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Oddly enough we got a similar phone call a few years ago.
Today's caller asked if we were a reform temple. I laughed as I told the man we are not a Jewish synagogue or place of worship.
Somewhere in the world at least two people have my home phone number mislabeled.
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Wrong numbers
When I was a kid, we had a phone number that was one digit off from a local garden store/nursery's number. We always gave the callers the correct number, this happened about once a week.
One evening, just as we were sitting down for dinner, the phone rang and my father answered.
An angry customer went on and on about his G.D. lawn mower and how it wasn't fixed. He finished with, "What are you going to do about it?" My father told him that he could stick his G.D. lawn mower up his a$$, and hung up. My mother asked, "Who was that?" Dad said, "Wrong number." We all knew what had happened and had a good laugh.
We often wondered what happened when the guy finally got the correct number! lol!
Mr. Ram
I like to play
with them too but telemarketers are my favorites. They never expect heavy breathing on the line they're calling or being asked what they are wearing. If you can go anywhere near that they'll actually hang up, and some will even black out your name from their dialing list. Best of all they're telemarketers so you can be really filthy and depraved to them. Kinda like taking candid pictures of the paparatzi.
Bailey Summers
Telemarketers
Unfortunately the only ones that leave me a message or contact number are computers that spit out a pre-recorded message ("Are you struggling with debts of £15,000 or more?" Errr, no!) before inviting you to press a number to (theoretically) speak to a human. The annoying thing is, there's one company that keeps phoning up (I think it's trying to flog something called "Debt Relief Orders") but to date they've used about 15 different numbers - all of which are easily identifiable as they have a non-geographic code and the first half of the number is identical, indicating they've bought a batch of numbers to use.
While the UK has something called the "Telephone Preference Service", which is designed to reduce the number of junk calls you get, it has no legal backing, so it's entirely up to individual companies whether they remove numbers registered with the TPS or not. Still, since BT provide free caller ID, if I have a call from an unrecognised number, I just let my answer machine pick it up (it also conveniently mutes the call unless you're curious enough to manually override it).
EAFOAB Episode Summaries
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Telemarketers
Regards,
Dave.
The US has a...
The US has a "Do Not Call" list as well... Sadly, SOME of the telemarketers seem to be able to get around the list - by claiming to be doing a public service and/or surveys.
Wrong numbers
My own home number, which I've had for many years, is the usual number given by a certain Mr Lewis to his creditors. I finally gave up and transferred that number to my fax machine, since I got tired of explaining. If it's not one thing, it's another.
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Some fun
When my parents moved to FL the number they were given apparently had belonged to the local power company so whenever the power went out we'd start getting calls. When they asked when the power would come on I would say as soon as I catch the hamster - or after I've rested and get back on the bicycle. Sometimes we just told them to pay their bill on time and their power wouldn't be turned off.
Commentator
Visit my Caption Blog: Dawn's Girly Site
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Speaking of wrong numbers
Speaking of wrong numbers reminds me of a late Saturday afternoon one very hot summer day. I had come in from working on the car all morning and into the afternoon.
I got a call from a man wanting to know if he had the wrecking yard and wanting parts to fit something. I told him he had a wrong number.
My significant other probably wouldn’t agree with me.
Anyhow, around here all the wrecking yards close at noon on Saturday’s so this guy was out of luck.
So he calls back and I tell him he has the wrong number again.
Then he calls back a third time and I tell him again.
All these calls are in maybe a five to ten minute span.
Lo-and–behold he calls again, this time I answer “WRECKING YARD†and he starts to tell me all his woes and I assure him we can take care of his parts problem, “COME ON DOWNâ€.
I never heard from him again but I’m positive the wrecking yard did come Monday.
Three strikes and you're OUT.
Huggs
TG_Karmon
Something that horrified me as a young lad
brings one of the few pleasurable tangible "Andrea" moments?
"Excuse me, Is this the DiMaggio residence?"
"Yes, may I ask who's calling?"
"Oh, good, Ms. DiMaggio? I'd like to...."
After that it really doesn't matter what they want me to do. Time shares? Mail Order Cat Medications? Subscription to Popular Trout? Any thing they want!
She was born for all the wrong reasons but grew up for all the right ones.
