Local kebab takeaway advertising using my landline number.

[Snowflakes1122]

PostIng for traffic and fed up!

We have had our landline 3 years and increasingly keep getting calls for a kebab shop the other end of the city. Evenings and weekends we get so many calls.

The most annoying thing is quite a few that call don't believe me when I tell them it's the wrong number! These are usually drunk people swearing or pushy sales people during the day

I've emailed all the companies that list my landline as the kebab shop, but they are just ignoring my emails.

My DH has called the kebab shop and they haven't done anything about it either.

What can I do? Is their anyone I can contact who can force them all to remove our number?

Not sure how this has come about in the first place as the kebab places actual number is nothing similar to ours.

Please help! I'm going mad!

[QueenMortifauxcado]

For the sales calls ask where they got the number from. We had these and found out it was being distributed on a mailing list. The marketing company sorted it out immediately.

For the orders, have you considered selling them to the takeout on commission?

[PickAChew]

"Sorry, we're closed due to a cockroach infestation."

[PossumInAPearTree]

Take the orders, cook up cheap Aldi pizzas, deliver them, make a fortune.

[EssentialHummus]

Take the orders, cook up cheap Aldi pizzas, deliver them, make a fortune.

I agree with this. I think the basic ones are £1.20 for three, you can make a killing.

[SuperFlyHigh]

Pickachew I love and would use the "cockroach infestation!".

[ChocChocPorridge]

At my first house I used to get calls for Dog and Cat magazine (or something like that) - they'd published the wrong number once, and I got the calls. Luckily it wasn't many, and the people calling tended to be lovely - so I'd just give them the real number, and wish them well.

Less so when I worked for a place that had a number 1 digit different to the Channel 4 complaints line!

I had a lovely chat with a lady from Albuquerque once, who thought she was calling her cable provider, but somehow managed to come through to me in the south of England instead!

[sobeyondthehills]

have you googled your number to see what comes up?

That might tell you where its coming from

[AdoraBell]

I'm with Opal / Pick on this.

[Puremince]

Our number is very similar to the local hairdressers. We have "We are not X hairstylists. Their number is xxx" on our answering machine. However, most of our callers were apologetic elderly ladies, rather than pissed kebab eaters.

[RTKangaMummy]

Deffo get CALL GUARDIAN and set to do not disturb then your phone won't ring unless it is a number that you have put in

You can also use Announced calls only or straight to answer machine where the message from environmental health is on there

They have made mistake so they should change numbers not you

[FlaviaAlbia]

Tell callers you've been closed since the body was found in the meat freezer, then sit back and watch and see how far your new urban legend travels

[Allthebestnamesareused]

Can I have a chicken kebab with lettuce please?

[dailystuck71]

When we moved it became apparent that the elderly lady who used to live in our house had multiple calls every day from loads of different sources/selling. I mean 10-15 calls per day. Poor thing was inundated.

We called BT and told them. We have to say that they were nuisance calls and they gave us a new number. Make sure if you ask for a new number that it is a brand new one, not an old one from someone else though.

[Justwantcookies]

Start taking orders. Or what RhiWrites said

[GeillisTheWitch]

Here's your solution. Tell everyone who phones that the kebab shop is having a giveaway and they can have their order for free if they collect it

I'd be so tempted to do this.

[PossumInAPearTree]

Years ago the local branch of NatWest did a leaflet with my work phone number as their local branch number. I used to get into work and people would have left all sorts of info on my answer machine....bank account details, bank card numbers, etc.

[sibys1]

As fun as it might be, I'd steer away from saying about cockroaches and alike as that could be defamation.

I'd send them a strongly worded letter, maybe with a list of calls received over a period of time, and threaten them with legal action for harrasment.

[MarklahMarklah]

Years ago we had a similar issue. A local taxi rank had printed a load of flyers that had our home phone number on it. We didn't know this until we started getting lots of calls at unsociable hours for taxis. My Dad went to their office and explained to them and they couldn't have cared less.
So, until 8pm we'd take any calls and promise a cab within 5 minutes. After 8pm we took the phone off the hook.
Soon sorted that one out.

[WashBasketsAreUs]

We had a landline number slightly different from a local large fish factory. Their sales team always used to get the numbers mixed up and I'd get lots of calls from them. I asked the company to ensure their sales people had the right number and agave out the correct number but they never did.
This was in the days of phones being downstairs attached to the wall, no cordless options there! I once had a phone call early in the morning; I was off work ill and was not impressed when I dragged myself downstairs to find it was someone calling from some bay In India. I told him I didn't care if he was calling from the dark side of the moon, he'd got the wrong number and no I wasn't going to put him through to the sales department. He got quite shirty with me so I hung up. I told the company, still nothing.
A few weeks later, someone rang up asking to speak to the sales department, so I said hang on, clicked the phone about and then pretended to be that department. They wanted 4 tons of prawns delivered so I took all the details, said it would go on their usual account, thanks for the order and hung up. Never got any more wrong numbers after that!

[specialsubject]

If the kebab shop aren't bothered, I think you are entirely justified in some of the tactics suggested above - 'sorry, environmental health have closed us down' and so on.

don't bother changing number - there are no new ones and you risk getting another one that is plastered over every junk mail list going. Happened here, I also asked for a new number to avoid the calls for the previous resident. Not a good move!

MN will of course be shocked that you have a landline, but they all live in London with good mobile coverage. And are unaware that landlines are cheaper and more reliable, so are needed.

[EnglishGirlApproximately]

I'd agree with having fun with it! I used to have a number like a leisure centre and people phoning wouldn't believe me so I just started taking bookings for tennis courts and stuff

[angelnix]

Our landlines number is very similar to the local produce wholesalers. We get numerous phone calls and messages left with grocery orders. Worst one was 7am on a Sunday morning from a local posh hotel, shouting at us as to where their order was. I told them they had the wrong number, so he got his boss to call (on the same wrong number) who also proceeded to shout at me. I took it to social media and their boss, never had a wrong call from them again. I always call back the nursing homes and schools to make them aware that they'd left it on the wrong phone because I felt bad that people may actually go hungry!!

[LouisevilleLlama]

just outta interest i've always wondered how many calls they get a night?

[ArchNotImpudent]

Say "Sorry, we're closed tonight, as all the kitchen staff have contracted salmonella."