I have a landline (well, VOIP) with the same area code and exchange as the local hospital.

About a decade ago they kept calling us, wrong number of course. Wife managed to get a hold of some tech support or IT person there and they seemed to have fixed... however about a year ago the problem returned. I personally called several times their IT and tech support department got hold of someone there who promised to look into it. They even gave me a ticket number. It seemed to stop for a few days, then it started again. I called back, spoke to the same person, reference the old ticket, they looked into it again.

Most of the time it seems to be someone trying to return a call to IR (not ER, IR = Intervention Radiology) and I thought someone put the wrong number in their caller ID, but other times I seem to get calls directed to other departments. It's not like someone says I am returning your call.

I am tired of this. We don't use the phone much, mostly to get messages from doctors, etc. We virtually never use it for personal calls these days.

Should I write a cease a desist letter (I have access to an attorney who could write one) or just cancel the line and save $6 per month? Blocking the entire area code and exchange is not an option in OOMA and I also expect legit calls from that hospital regarding my appointments.

Thanks

What is your reason to have the landline? That’s where I would start…

Is changing your number an option? It may be the simplest way to end the problem. ( Yea, I know you shouldn’t have to do this…)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/2022 09:34PM by Lizabeth.

Can't you BLOCK that number?


If not, when you see that number on your Caller ID,consider answering "Ciy Morgue" or "Suicide Hotline; please hold" and then hang up.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/2022 09:55PM by testcase.

Can't you BLOCK that number?

They call from MULTIPLE numbers. What happens, the IR department leaves a voice mail, and another department returns that voicemail (to my house). This is so annoying when I Work From Home.

What is your reason to have the landline? That’s where I would start…

Many doctors, banks, etc have the land line. I had this number for almost 20 years

Is changing your number an option?

yes, it is an option, but see above. I am thinking to cancel it altogether. We never use it for outgoing calls anymore.

Sometimes you need to do the detective work yourself

1) Is the number of the IR a transposition of your number?
2) Can you get a copy of the hospital's internal phone directory to look for typos?
3) Call every permutation of your last four digits and ask "which department is this?"


4) Screen your calls with this outgoing message (can you do this?):

Please leave your message for X or Y at the beep. If you are trying to call a department of Z Hospital, you have the wrong number.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/2022 10:43PM by Janit.

Are they leaving any patient info on your voicemail? If so, reach out to the hospital’s compliance department. That should get you positive results.

Quote
TL
Are they leaving any patient info on your voicemail? If so, reach out to the hospital’s compliance department. That should get you positive results.

Even if it's not happening, expressing concern that it might happen could very well be effective.

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Janit

Quote
TL
Are they leaving any patient info on your voicemail? If so, reach out to the hospital’s compliance department. That should get you positive results.

Even if it's not happening, expressing concern that it might happen could very well be effective.

no, they don't leave any details. Usually they try to return voice mail. I expressed concerns, but the medical stuff just want to get th stuff done, they hang up and I guess dial manually the IR department number. I was not able to find the IR number.

....are the calls coming from.....inside the house....??

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2022 06:08AM by NewtonMP2100.

You need to establish if people are intentionally calling your number (the actual correct digits) or getting there unintentionally, such as transposing a number or being transferred to your number. If they’re transposing a number then there’s not much you can do. If they’re being transferred from inside the hospital’s PBX then they have a configuration error. Someone’s extension is defined with your number. If they’re directly calling one number and reaching you instead then the phone company has a configuration error. As far removed as we are, the original Baby Bells still control the exchanges and just hand off service from incoming to outgoing. The trick in the latter case is identifying who is at fault and responsible for fixing it.

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Quote
gadje
What is your reason to have the landline? That’s where I would start…

Many doctors, banks, etc have the land line. I had this number for almost 20 years

Is changing your number an option?

yes, it is an option, but see above. I am thinking to cancel it altogether. We never use it for outgoing calls anymore.

Ten years ago OUR WHOLE WORLD had our landline, and we also each had a cell phone. Our cell phone coverage had proven reliable, so we dropped our landline. Yes, we spent quite a bit of time notifying utilities, medical, relatives, friends, insurance, local government, etc. It worked out well. The best way is to go through your check book and your Contacts to avoid missing anyone. We had that landline from 1964 until 2012.

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Ed (modelamac)

I think I will just put an OUT OF ORDER
sticker on my head and call it a day.

Many doctors, banks, etc have the land line. I had this number for almost 20 years


All of my business contacts have my landline number, not my cell number, and I'll keep it that way.

I get a ton of spam calls, some robo no doubt, but I'm sure some of them are because somebody got the number from somebody I've done business with.

There're practically zero spam calls to my cell, and I like to keep it that way.

My landline is a lot older than 20yrs, and works well for the intended purpose.


I'd be tempted to call an administrator at some level and mention that you're tired of hearing about some woman's osteo, or some kid's radial fractures, or the spots on some guy's lungs, etc.

Maybe dress those up with a touch of likely medicalese.

Maybe that will get some earnest interest and correction.

If you get any pushback, then fine, tell 'em — 'a tweeting I will go...'

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My PRIMARY cellphone number is a landline number I ported years ago. I was assigned that number back in 1981 by NYNEX! Although it IS my primary number, I rarely answer it as 98+% of incoming calls are telemarketing spam. Legitimate callers are instructed to leave a message (scammers are "most cordially invited to consume feces and expire"). I DO return calls I deem legitimate. If a caller leaves a message which is obviously intended for someone else, I DO return said call and let them know that they've reached the wrong number.

I DO miss the reliability and voice quality that was standard on a hard wired (POTS) lines.

If you don't use the phone to dial out, then do what we do. If you recognize the number, answer it. If not, let it go to voicemail. Your outgoing message should state that you are NOT the IR. Ooma has a feature that will send you a text message whenever someone leaves a message. We went ahead and turned the ringer off on the "landline", so the only way we ever know it's ringing is if I'm in the office where the Ooma is located, and I hear my outgoing message. 90% of the calls are hangups because they're spam. About 5% are spam that leaves a message (mostly car warranty crap). And finally 5% are actual real calls. They leave a message, and I call back if needed.