To not answer the phone after 9pm?

[Verycold]

It's the one peaceful hour of the day - aibu to want to be left alone?

[ashtrayheart]

Gwendoline I've been with them for years, I have no idea why we don't have to have the landline, maybe we are paying over the odds not to have one (I ought to check).

[alemci]

I hate answering the phone after 9 p.m.. prefer a text

[SweetPenelope]

When dd was a baby, I had to put my foot down with my in laws. It's not acceptable to call late when there is a baby in the house. You just get the baby to sleep or you try to go to bed early and the phone rings.

I ended up setting particular times when they could call. Mil was a bit stroppy about it and I had to be very forthright. Email is much less intrusive.

[specialsubject]

oh, and the magic words are 'is it a good time to talk?'. All non-essential conversations should start with that!

[specialsubject]

you never HAVE to answer the phone. But if you have responsibilities, you probably should. Or at least call screen with an answering machine.

being desperately unfashionable, I have a landline. Might also be to do with living in a mobile black spot and being on PAYG, so even at 8p a minute I don't jabber on it.

landline has free calls all day so is the chat-phone. Almost no crook calls - TPS plus reporting any that do come through to the ICO seems to have done the trick. I only ever give the mobile number on forms because that goes off at night.

I also wouldn't call between 9 and 9 unless an emergency, or to return a call that I'd just missed.

[QueenofKelsingra]

I never call before 9am or after 9pm unless pre-arranged or an emergency. Anyone who has my landline would not call me outside of these hours either.

Phone rang at 7am on a Sunday once, I have never answered a phone so fast or been so devastated by the news I received. if the phone happens to ring before 9am I panic automatically now.

[VenusDeWillendorf]

Captain, you might fare better with a remote from base station handset.
That way if you have to take the call, you can have the phone in any room, put it on speaker and go over your grouting while listening to whoever it is going on and on.

(I do this with my mum) fulfills my daughterly 'obligations', and I get a clean bathroom at the same time.
I hardly even have to listen anymore, (it's always the same old) and no crick in my neck and trapped on the sofa feeling. Also I can squirt my bleach bottle if she overshares / TMI.

Zealous cleaning whilst listening to "chat" is very cathartic actually!

[VenusDeWillendorf]

I don't know, I'm in two minds.

On one hand I can understand not wanting the phone to go off during that moment when all is quiet and you're at last able to have that cup of tea or whatever with your partner without kids, and before you think about going to bed/ out to work again.

On the other, some people may be lonely at that time, if they are a lone parent, or their partner is away or working nights, and want to chat about their day, or want to hear how their grand kids are.

For myself, I text at that time and rarely if ever call. I Skype at pre arranged times.
I wouldn't tell anyone of a death at night. Best call in the morning- unless they have to arrange flights, and it makes sense in their time zone to call.

On the phone all day, by eveningtime im talked out. I love my quiet time with dh MN! And a good book of course.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Aww, I love it when people ring just for a chat, preferably after 9 when I'm not running round after the DCs.

[CaptainTripps]

Does anyone else get that cold shiver when you hear those words: just ringing for a chat. My most dreaded words.

The older I get the more phone-phobic I get. But thinking about it, I have always felt a little bit this way. It's just that it's been growing over the years to the point now where I just cannot be bothered.

Part of it is laziness and the hatred of sitting there, arm raised to the ear until it cricks. Part of it is annoyance that most folks who ring seem to like going on and on and on for up to an hour at a time. FGS - say what you need to say and get the hell off the phone!

I have caller ID and do ignore it a lot these days. But it makes me feel anti-social and I am a bit ashamed that I am not one of these bright, breezy and garrulous people who love nothing more than a good natter of an evening.

[fluffyraggies]

Yup, 9pm is agreed as the latest casual call time here too. DH and i had a convo confirming this again a couple of days ago.

MIL, on the other hand, gets up around 11am and doesnt go to bed till gone midnight and has form for ringing/texting at around 10pm Weekdays or weekends.

