead of us. 

[whoisjohngalt]

I don't mind wrong numbers in general, but I just can not believe how this family didn't tell ANYONE that they changed their number.

At first, I thought they were gone into a witness protection or something, but then I started getting phone calls from their jobs and day care - I just don't get it!

[Sum Dum Gai]

The main phone number at the store belonged to a woman with debt issues before we got it. I still get calls from creditors looking for her on a somewhat regular basis.

[milee]

Jun 6, 2014 17:34:04 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I would say that Life Source is 'stalking' me - they call my office extension AND my home phone 2 times a day 7 days a week. I wish they'd stop. but I can't get them to do it. I do give blood - usually 2 times a year via my employer's blood drive and then usually when one of the local 'charity/church/whatever' kinda places holds a drive I'll go.

The blood banks can be very persistent.   I got mine to stop calling by politely but clearly explaining that if they ever called me again that I would not ever donate again.  Since I'm a pretty regular donor and have one of the less common blood types, I guess that was enough to get them to stop because they haven't called since I said that. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

As close to never. We turned off the landline in 2006ish. I've had the cell phone number for over 15 years.



DH was getting calls from women for while. There was a guy having quite a few one night stands and giving Out DHs number. Those calls and texts were amusing. 

[econstudent]

Jun 7, 2014 12:39:34 GMT -5 milee said:

Jun 6, 2014 17:34:04 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I would say that Life Source is 'stalking' me - they call my office extension AND my home phone 2 times a day 7 days a week. I wish they'd stop. but I can't get them to do it. I do give blood - usually 2 times a year via my employer's blood drive and then usually when one of the local 'charity/church/whatever' kinda places holds a drive I'll go.

The blood banks can be very persistent.   I got mine to stop calling by politely but clearly explaining that if they ever called me again that I would not ever donate again.  Since I'm a pretty regular donor and have one of the less common blood types, I guess that was enough to get them to stop because they haven't called since I said that. 

The blood bank called me all. the. time. I'm also a rare blood type and I get they need my blood, but still. I recently changed my number and it's been so nice to not get their calls any more. I'm scared to go give blood again because I don't want to update my number.   


My husband and I both got new cell numbers recently - we switched carriers so we took that opportunity to switch to a local number instead of the out of state number. He gets wrong number calls all the time, particularly from people in France.   I, on the other hand, have never gotten one on my new number. 

[Deleted]

I had that problem a few times; apparently phone numbers get turned over fairly quickly as soon as an account is closed.

My first apartment in Cincinnati in 1975, I kept getting calls for "Sister Pauline", mostly from old ladies. I think from what they said she was some sort of psychic.

When I moved after my divorce in 1997, I hadn't had a landline for over a year; the phone company had cut it off because my Ex had run up a huge bill for international calls before we separated; he was supposedly starting a business) and the phone company refused to give me service in my name unless I paid it in full. (They did get paid from his share of the proceeds after our divorce.) The new number had belonged to a Hispanic family so I learned how to tell them in Spanish that I didn't speak Spanish.

The most aggravating was my company-issued cell phone in 2009. That belonged to a woman who, from what I can tell, was really irresponsible. Owed on student loans, occasionally didn't show up for work, had overdue library fines... If I had any idea where she and her husband were I would have ratted them out. I had that phone for 3 years before I left that employer and the calls were still coming.

I felt really bad for a realtor who had my Ex's last name. He owed EVERYBODY. When we divorced and put the house on the market, she brought some clients through and mentioned (tactfully) that she'd gotten calls from all kinds of people looking for my Ex. (I hadn't changed my last name and didn't have a landline anyway, so they were looking for anyone who might be a relative; she wasn't.)

[Malarky]

My number is one off from the local pharmacy. It doesn't happen often now, but before speed dialing and cell phones people would often be angry that I wouldn't fill/refill their prescriptions.

[Deleted]

I had a phone in my room back in high school in the 1980s.  They gave me the old number that was printed on a ton of materials for the Meals on Wheels program.  I had old people calling me day and night....

[gs11rmb]

I used to have a phone number that was once owned by a civil rights activist.  I got calls for him all the time and the one I remember most clearly was an invitation to appear on the Montel Williams Show.  Every so often he will be on TV and it makes me smile!

[toomuchreality]

A bill collector called me once, and left a message (not for me/wrong number). He was SO rude, and way out of line, that even though the call wasn't for me, or anyone I knew, it took me a few days to call the company back. When I did, I told them I absolutely would not speak to him.

There were two reasons I called them back- I wanted to report the guy for saying the things he did. Plus I wanted it noted in the girl's account who he thought he called, that he hadn't contacted her, or left her a message.
I had no doubt he had noted it in her file, that he had made contact, and given her the necessary 'notice', so they could pursue further legal action.

No one deserves to be treated so poorly.

[wvugurl26]

When I first got my current cell phone number I got tons of calls for the previous person. My favorite was the automatic dialer informing me my child had been missing one or more period of school that day. I finally called the school after I got five or six messages like that. 

Right now I'm getting tons of calls from telemarketers on my work number. I'm suspecting one of those free webinars that needed my phone number sold it. I rarely get calls on my work number. The worst part is when I memorize a number our stupid fancy phones have no call reject button. 

[busymom]

When we moved into our current house, we got a LOT of calls for the former "owner" of our phone number. Apparently, they hadn't been keeping up with their bills. It took about 10 years before we completely stopped getting calls asking for them.   I found out we're not even living in the same community that they did.  The same area code covers a big territory.

[ZaireinHD]

my last number I was receiving a few calls looking for the previous owner of that number.
oh! before the 'do not call' list - I did change my number because of all the calls of selling shit!

would a wrong number call be considered a mis-dialed call?
I've done that a FEW times!! recently
pressing 5 instead of 6 for example

what about 'butt-dialed' calls considered wrong number calls?

[Artemis Windsong]

No.  My cell phone is shut off most of the time.  I have a recording on the land line that says if you are a solicitor hang up now.  Most people don't get past the rest of the message to the answering machine.

My DH had a used cell phone where he would get calls for stud services ;Dfor horses.  That went on for a year or more.

Oh.  I call random people if I don't have my glasses on when I dial.  One time I hit redial and went some weird place.  If I mix up my DS and DGRS phone numbers I get Jason who thanks me for calling