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]