[PMDRACER]

I'm in SoCal, and for the past 2 days I've been getting these phone calls on my work BlackBerry from the 412 area code (Allegheny County/Pittsburgh Pennsylvania). At first I ignored them and then yesterday late someone leaves a message. It's this elderly woman trying to call her grandson.

This morning she calls again. I'm in an early morning meeting and can't answer the phone; she leaves another message for her grandson saying 'she's going out for the morning and will call again this afternoon'.

Sure enough, she calls again during my lunch break, this time I answer. She's all excited because she finally got hold of "me". I explained to her very gently that she had a wrong number. She verified what she was dialing and said this was the number her granddaughter gave her for her grandson, Lou. I told her again that it must be a mistake because she is calling Southern California and my name was Bill. After an exchange of pleasantries she told me to have a wonderful Easter and said goodbye. I figured that was that.

I checked my BlackBerry when I got home and sure enough, I have a missed call and a message from the same woman.

I guess I'm going to have to be 'Lou' until I manage to get hold of someone and get this figured out. Maybe somehow I can get the granddaughter's number and explain it to her.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to share the story for some reason.

[Stuckinda60s]

Be wary, it may be a new form of pfishing.

It may well be legitimate. It's a shame that you have to be so cautious, these days.

If it was me, I'd get as much information from her as I could. If it's not forthcoming, it probably is some form of scam.

[70Steve]

Next time she rings, ask her if she has any old Pontiacs or parts tucked away!
Hey, you never know.

[Greg Reid]

I've had similar calls and what's really fun is when the elderly person finally understands that you are not the person they are calling, they can't seem to understand why you do NOT know the person they are trying to call and that you can NOT direct them on how to get hold of the person. lol..
Anyway, she'll find the guy sooner or later.

[67_Krewzer]

Originally Posted by Stuckinda60s

Be wary, it may be a new form of pfishing.

It may well be legitimate. It's a shame that you have to be so cautious, these days.

If it was me, I'd get as much information from her as I could. If it's not forthcoming, it probably is some form of scam.

Sad, but true.




At least your being nice about it. She probably transposed some of the numbers when she wrote it down. You did say she was elderly. I'd try and get a hold of the granddaughter and have her straighten the grandmother out

[JLHarper]

Probably just an old lady trying to get her grandson.....thats all.

My 800 number is ONE DIGIT off from the national check reorder line for a group of large banks.

Needless to say we get 15-30 calls a day, and guess what? They are usually from elderly people who CALL RIGHT BACK (even after we tell them its thee wrong number)!

Next to elderly people calling, its young women...lol.

One of my employees figured out if we tell them: "youve dialed the wrong number" they will often call right back.....

but if we tell them: "youve miss dialed the number" for some reason they wont call straight back....it works.

[PMDRACER]

LOL. I hear you on the 'one number off' deal. The office numbers of a company I used to work for ended in -x555 and -x557. The Dominos pizza a few blocks away was -x551. We used to get all sorts of calls during the last couple hours of the day. Some people would even leave messages with their orders.

[arbys]

Originally Posted by PMDRACER

LOL. I hear you on the 'one number off' deal. The office numbers of a company I used to work for ended in -x555 and -x557. The Dominos pizza a few blocks away was -x551. We used to get all sorts of calls during the last couple hours of the day. Some people would even leave messages with their orders.

You could have fun with one. Like "It'll be ready in 15 minutes. Stop in, and if it's not ready, it will be on the house".

[Overkillphil]

Wasn't this a Seinfeld episode?

[poncho-mike]

In the early 80s, I lived near Charlotte NC and had a 704 area code. One day we started getting a bunch of calls from people who were wanting to book rooms at a special rate. It seems an ad was placed in a major magazine advertising a resort in VA, but listed the area code as 704 rather than 703.

At the time, we didn't have an answering machine. When my wife and I got home, the calls started and sometimes continued into the night. At first, I told callers to call the 703 number. After a couple of days, I was aggravated enough I called the resort and told them I thought they owed my wife and I a free week for all of the hassle. They said it wasn't their mistake and were losing business as it was because of the error.

The calls increased a few days in, so I bought an answering machine to screen calls. I simply said, "We are not taking reservations. Please leave a message". People who knew us left a message, and we called them back. After about six weeks, the calls dried up entirely and life was back to normal.

Mike

[400 4spd.]

