Why would step MIL lie about phone calls?

[saltire]

Got an email from step MIL this afternoon, all the usual about how great SIL is etc. Then she said "I have been calling lots all week and you are never in". Then about 30 minutes ago the phone went and it was her - PIL gets her to phone us so he can talk to DH. I saw it was their number and gave it to DH without speaking to her. Anyway again she told DH that she had been trying to call and got no answer. DH asked me about this whilst still on the phone and I said she hadn't called, and was she sure she had dialled the right number.
Anyway what she doesn't seem to realise is that our phone lists all callers to it, and the date they called, I knew I hadn't deleted it so had a quick scroll through and guess what - their number doesn't feature once. I told all this to DH and he said
"Well why would she lie about it?". As if to say that I was lying and he deliberatelyt deleted the numbers. This sin't the first time she has done this and I feel it's to cover up her and PILs guilt because they never ever visit us and are always dropping hints about coming to see us and other reasons as well, but DH says I'm just being silly.

Well you know why she said she rang - she's trying to get rid of her guilt for not getting in touch sooner and possibly offering an olive branch. what you should do about it I don't know. You have explained to your DH about the calls, why would you delete the entries? You wren't to know she'd say I have been ringing if she had.

Does she know your phone lists all the numbers called? You could make sure she knows - at least that might shame her into thinking twice before lying next time?

She told DH on the phone tonight that she couldn't understand why i didn't answer whenever she called! Well I would if she had actually called. It causes a lot of problems between Dh and I - my feeling towards his Dad and step mum. She is trying to make me out to be liar

My sisters dd's gran does the exact same!!

She called her one Friday night & said she had been calling 6 times on Thur night & there was no answer.. sis told her she was at home & there were no phone calls.

Then she did the same thing a few weeks later, even telling niece that her mam wasn't answering the phone. Finally sis told her that her phone stores the last 150 numbers called /answered/unanswered & that her number was not under the missed calls! Sis said she didn't know how to talk her way out of that one.

Seems to me that your step MIL wants you & your dh to bicker, what kind of pleasure could anyone get from starting rows?

my step mum does this all the time
says she has been phoning all day
my ass!!
i work from home so am normally at home, i have the landline and mobile and my landline also stores history of callers so i know who has phoned if i nip out
dont know why she does this maybe cause the only time she talks to me is if i phone her or visits her

my mum does it too. ill pop out in the morning, come home and see from caller display that she called once. if i dont call back (because im busy with kids ect) she will call back in the afternoon and the first words out of her mouth will be 'where have you been? ive been calling you all day!!' i agree you should tell her you have caller display it might just shame her into stopping! (the only reason i dont tell my mum ive got it is because i look at it on the funny side!) you know she is lying so i really would laugh it off! is your relationship with her ok otherwise?

I am sure that the way caller ID works is ...

if the same person rings 4 or 5 times (an nobody else rings in between those calls) it will only list the most recent missed call

Check. I bet you never see the same person ringing more than once in a row

She may well have called you 16 times in the hours you were out, but your phone will only record the latest one

mobile technology is different, it lists every missed call

my phone tells me the number of times that number called and what time.

Ask her to try the landline from now on

Silly attention seeking trick by your step-MIL. Ignore where possible!

When dh asks "well why would she lie?" simply say, "I don't know why, what do you think?" Nice and calmly... It's his family, keep batting it back to him and don't get defensive.

Because she is trying to make you look bad in front of your DH. Because she is trying to make DH feel sorry for her and thereby maybe guilt trip him in to visiting her more often.

Really it aint your mother, it is your DH's mother. Surely she wants to speak to you. And so what if you were out all day!!?? Why is that a problem to her. Does she not want you to lead a happy and healthy life?