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A Town Full of Prank Callers
Actinguy1
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hi guys! I used to live in California, and while there, I bought a cell phone with an 805 area code (California.) I have since moved to Pennsylvania, but kept the phone number (and phone.)
Shortly after arriving in PA this past May, my grandfather was basically given days to live. At the same time, my sister was approximately 13 months pregnant. As such, I fully expected to receive one important phone call or the other pretty much 24-7. I slept with my cell phone by my ear, ready to come running at a moment's notice.
Finally, one night around 2 AM, the phone rang. I grabbed it, and saw that it was an 805 number calling me. My grandfather was in Florida and my sister in Pennsylvania, so there was no way it would be about either potential emergency. Still, I answered it. Nobody was there. Okay, whatever. Hung up the phone, back to sleep.
Maybe two minutes later, the phone rings again. This time, the caller id is "blocked." I answer, nobody there.
This goes on for six more times in a single hour. Finally, my girlfriend insisted on answering the phone and said "Hello?" She heard what she thought might be a teenage girl say "Who is this?" My girlfriend replied, "You called me. Who is this?" At which point the teenaged girl remained on the line but didn't say anything, so my girlfriend hung up.
At the seventh call (still "blocked"), I answered with "Never call here again." This ended the phone calls.
The next day, I texted the original caller to inform her that she had forgotten to block her number the first time, and that I had notified the police. I hadn't of course, but I was still pissed and figured this would scare the girl straight. Some guy texted back with this completely ridiculous story about how he didn't know what I was talking about, but there was another phone with his same phone number, so it must have been that guy. I responded with how ridiculous that story was, since how could I call THAT guy if they have different cell phones but the same phone number? This went back and forth, until I finally said that I didn't care, I had already passed it to the police and they would sort it out.
That was last May. Since then, my niece was born and my grandfather passed away. But the calls have continued.
It's not always the same phone number. There appears to be 8 numbers or so, all 805 area code. Almost never say anything. Generally call between 6 PM - 2 AM east coast time (they're west coast).
I've programmed all 8 numbers in my phone as "NO", so that I know not to bother answering when they call. But it's still extremely annoying. What can I do?
I do receive calls from a few valid 805 numbers. Is it possible to have ATT block the entire 805 area code from calling my phone, with the exception of a few numbers I provide them? Or could they at least block all 8 of the known prank callers (although in theory they can still call with a blocked number)?
Is there a charge for blocking numbers?
Let me know what you guys think! Thanks!
tldr; Receiving prank calls, etc, from 8 phone numbers in the 805 area code. Been going on for months. Thoughts?
Shortly after arriving in PA this past May, my grandfather was basically given days to live. At the same time, my sister was approximately 13 months pregnant. As such, I fully expected to receive one important phone call or the other pretty much 24-7. I slept with my cell phone by my ear, ready to come running at a moment's notice.
Finally, one night around 2 AM, the phone rang. I grabbed it, and saw that it was an 805 number calling me. My grandfather was in Florida and my sister in Pennsylvania, so there was no way it would be about either potential emergency. Still, I answered it. Nobody was there. Okay, whatever. Hung up the phone, back to sleep.
Maybe two minutes later, the phone rings again. This time, the caller id is "blocked." I answer, nobody there.
This goes on for six more times in a single hour. Finally, my girlfriend insisted on answering the phone and said "Hello?" She heard what she thought might be a teenage girl say "Who is this?" My girlfriend replied, "You called me. Who is this?" At which point the teenaged girl remained on the line but didn't say anything, so my girlfriend hung up.
At the seventh call (still "blocked"), I answered with "Never call here again." This ended the phone calls.
The next day, I texted the original caller to inform her that she had forgotten to block her number the first time, and that I had notified the police. I hadn't of course, but I was still pissed and figured this would scare the girl straight. Some guy texted back with this completely ridiculous story about how he didn't know what I was talking about, but there was another phone with his same phone number, so it must have been that guy. I responded with how ridiculous that story was, since how could I call THAT guy if they have different cell phones but the same phone number? This went back and forth, until I finally said that I didn't care, I had already passed it to the police and they would sort it out.
That was last May. Since then, my niece was born and my grandfather passed away. But the calls have continued.
It's not always the same phone number. There appears to be 8 numbers or so, all 805 area code. Almost never say anything. Generally call between 6 PM - 2 AM east coast time (they're west coast).
I've programmed all 8 numbers in my phone as "NO", so that I know not to bother answering when they call. But it's still extremely annoying. What can I do?
I do receive calls from a few valid 805 numbers. Is it possible to have ATT block the entire 805 area code from calling my phone, with the exception of a few numbers I provide them? Or could they at least block all 8 of the known prank callers (although in theory they can still call with a blocked number)?
Is there a charge for blocking numbers?
Let me know what you guys think! Thanks!
tldr; Receiving prank calls, etc, from 8 phone numbers in the 805 area code. Been going on for months. Thoughts?
Actinguy1 on
0
Posts
Other options consist of talking to AT&T and seeing what they can do. Or talking to police. AT&T is a better option.
1) Change my phone number, free of charge due to harassing calls.
2) Pay 5 dollars a month to block up to 15 numbers.
Told them I was going with option 3: Service provider who cares about their customers.
Anyone know of a provider who blocks calls for free?
If AT&T is offering to change your number for free, then it's plenty practical. Why are you so against that?
I called each of the prank callers back just a moment ago...and each of them seemed sincerely confused as to why I was calling. Given that each number was answered by a different sounding person, I decided to use that as a weapon when I called ATT the second time. Insisted it wasn't prank calls but an actual mechanical problem. Second guy was very helpful, although he did basically offer me the same first two options as before. When I refused, he suggested that Verizon (my previous carrier, same phone number) may have assigned my phone number to a new customer after I left (despite the fact that I had taken the number with me.)
Verizon was baffled but said they had done no such thing. Called ATT back for the third time, resolved to the fact that this wasn't going to be fixed, but maybe they could at least give me an "annoyance" credit on my bill or something.
But my third call went completely unexpectedly. Woman said she'd been with ATT for three years and never heard of this, but she wasn't letting me off the phone until it was fixed. After reviewing the previous two rep's comments, she decided that she was going to give me the call blocker for free for two months. She's also going to call me back next week, and after the first and second month to see if that fixed the problem. If it did, she'll remove the call blocker at the end of the two months so I'm not automatically charged. If it didn't, we'll come up with a plan B.
EXTREMELY impressed with this ATT customer service rep. She took me from getting ready to leave the company to telling you how happy I am with the service, in less than an hour (and it cost the company, what, ten bucks?)
Anyhow, solved! Thanks for everyone's help!
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
I actually was able to get this same deal from ATT last year also - I canceled my XM radio service, and they WOULD. NOT. STOP. CALLING.
Finally got someone who offered this deal after going through 3 different reps on different days...definitely agreed that it's a roll of the dice sometimes
It just stopped after four nights. I think someone got a hold of a call sheet or something.
more people need to be doing this when they get good customer service
So, could be something like that.
As someone who used to work FOR AT&T wireless, you don't need to know the exact person that helped you or the exact supervisor. Everything should be logged when she went into your account.
Just call back ask for ANY supervisor and they should fill out their electronic form and it will eventually be routed to the right person.
PS - PLEASE do this. The good ones do not get enough recognition.