Hello
Guest

Sponsored Links


Topic: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers  (Read 6352 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

  • *
  • Posts: 662

    • London Pet Butler
  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jun 2008
  • Location: London, UK
"Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« on: January 20, 2009, 04:12:21 PM »
We have a Vonage virtual London phone number. You dial the local number in London; it rings our home phone in the US. I set it up 5 years ago for when I was travelling in London on business so I could call DH free; we kept it for prospective employers', landlords', etc. convenience in reaching us direct.

For the past two weeks we've been getting calls from people answering some sort of cheesy advert to buy a house cheap. Obviously, the newspaper or whatever did a misprint, which is probably so much the better for these unsuspecting would-be homeowners because it sounds like a godawful scam to take advantage of folks during this financial crisis.

But the kicker is, this same woman and man keep taking turns dialing the number, assuming that if they keep calling me, I'll miraculously change my mind that I'm not the person offering this fabulous luxury pad for �1.49.

Last Friday, she called and a back and forth exchange went thus:

Me:  Hello?
Her:  Hello.
Me:  Hello?
Her:  Hello.
Me:  He-llllllllllllo?
Her: Oh...Hello.
Me: (The jig's up.) You have the wrong number.
Her:  Oh, hello. (Lurching into some long-winded dissertation about a house for sale...yada, yada, yada)
Me: (again) I said you have the wrong number.
Her:  This is <whatever the hell she said>, right?
Me:  No. You have the wrong number. (I could still hear her confused stammering as I hung up.)

Then yesterday morning, a man calls, a little more coherent, but not by much. It's his 4th time this month.

Me:  Hello?
Him: Hello.
Me:  (Wondering if there's something in the water in London, or something.) Who are you calling for?
Him:  I got this paper here that says...
Me:  (cutting him off) You have the wrong number.
Him:  Uh...the paper says...
Me:  You have. The Wrong. Number.
Him:  So, this isn't...?
Me:  No. You...Have...The...Wrong...Number.
Him:  (Sounding very reluctant to let go of it.) Oh...uh...oh...sorry.

You'd think that was the end of it, right? But noooooooooooooooooooooooo. For this morning, just 24 hours later:

Me:  Hello?
Him: Hello.
Me:  (recognizing his voice and at the end of my tether, I laid into him like flies on shite.) Did you think that if you just keeping calling that I'll eventually decide indeed I do want to sell you my house? And for pennies? Do you understand that that's the very definition of crazy? Keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome? Well Here's Your Sign! Wear it with pride! You've earned it!

Boy, I hate that you can't make that horrendously satisfying "slamming down the receiver sound" anymore. That's the major drawback of "push to talk" technology.

A bit harsh, and he (and she, as well) sounded a bit elderly now that I think of it. Certainly not native English speakers. But then again, I'll bet I hear from him again before it's all said and done.

[/rant]


« Last Edit: January 20, 2009, 04:14:28 PM by LadyAnglesey »


  • *
  • Posts: 3959

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jun 2004
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2009, 04:19:00 PM »
I had an obsessive woman calling me over and over again for some guy, who I guess had my cell phone number before me. (can't imagine why he changed it  ::)  :P ) She just wouldn't believe me that she had the wrong number.

I finally said "Look, you have the wrong number, you keep calling me even though I've told you that, and that is considered harassment. I have phone records of when you have called, and as of right now I'm going to start recording our conversations. I've talked to my lawyers, and if you continue to call me, I'm going to be forced to talk legal action."

She never called again.  :)

Is there any way you could block their number?
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain


  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 8486

  • Liked: 3
  • Joined: Mar 2006
  • Location: Baltimore
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2009, 04:21:47 PM »
Why didn't you just say, 'It seems there must be a misprint somewhere, because I don't know anything about a house for sale. Sorry. Have a good day.'?


  • *
  • Posts: 6665

    • York Interweb
  • Liked: 8
  • Joined: Sep 2004
  • Location: York
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2009, 05:06:54 PM »
Years ago, a company that made vertical blinds had my phone number in a listing somewhere.

I constantly got messages on my machine from people complaining they'd waited at home all day but I never showed up to install their blinds.


  • *
  • Posts: 662

    • London Pet Butler
  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jun 2008
  • Location: London, UK
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2009, 05:18:06 PM »
Why didn't you just say, 'It seems there must be a misprint somewhere, because I don't know anything about a house for sale. Sorry. Have a good day.'?