Con grande amore e di affetto, Andrea Lena
Love, Andrea Lena
Dour wrong numbers
People call me and ask "is this is the Hospice"? I usually try to compassionately explain to them that I am very sorry for their pain, but no it is not the Hospice. Their broken hearts make me feel so sorry for them.
Khadijah
really wrong number
our "one digit off" was to an eye doctor. incidentally, also our own.
after getting tired of explaining over and over again that no, this is not the praxis of Dr Huck (pronounced like the band name Dr Hook), my ex actually started to hand out appointments. several times in a time frame when she had one herself. so she was sitting in the waiting room when those with bogus appointments arrived and had a hard time trying not to laugh.
http://www.sanego.de/Klinik/Bayern/3733-Nuernberg/168746-Aug...
back then we had 6 digit phone numbers ...
wrong number The Ultimate Prank phone call
this is so funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdoogjic4I
Melanie
Prank Call
If you haven't checked out Melanie's YouTube link above, DO IT NOW!
It is so funny. I'm sitting here wiping the tears from my eyes.
Thanks heaps Melanie, that really brightened my day.
Phone Stunt
Bike Resources
Back in College
Back in college (or Uni as many of my European friends refer to it & perhaps others too - and yes, I do have a friend or two), the phone was attached to the wall - beside the door to the dorm room (my roommate & I shared it). One day, the phone started ringing as anther friend on the hall was stopping by to greet us. The phone rang as he walked in the door.
What did he do? He picked up the phone and replied "Chuck's Bar & Grill. You grill 'em, we chill 'em." and hung up.
What makes the story ALMOST interesting? It turns out that the caller was a pair of girls - from another dorm - trying to MAKE a prank phone call. (My roommate & the guy that came in the door - ended up dating the two girls that made the phone call. I, as usual, sat on the sidelines, successfully masquerading as a guy.)
Anne
Discovered a new scam
I had an interesting call yesterday, on my cellphone. Someone using a very professional tone of voice told me that my cellphone bill was past due and they were going to cut off service immediately. She wanted a credit card number.
I told her that I knew for a fact that my bill was paid, since I have automatic payments set up through my bank, and had seen the charge go by.
She insisted that the bank may not have released the finds, and that I'd have to make at least a small payment towards my outstanding bill to avoid service cutoff, and mentioned that of course there would be a fee charged to restore service.
By this time, I'd logged into my bank account and verified that the bill had been paid, so I told her that I thought she was probably a scam artist and would be calling the police to trace the call. She disconnected at essentially the speed of light, as far as I could tell.
I didn't actually call the police, since our police department has enough to do without taking down reports about con artists probably sitting in a boiler room in the former USSR, but did call my cell service provider's fraud department and reported the scam.
Oddly enough, they were so pleased with my report that they gave me a $25 credit on my bill, and reimbursed me for the retail cost of the call, despite the fact that I had some 10,000 unused minutes available to play with, and didn't actualy pay anything for the call, so I made twenty-eight dollars and some odd cents for being a concerned citizen.
This caped crusader business obviously has its compensations...
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Some scammers masquerade as perfectly legitimate businesses
In 2002 my wife got pregnant. Her OB ordered an ultrasound early along in the pregnancy at about 7 weeks.
We go to the testing facility. They say our share for the ultrasound is $110 and change. I charge it to one of our credit cards.
Less than a month later, I get the statement. The only thing I owed the testing facility was $15.(The same as if I or the wife went to a doctor for a visit) I call the facility and ask for my credit card to be credited.
They refused. I then told them what I'd do. I would dispute the whole charge, complain to any consumer agencies, state attorney, the better business bureau making it clear that they are going to credit me back the money either the easy way or the hard way. Guess what? I got the $95 back that afternoon.
Turn the calendar ahead to 2005 and I need to have an MRI at a sister facility of the 2002 one. I get asked for $170. Well I didn't fall for it this time, I said I'm only paying $15. The person at the office said no problem and guess what? My bill was $15 again.
In 2008 my wife had to have another test done. This time they asked for $15.62. We only paid $15. Concept Open Imaging of Palm Beach County is a con artist. How much do they deliberately overbill people day in and day out? How many people when they find out they been fleeced, write it off as not worth the aggravation?
"Writing is like walking in a deserted street. Out of the dust in the street you make a mud pie."- John le Carre
Daniel, author of maid, whore, bimbo, and sissy free TG fiction since 2000
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.- Oscar Levant