when i moved here, i was given a phone number. i started getting calls asking for "pedro"....no one has ever translated pat into "pedro"......so i would politely tell this man that he had the wrong number. he got more insistent that i knew where "pedro" was at and that i wasn't telling him the truth. i live alone.......i came back from WV and got a call at 2:00 a.m. demanding "pedro"...."he owes me a @#$%^&*() of money and you better cough him up".....

i'm no a person who is easily frightened. but i am easily ticked off by having my privacy invaded. plus, he sounded as if he could possibly come over and try to shake the truth out of me. i have three dogs.....but remember fayedy was stabbed and slashed in a foiled breakin in Oklahoma........

i called AT&T and asked what it would cost to change my number $38. i said i can't afford it and told her what had happened. she said in that case, they change the number free, put restrictions on it and it becomes unlisted at no charge. the restrictions are such that no one could ever, ever find my new number on the internet. somehow they have the power to block any inquires now.....

for once, i bowed to a big company and was so very grateful that they would be that helpful.

"pedro" has left the building..................

[katheryn]

im glad that you got some support from a large company,(((((((((fayerody)))))))))))))

me, too........there is peace in the house now......from the phone.

[mrb020377]

that is scary!!! i am glad that they changed it for you

you know my name has been translated several times by Hispanic and French friends. Pedro has never been in the mix...plus i was getting calls with heavy breathing and i knew it was the same man. robert got me a caller ID box......

[BlueFaith]

Oh my... how scary! I'm glad you got the problem fixed! Thank goodness the phone company helped you.. I'm so glad!

[(JD)]

Thanks for sharing ((((fayerody)))) I had forgotten about the freebie service I need to be out on that too. I'm glad you continued to share your story with the operator instead of just hanging up... persistence can be a good thing!

in no way did i think they would help me free......but, she said since i had been threatened, they would be happy to "fix" the problem...one thing that really did worry me is that neighbor (where the dogs are) told me that her brother is in a gang and a rival gang had stolen one of his dogs and hurt him.....sooooooo....since fayerody has already been through more than enough trauma in her four years...i am so grateful that my number is now restricted. looking back on it, it did scare me one night after i had seen cops all over the neighborhood...more than the usual annoyance.....

thanks for the support....and it is a very good thing for all of us to know that there is a way to protect your phone number....

[desirae]

That's a scary situation. I'm glad the company helped you out, they definitely should have. It's good thing you have those dogs to, because if anybody stops by they will let you know. I think you will be safe, it may have even been a very bored little punk trying to scare somebody.

[hillbunnyb]

good grief charlie brown, I am waiting for a dull moment in your reports...... make sure your house looks very different from the one with a gang member in it..... oh poo, here I go worrying about you again...... white light white light white light AAALLLL around you and yours.

there aren't any dull moments in my life......glitter just wafts through the air and lands on all of my moments..it could be that i concentrate on not losing a moment of my life....besides, i've always been a magnet that attracts weirdos, elderly men, bluejays, snakes and mosquitos....and nothing is dull about any of the above....

....fairies dance around the sofa that i sleep on....(bedroom is full of antiques and packed boxes) elves wake me up with my coffee and a croissant every morning.....and i have a bridge in Arizona to sell you.......

[hillbunnyb]

did you run behind the DDT truck while it sprayed your hood? mosquitoes love me too. running in the mist marked such relief for a bit..... the mosquitoes we have here now are silent but deadly little mothers. getcha with no warning, but at least if one gets in I can sleep through the attack.

[Sujin]

Whew, thank goodness Pedro has left the building, Pat. It's horrible when things like that happen! Good thing you got a new number too!

Love,
Sujin

people in austin are unindated with mosquitos...i think us Lockhartians live right and therefore, we're left pretty much alone.

sujin...pedro stayed far too long. i could kick myself for not notifying AT&T sooner...but i had no idea they would help me....AND after reading my thread, i called the police and they told me that if it ever happens again, they will ask AT&T to trace the calls. all this kindness is good. plus, they patrolled our area last night more than usual...
(you don't think they think i'm a little ole defenseless grandma, do you?)

i digress..hugely...this is a town of 11,000 and we have our own police helicopter!! i was floored when i saw it. however, i feel safer here than i did in the bigger town that i lived in.....the only helicopters there belonged to medi-vac and the army.....

[bebop]

I hate moving and getting someone's old number lol get all the crazy calls even though that person never lived at that address. sure is scarey though.

[chitown]

(((((((Faverody))))))
I am sorry about what happened, but am very glad that the phone company was able to help you out.
You a real inspiration to me and I am sure alot of other people. Please keep yourself safe and keep on smiling

[Maven]

Freaky!

[hillbunnyb]

re: Pedro: and then there's the thing where they get the number they're calling wrong and get you instead.

I started getting calls from a jail at 1 a.m.. The tird night I was reay and picked up singing heartily: " WRONG NUMBER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT" like a chorus. In between eachround, the guy on the oher end would say somethng.

First he said,"How do you know?" Next, the mistake was sinking in and he sorta fumbled with, "Huh?'s and What?'s". By the end of my third chorus, he hung up and the problem ceased.