A few years ago we started getting calls from an elderly lady. Our caller I.D. showed the name of a local assisted living facility, so we knew when it was her. She would call at any hour of the day or night, always asking to speak to the same woman. After telling her she had dialed the wrong number, she would apologize and very often call back.
She might call twice in one day, or several days apart. We were always polite, even late at night.
One morning I answered with the same routine. I then asked her what number was she wanting to reach (my number!), what was the last name of this woman she was trying to reach, and where did she live. She was trying to reach her sister, who lived in my area. She hadn't heard from her in weeks.
We hung up, and I found her sister's (similar) number in the phone book. I called her sister, introduced myself and told her what had been going on. She was very appreciative, and said she was sorry for the calls. She promised to straighten it out. We never got another call from the woman.

[MYGOAT]

Same here, with a women's hairdressing salon phone number being very similar to our home phone number.
In the end when women would ring to make an an appointment I would actually play along as if if we were the salon. I must have booked at least a dozen appointments. Would have been interesting to see what was happening at the salon when they'd show up.
Yes I know that was very immature of me but stuff them.
They must have got the message and changed their number. The calls stopped after a few weeks.

[Tazzz2]

Try to be nice if possible as she may be suffering from Alzheimer's if she's calling back the same day at the same number after being told.....

You may want to try too get her info if it persists so you can contact her family or have authorities do so.... Sometimes the family members don't catch the early signs and early treatment can really help/slow the wretched disease....

[JLHarper]

Per my original post, most of the mistaken / mis-dialed calls we get on our 800 line are elderly.

The malority are as nice as they can be....polite, and so apologetic.

Sometimes we will get a crankly ole man.

We have a long lab procedure whereby we have do the same procedure to these little containers...no rocket science....

One of my partners who runs the lab will sit and talk with them as long as they will, sometimes for 45 minutes or so while he is doing his work.

They will tell him their life stories, kids names, what happening in the family.....its amazing.

Kind of sad they are so lonley or in need fo someone to share these thoughts with, isnt it?

Jeff

[PMDRACER]

Looks like the issue is solved. The lady called again and this time she recognized my voice "oh, you are the nice man that I have been troubling all week", I followed with a "ma'am, you aren't causing any trouble at all, I'd like to help you get this figured out."

She explained again she was looking for her grandkids. I countered with "Do they live in California, because that is where I am, with the 714 area code." Nope, they are in the Pittsburgh area near her. I asked her if they are in the 412 area code like she is. Nope.

A quick Google search and I found the 724 area code within the area covered by 412. So I suggested that.

"That's it! Oh my gosh, I can't believe I've been calling California all this time!" She thanked me profusely and said good-bye.

Never did get her name...

[Stuckinda60s]

Glad it worked out well for all!

[Radman]

Originally Posted by MYGOAT

Same here, with a women's hairdressing salon phone number being very similar to our home phone number.
In the end when women would ring to make an an appointment I would actually play along as if if we were the salon. I must have booked at least a dozen appointments. Would have been interesting to see what was happening at the salon when they'd show up.
Yes I know that was very immature of me but stuff them.
They must have got the message and changed their number. The calls stopped after a few weeks.

I did something similar. Several years ago I started getting calls about repairing clocks. The calls would come in at all hours, someone different every time. I tried telling people that I did not repair clocks. I even changed the outgoing message on the answering machine. I stated “this is not the clock repair place. If you want Don or Judy, please leave a message.” We still had long rambling requests for clock repairs and billing information. It just kept going for months; we could not find the clock repair place. The last call I got went something like this.
Me, hello.
Caller, We don’t have the money right now, but still want the clock fixed.
Me, we do not fix clocks here, never have, you have the wrong number.
Caller, Yea, but we really like that clock. We want it fixed to run like new.
Me, OK what clock are you talking about?
Caller describes the clock.
Me, OH that piece of junk! We threw it out.
Caller, WHAT!!! I’ll come down there and kick your (posterior, they used a different word).
Me, Bring it on, click.

Funny thing that was the last clock repair call I ever got.

[Squidward]

I routinely get calls to my cell from people inquiring about real estate and property rentals because they don't get the area code correct. I straighten them out, tell them the right number to call, and they are happy.

My favorite was getting a text about a party going on where they told me they needed me to bring booze, but they already had the weed. I told them that "Dave" was gonna get the booze, but Dave wasn't here right now. They wanted to know why Dave was coming. I told them that there was too much weed to smoke all by myself, and we were going to smoke that sh!7 like Jay and Silent Bob.

We went back and forth for a while, and I even got party directions. Eventually I said something that I guess didn't line up, and they quit replying. Man... It was totally cheap entertainment!