When she rang for a chat a couple of months ago at 10 past 10 and woke us up after we had gone up for an early night (i was 8 months preg and DH was just knackered) DH told her grumpily it was late and he'd speak to her the next day.

When she rang at 10pm and woke our 5 week old up last weekend he was actually pretty pissed off and wouldnt answer. He's since hinted to her that late calls are not really on any more. Wish he'd just tell her straight!

yet another thread i should have but cant be arsed

[ConfusedDotty]

I never ever answer the landline, in fact I unplugged the phone about 6months ago, I only have a landline for broadband. DP thinks it's the worst sin ever not to answer a ringing phone, I just cannot be bothered with marketing calls. Anything important comes through my mobile or the Skype app on my mobile.

After 9pm I wouldn't hear it anyway, I like my music on at the time of night.

[Kewcumber]

DS is not in bed until 8.30 - thats a very short window to make calls in if I can't call after 9pm.

I've always considered up to 10pm fine unless people have very small children or I know they are in bed early. I don;t know any adults who don;t work shifts or have very small babies who go to bed before 11 ish. And if I ring when they're doing something they say "I'm just watching this film, can I call you back". Its not tricky is it

I think I'm a product of my age when calling and speaking would have been considered politer and sending a text quite abrupt and rude!

[lynniep]

DH hates it. I don't mind at all, but then no-one ever rings me except my mum and thats only every few months.

[DidoTheDodo]

My family use the land line so I answer it. However, I ignore my mobile as no one I want to speak to uses that!

[Marylou62]

This is so funny! I thought I was the only one who had this rule! I get the funny feeling in my gut when the phone rings after 9pm and before 9am. Have had the serious illness, death in family quite a few times so that's where my brain takes me at that time of the evening. I always check the time if I'm going to phone anyone.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

I never ignore a ringing phone, most of our calls are after 9 as that's when the DCs are in bed and we can chat in peace. We know amongst our friends and family who goes to bed early and who is happy to talk later on and it's not a problem. We are night owls ourselves, it's rare for either of us to be in bed before 11.30, 9 is mid evening for us, I'd rather chat on the phone than watch TV any time, that's what Sky+ is for.

[Musicaltheatremum]

Can't get link to work but type" Michael McIntyre phone" into google and it come up. Hilarious. It's not polite to call after 9 according to him.

[Musicaltheatremum]

Michael McIntyre did a really funny sketch about this. It

[BoJolly]

My landline has not been working for about 3 days and I am in no rush to get it fixed.

I have my mobile (on silent) if anybody really needs to get me. It is bliss

[LividofLondon]

I have a policy of not calling people after 9pm. It's as much to do with the fact they could be winding down watching TV as they might be in bed. I have a friend who always calls at 9pm, just as (sod's law) the only TV programme I want to watch has started and if I miss the first few minutes I haven't a clue what's going in. I screen calls and will let them go to voicemail if I don't want to talk right then. My mobiles get switched off at night which is just as well when I get twats calling my work mobile at 2/3/4am!

"Who goes to bed at 9?!"
Normally I go to bed at 10.30pm/11pm, but I have been known to go earlier than 9pm if I'm shattered. I go when I'm tired enough to sleep rather than when the clock tells me to.

[NuggetofPurestGreen]

I think it's 10pm but I don't have a landline. I go to bed at 9ish but it is to read or watch a programme so I wouldn't mind someone ringing up to 10pm. I wouldn't answer at any time though if I didn't feel like it!

Off topic - like the username ashtrayheart - are you a placebo fan?

[KatieScarlett2833]

Everyone in our house ignores the landline at all times.
Anyone who needs to contact us have all of our mobile numbers.
Never missed anything important yet and we've been ignoring it for years.

[MsUumellmahaye]

i ignore the landline all the time, it drives my mum insane :)

[Eliza22]

Depends what your lifestyle is. For me personally, my son has a disability which means that I am pretty much "doing" him until around 9.30pm. After that, I slump and need to relax. A bath/shower/TV/book...whatever. I'm disinclined to answer the phone after this time.