Do you answer withheld calls

[Thewayshetalks]

I hate having withheld calls, I sometimes miss them and then spend all day wondering who has tried to call me.
does anyone ever answer them?

Quite a normal one actually!

What a strange response

I screen them first:

support.google.com/phoneapp/answer/9118387?hl=en-GB

This used to wind me up when I worked in the hospital.

We'd call the patient
The patient wouldn't answer
The patient would arrive to their app and be pissed of that it's been cancelled
I say I did phone you 5x times and I left numerous voice messages.

I don't answer withheld numbers and I don't listen to VMs

Well that's hardly my fault then isit.

Yes I answer all and hang up if it's not someone k want to speak too.

Childish to not answer IMO

The NHS are allowed to leave a VM but only if the person says

Patients name- can't come to the phone

If it's a generic one we aren't allowed

That must be so annoying. It's their fault though. I think if the withheld number has rung a few times it's pretty sensible to answer and especially if you have hospital appointments pending.

Yes because it's rarely someone who I don't need to speak to. For instance, my daughter's dentist appears as withheld as does the doctors surgery (only occasionally so that's odd)
It's the ones with a number calling from somewhere in the UK that irritate me. It's almost always a foreign call centre of scammers with their calls routed through UK lines. If I have the time I'll drag it out for as long as humanly possible and annoy the shit out of them after convincing them I was both rich and stupid enough to part with vast amounts of my money. If you're committed enough you can make them swear.

No never and it's never caused me any problems. If they are genuine callers they will unblock their number and dial again. I have a BT land line handset that uses Call Guardian.(You don't have to be with BT for this to work) it screens out a lot of unwanted calls. I used the "who called me" UK site to check on some numbers - automated called from hospitals reminding us of appointments are the main things that get screened out - I get the message do it's not a problem.

Where I worked (it was a while ago) IIRC we withheld the number but were definitely not allowed to leave VM under any circumstances.

Yes, if it’s a scammer ie I’m from Amazon or your internet provider I just say sure you are an hang up. Then block.

Nope. A phone call is an invitation to speak not a demand. If you don't tell me who you are then I don't want to speak to you. We have an answering machine so people can leave a message if needed.

Withheld calls yes as they're generally doctors or hospital calls. Phone numbers I don't know, never

As I have 2 DC under 6, both attending primary, one with additional needs and at a small school catering to their needs I answer every call that my phone receives, withheld, unfamiliar number everything.

My parents don't answer calls from withheld numbers, then spend the rest of the day wondering who rang them, or annoyed they missed an important call. My dad once wasted an hour and a half taking the scenic route to a hospital appointment, only to arrive and them to say it had been rearranged to the next week as the consultant had Covid. Why didn't you call me, he raged. We called you this morning, they said. Oh, he realised. And yet he still refuses to answer calls from withheld numbers!

NHS staff here. I don’t often leave answerphone messages if no answer, and will VERY rarely leave a message on a generic answerphone. If I do it’s something very vague to get them to call back so I can confirm their identity.
Also, for the people that block withheld numbers, it can cost precious minutes trying to contact a NOK in an emergency and getting access to a phone to call from.
My DM is unwell, whenever I get a phone call from a withheld number it does worry me.

No

No, if its important they can leave a voicemail.

Usually it's someone trying to sell me something.

Yes, always . They are usually NHS and mostly about DD. I don’t answer to unknown numbers, only if local.

if I’m available to take the call then yes. if not they can
either leave a message or call back

I never had a scam call from withhold number. They usually have location e.g London. I was once called 6 times by the same guy from 3 different numbers ( it’s something about selling mobile phones) all calls were shown on my iPhone as London.

Drives me nuts. Especially if they don't leave a message. I have a crazy ex friend (she really is - has done four long stints in a psychiatric hospital) who occasionally resurfaces and I've blocked her but she tries to call from a withheld number.
However I know the hospital and GP have 'number withheld' which is really annoying.

Never. The only people who know my number and are important are already named in my phone.

@purpleme12 is it a strange response? I don't thinks it's normal to avoid withheld numbers from fear it's social services or the police. I'd say that's pretty unusual for most people

Nope. I figure if it's important they will leave voicemail.

No, if they are that desperate to speak to me they can leave a message & I'll ring them back, I don't accept any calls I can't identify the caller.

I agree that it's not likely to be someone selling something or a scammer if it's 'number withheld', it's more likely to be something more important than that. And from a place that can't leave messages.

Yes your response was strange. It is possible for people to live a normal life but still have someone make malicious allegations against them you know.

Also FYI, if you actually read my post you would see that I said I answer the calls because they make me nervous (so I don't avoid them, I have no reason to avoid them, I want to get them over with). The question was do you answer withheld numbers, my answer was yes.

Perhaps you'd do better making sure you're reading the post next time