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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Any police around? I need advice accidentally called 999 and now I'm freaking out

38 replies

Tuttifrutti56 · 10/04/2018 08:44

My phone was in the bed when we where messing around. and one of us must have caught it. Only realised it had been ringing when someone started talking I presume the person that ask you what service you want as we heard the word police my bf repeated this looking at me puzzled. I found my phone and ended the call straight away I don't think it went through to anyone. I the did the worse thing ever and googled and it said I should of stayed on the line and explained but I panicked and didn't want to waste anyone's time. It happened at like half 11 last night so am I safe to presume they realised we didn't mean to call ? I'm so sorry to all operators btw I will always make sure my phones on the floor from now on

OP posts:
MagentaRocks · 10/04/2018 08:53

Yes you should stay on the phone. It wastes less time than hanging up. If you hang up and it has been put through to police they spend time researching to see if police need to be sent.

ShatnersWig · 10/04/2018 08:58

That'll teach you the foolishness of taking nude photos on your phone.

Original poster
Tuttifrutti56 · 10/04/2018 08:59

This happened last night so I hung up as I just freaked out when I saw the number 😕 It was around half 11 and I havnt had a call back so do you think it didn't connect or they realised we didn't mean it ?

OP posts:
Talith · 10/04/2018 09:01

My son dialled 999 when a toddler. It's a blur of sleep deprivation at that time but I think someone popped round but it wasn't made into a big deal, just a "don't let your child near phone" conversation.

scurryfunge · 10/04/2018 09:02

Police receive many accidental three nines calls. There's a quick assessment and as they have not turned up they have deemed it not necessary.

EleanorAbernathy · 10/04/2018 09:04

Police call handler here - this happens quite a lot! We'd normally try to call you back, and leave a message if you don't answer - if it sounds like there's a disturbance in the background we can find out who owns the phone contract and will send police to that address. If you haven't heard anything by now don't worry!

SuperMoonIsKeepingMeUpToo · 10/04/2018 09:05

Am I the only one struggling to fathom how someone can accidentally catch the phone and dial 999? 😅🙄🤔

scurryfunge · 10/04/2018 09:08

999 is the only call that can be made from a locked screen so if you are leaning on the keypad that's the number it will call.

Sprinklesinmyelbow · 10/04/2018 09:08

Isn’t it because if you press a certain combination if buttons on iphone it goes to emergency call? Yes or no
No idea what the combination is

Anyway OP it happens all the time. You hardly need a telling off Grin

Original poster
Tuttifrutti56 · 10/04/2018 09:10

SuperMoonIsKeepingMeUpToo
I don't know how we did it my phone was unlocked on the bed while we were .... didn't even realise at first just thought tv was on next door. We have a roomate its only when we stopped to listen we heard the ringing noice i found the phone and ended the call straight away

OP posts:
MissDollyMix · 10/04/2018 09:24

Happened to me once. Many years ago. My phone was locked and in my handbag but it must have jiggled about and managed to dial 999. I had no idea about it until the police phoned me back. The call handler just said "make sure you keep your phone locked" which wasn't frightfully helpful given that it was locked and there was nothing I could have done about it.

Guavaf1sh · 10/04/2018 09:27

The typical mumsnet response would be to log this mistake with 101 in case...

Idontdowindows · 10/04/2018 09:28

Oh, if the line was open for a while and you were fooling around in the bed, the call handler will have assessed you as an accidental knobdial. Grin

SimonBridges · 10/04/2018 09:30

I have an Apple Watch. It has a thing where if you depress the side button for an extended period it calls 999.
I had taken it off and put it in my pocket only to hear a voice coming from my pocket and have to apologise to my watch!

BoneyBackJefferson · 10/04/2018 09:30

I stopped putting my phone in my back pocket as it dialed the emergency services twice.

The operator was very nice about it.

listsandbudgets · 10/04/2018 09:33

I think call handlers apply some common sense.

Years ago had to dial 999 whilst being attacked. Got cut off but they phoned back very quickly and I managed to pick up phone and yell out first line of address and nothing else before being cut off again. Police were brilliant and turned up in a couple of minutes.

More recently accidentally dialled in my pocket and nothing happened. In fact I didnt even realise Id done it for an hour or so.

Treezabreeze · 10/04/2018 09:35

I had a knock at the door when my son was 1. Two police men, I wondered what was going on and they asked if everything was ok? I asked what did they mean? They said they had received a call and could they come in and look around to check there wasn't anyone in holding me against my will or anything. It turned out my son had been button mashing the phone, and apparently if you keep pressing random numbers on the phone it automatically goes through to the emergency operators.

Treezabreeze · 10/04/2018 09:36

We also have Google home and my kids once realised if you asked it to phone the police then it will!

Mrsemcgregor · 10/04/2018 09:36

My DS dialled 999 from the landline when he was about 2. I had no idea and the line was kept open, they heard me hoovering which I guess could have been mistaken for a disturbance as 2 police officers knocked on my door! I was so so embarrassed and they insisted on coming in and checking all the rooms to make sure I wasn’t being held hostage or something. I was almost in tears of embarrassment by time they left. They were very nice to me though, and I suppose the experience left me feeling reassured!

I am assuming that as no action has been taken so far then nothing will come of it.

thecatsarecrazy · 10/04/2018 09:37

my husband did this a couple of times. His phone wasn't locked in his pocket. They phoned back and asked if all was ok.

Mrsemcgregor · 10/04/2018 09:37

Tree sounds like we had similar experiences with our darling kids!

Commuterface · 10/04/2018 09:40

DD1 got hold of the phone and dialed 999 as an 18 month old. I only realised when the phone was making a loud 'buzz' noise. They phoned back straight away and I was mortified but they were brilliant and said it happens all the time but they have to phone back to make sure everything is ok.

Queenofthestress · 10/04/2018 09:49

I am so happy they do listen to back ground noise and assess the situation, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get help when my ex smashed my phone mid way through calling the police, they turned up, he was arrested, and I can't thank them enough

Mammyloveswine · 10/04/2018 09:49

Omg the thought of police officers seeing the state of my bedroom and floordrobe...🙈🙈🙈

snowagain · 10/04/2018 09:51

My DS dialled 999 from the landline when he was about 2. I had no idea and the line was kept open, they heard me hoovering which I guess could have been mistaken for a disturbance as 2 police officers knocked on my door! I was so so embarrassed and they insisted on coming in and checking all the rooms to make sure I wasn’t being held hostage or something. I was almost in tears of embarrassment by time they left. They were very nice to me though, and I suppose the experience left me feeling reassured!

Made me LOL that did!! Grin

I am so happy they do listen to back ground noise and assess the situation, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get help when my ex smashed my phone mid way through calling the police, they turned up, he was arrested, and I can't thank them enough

The police are fab aren't they really? Smile