Last April my Dad generously added my sister and me to his cell phone plan. Chuck and I had cut back to only one phone so returning to two made us feel quite luxurious. This is the good news.
The bad news is that my new phone number came from a shady source. The previous owner not only had multiple debts (as noted by all the calls I get from collectors) but she was also either a prostitute or drug dealer. These are the only logical conclusions given the patterns of calls I receive. (Hmmm...apparently selling your body and/or drugs does NOT pay! I must remember to tell my Young Women.)
What's happening is that about once a month, I'll get a series of 15-20 calls from a few different phone numbers within a very short time period. Sometimes I'll answer the calls and tell them to stop calling me. Sometimes I just let them go to voicemail. Either way, it's annoying.
I don't understand why these calls come in waves. The only scenarios I can create are (1) someone is giving out my phone number as a joke. You know, boy meets girl in a bar and girl gives fake number. But then why is that number passed around to so many people? Or (2) maybe it's given during drug deals. I don't know why this one makes sense, but I like to think it's true.
Another thing I don't understand is that these people sometimes leave messages. Do they not listen to the voicemail recording that says, "Hey, you've reached Erin..." Uhhh, ERIN, not Brenda, nor Sophie, and certainly not Chad. I'm pretty sure my voice is girly-enough to not be mistaken for a Chad, right? But alas, that's happened.
I've since changed the voicemail message. To those of you who call me on purpose, I apologize for the semi (okay, really) rude intro, but hang on and you'll be quickly returned to the nice version of me.
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that's so weird. can you call the phone company and ask them what's going on?
ReplyDeleteYou can call the phone company and ask for a new number. It can be a hassle to let everyone know you have a new number but might be worth it for your sanity. Or if it hasn't been long since you changed your number then you could ask if the number is still available and pay the $5 porting charge. The phone company is suppose to hold onto the number for a period of time of inactivity before releasing it, but even though I've had my phone number for years I still get debt collection calls for Charlene.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry! Since answering my cell phone while out is one of my most hated things (I know...that is the purpose of a cell phone right?) I would go insane!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are able to get it all resolved!
emily, i'm not sure what the phone company would say? i'm sure they could tell me to change my number like amanda said or just deal with it. it's just a bunch of wrong numbers.
ReplyDeletei vote new number, what a hassle! just be extra grateful that you are NOT that other person. love the title too (jenny, jenny...)
ReplyDeleteI'm so tempted to call you to hear your terse message. :) Even better? My brother's name shows up on people's Caller ID. So you'll never know it was me! Bwah-hahaha!
ReplyDeleteANNOYING.....but agreed, I'm tempted to call just to hear your semi rude message!! ;)
ReplyDeleteHopefully SOON the message will be passed on enough times that they'll LISTEN.
hey melissa--funny thing. i know your brother's name. :)
ReplyDeletethat is really strange! i would change my number i think. although maybe it's funny?
ReplyDeleteand beautiful fall leaves! they are pretty gorgeous here right now too...although we now have snow already!
I had something similar happen with my cell number, though just debt/credit card stuff. It tapered off after the first few months but I still get random phone messages for one of the people. argh. I hope you get something resolved.
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