You think I didn't do just that in the first weeks? Hence, my meltdown.
« Last Edit: January 20, 2009, 05:20:29 PM by LadyAnglesey »


  • *
  • Posts: 662

    • London Pet Butler
  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jun 2008
  • Location: London, UK
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2009, 05:21:59 PM »
Is there any way you could block their number?

That's the drawback with Vonage. It doesn't yet have that feature.


  • *
  • Posts: 1813

    • Fehr Trade
  • Liked: 1
  • Joined: Sep 2007
  • Location: London
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2009, 05:35:26 PM »
It could be worse - at least they spoke English.

When I got my new phone line installed in my last place, BT clearly didn't wait long enough between cutting off the last person with the number and giving it to me, so I would get random phone calls for some woman whose name I couldn't pronounce in some African language I couldn't understand. And so they couldn't understand me, either, when I'd say "NO - wrong number" each and every time. So they'd immediately ring back. And repeat, about 4-5 times until I stopped picking up the phone. Times like that it made me glad I never bothered to buy an answerphone.

It carried on like that, with random calls at least 2-3 times a week for TWO WHOLE YEARS. I'm not joking! That woman must've been very popular indeed...
Summer 97 - first visited friends in London
99-00 - studied at Uni of Sussex on exchange
Feb 02 - moved to London on BUNAC
Sep 02 - WP granted (IT skills shortage list)
Sep 04 - WP renewed
Sep 06 - WP renewed again (screwed by 4-5 year ILR change)
Sep 07 - ILR!
March 09 - Citizenship!
July 09 - bone marrow transplant :(
18 Sep 10 - wedding!
Mar 12 - half marathon in Paris! 1:47:12!
Oct 12 - Amsterdam FULL marathon! 3:48:23!


  • *
  • Posts: 3959

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jun 2004
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2009, 05:38:19 PM »
Why not just agree with them? Yes, ok, you get the house for 1.49. Woo hoo! You win. Now you need to call (make up number or pick random number out of phone book) to finalize the details. If you dial this number again, you will loose your chance at ownership of this home.   ;D
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain


  • *
  • Posts: 662

    • London Pet Butler
  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jun 2008
  • Location: London, UK
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #8 on: January 20, 2009, 06:12:25 PM »
Why not just agree with them? Yes, ok, you get the house for 1.49. Woo hoo! You win. Now you need to call (make up number or pick random number out of phone book) to finalize the details. If you dial this number again, you will loose your chance at ownership of this home.   ;D

Teehee! I like. Might just get the chance to use it, too.  ;)


Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2009, 06:17:37 PM »
When I was in college, a friend's phone number was one digit off the local Domino's.  After the first few days of calls he finally gave up and started taking orders.

This was back in the "30 Minutes Or It's Free" days, so I can only imagine the fun that ensued. ;D


Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2009, 06:41:33 PM »

Well Here's Your Sign! Wear it with pride! You've earned it!


I dont understand what you meant by this.


  • *
  • Posts: 3959

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jun 2004
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #11 on: January 20, 2009, 06:44:01 PM »
Teehee! I like. Might just get the chance to use it, too.  ;)

You could give them the number to a waste treatment plant or an "adult" store or the rejection hotline http://www.rejectionhotline.com/   ;D
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain


Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #12 on: January 20, 2009, 07:12:38 PM »
I dont understand what you meant by this.

It's a reference to a not-particularly-funny comedian's signature 'bit'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here%27s_Your_Sign


  • *
  • Posts: 662

    • London Pet Butler
  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jun 2008
  • Location: London, UK
Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #13 on: January 20, 2009, 07:23:10 PM »
I dont understand what you meant by this.

The premise is this:

Stupid people should have to wear signs that just say, "I'm Stupid." That way you wouldn't rely on them, would you? You wouldn't ask them anything. It would be like, "Excuse me...oops...never mind, didn't see your sign."

http://www.snopes.com/humor/jokes/heresign.asp


Re: "Here's your sign!" Idiots and wrong numbers
« Reply #14 on: January 20, 2009, 08:22:33 PM »
It's a reference to a not-particularly-funny comedian's signature 'bit'.

http://en.wikipedia.

Thanks.
Never heard of that before.


Sponsored Links





 

coloured_drab