8034

I do not answer telephone calls from callers whose numbers I do not recognize.

I kept receiving calls with messages for a person named "Marty";  after receiving numerous calls from Adena, CVS, and Merchants Bank with messages for "Marty",  I assumed that the woman had transposed the numbers and that was the reason for the error.  I called the doctor,  pharmacist, and banker to tell them of the problem and I suggested that they check their files to see if "Marty" had a next of kin listed and make contact with that person to correct the problem. 

After talking to a caller who was a friend of "Marty",  I learned that Marty had a daughter named "Leah", and I had seen a Leah listed on the Caller ID.  I called "Leah"and she said she would call AT&T.  The next day Leah told me that when her mother's number was changed it ended in "8304" instead of 8034 which is my number, but AT&T had assigned my number to Marty.   "WHAT?  HOW can that happen?",  I asked.

Techniccally, I don't understand the "HOW" or "WHY" of this problem.  

When Leah told me that AT&T had resolved the issue, I was relieved and within days of not receiving any calls for "Marty",  I thought it was fixed.

Yesterday, I called my friend Judy several times but did not leave a message;  rather, I just called her cell phone.  When she did not answer there, I re-called her home phone and began leaving a message.  Suddenly, my friend's son said, "Sue, is that you?" and when I answered "yes", he told me that they hadn't picked up when they saw the call showing on the caller ID was from--and YES, you guessed it--MARTY!
   
When I called AT&T, the voice on the other end said that she had taken care of problems like this and shocked, I asked, "So, you're telling me that this happens a lot?"   

I called several people and asked if it was showing "Marty" or "Sue" on theit caller ID.