Garda keeps giving my phone number out and not there own.

prinzeugen

As The title says, a member of the Garda keeps giving my mobile to people rather than their own.

I have, what must be, one of the simplest mobile numbers in the country. You would need to be an idiot to get it wrong.

However over the past few years I have received numerous calls and voicemails from people looking for this person. I know where they came from, live, kids, health issues etc all from the voicemails.

I posted here before about a voicemail that contained specific details about a case and contacted the station that this Garda was based and was promised it would not happen again.

However in the last 24 hrs I have received numerous calls and voicemails from members of the public looking for this Garda. One of the voicemails again contained personal details of a victim of crime.

Obviously speaking to them didn't work so who do I go to next? GSOC or the Data Protection Commissioner?

Effects

What's your number?

prinzeugen

Effects wrote: »

What's your number?

I will give you a clue.. Its is between 0850000001 & 0879999999

sugarman wrote: »

It probably was their number and reissued to you. It happens.

I have had this mobile number for the last 20 years and was the first to be issued with it.

endacl

If it’s an easy mistake to make re the number, perhaps it’s the callers making it and not the error of the guard who gave it out?

Happens me a lot. If you switch the last two digits of my number, you’ll get through to ‘Tommy’. I’ve no idea who Tommy is, but I regularly get messages for him!

prinzeugen

endacl wrote: »

If it’s an easy mistake to make re the number, perhaps it’s the callers making it and not the error of the guard who gave it out?

Happens me a lot. If you switch the last two digits of my number, you’ll get through to ‘Tommy’. I’ve no idea who Tommy is, but I regularly get messages for him!

Its not an easy mistake to make. As I said my number is so, so simple. If I was to give even a little hint as to what format it is, I could potentially identify myself here.



I have had schools, The courts, Garda stations (at all hours of the night), solicitors (again at all hours of the night), doctors, estate agents, schools, and now members of the public calling me. I had to explain to one guy that this cop keeps getting it wrong and to call xxxx Garda station in Dublin.

antix80

I used to have a great email address with o2. 2 letters before the at symbol. Basically along the lines of eg@o2.ie

It was so great, it got 100 spam emails every day. Probably a combination of its simplicity and o2's nonexistent junk mail filter.

Needless to say, I stopped using it.

Peatys

prinzeugen wrote: »

Its not an easy mistake to make. As I said my number is so, so simple. If I was to give even a little hint as to what format it is, I could potentially identify myself here.

You think he's doing it on purpose?

endacl

Just answer with, ‘feck off and sort it out yourself. I’ve no interest in dealing with you*’. Don’t identify yourself. Once the complaints start rolling in to the station the problem will be sorted.

* Technically true. And technically true is, as we all know, the best kind of true.

ohnonotgmail

Does it have the same digit 3 times in a row? Mine does and i get wrong numbers all the time due to how the networks handle misdialed numbers.

Victor

endacl wrote: »

If it’s an easy mistake to make re the number, perhaps it’s the callers making it and not the error of the guard who gave it out?

Each network has 10 million potential numbers. This is unlikely.

65535

Have a chat with the superintendent of the station, explain and it should be sorted.
Garda issued mobile phones have a distinct first 3 digits.
If necessary ask the super to get the telecomms tech for that station to be involved and it should get sorted.
It may just be a wrong speed dial number, a wrongly written listing or some other problem.

EICVD

Or maybe you could, get a new number...

mlem123

EICVD wrote: »

Or maybe you could, get a new number...

OP said he's used this number for 20 years, why should he change it when some useless Garda can't even remember his own number?

Bikerman2019

EICVD wrote: »

Or maybe you could, get a new number...

Why should he?

Grab All Association

It also could be the station/another member(s) of AGS giving out this number to people thinking it belongs to that garda. Could have saved his number incorrectly on their phone, typo on a a4 printout taped to the desk etc

Contact the super at the Garda station explain to them what is happening. If that doesn't work then Data Protection Commission and Department of Justice complaint

05eaftqbrs9jlh

I bet that Garda is giving the easy to remember number out when he wants people to go away and leave him alone. Could you ring the Gardaí? It might get sorted if you contact this Garda I know, he said his number was 0871234567.

Sounds like a very serious issue though if you're getting people's confidential details. I wish I could give you some useful information. Surely there's a Garda SOMEWHERE on boards who could help!! Ringing the superintendent didn't work, no?

AndrewJRenko

endacl wrote: »

Just answer with, ‘feck off and sort it out yourself. I’ve no interest in dealing with you*’. Don’t identify yourself. Once the complaints start rolling in to the station the problem will be sorted.

* Technically true. And technically true is, as we all know, the best kind of true.

Or take the opposite approach - answer every call and faithfully promise to sort out the matter and call out to visit the caller with more details and waive all the tickets or whatever they are asking you to do - then do nothing.

We used to have a landline that was similar to a local taxi firm. When we got bored with telling people it was a wrong number, we started accepting their bookings.

mlem123

mlem123 wrote: »

OP said he's used this number for 20 years, why should he change it when some useless Garda can't even remember his own number?

How do you know it's the Gardas fault?
Maybe the numbers are extremely close & the people calling it are making the mistake?

tuxy

bubblypop wrote: »

How do you know it's the Gardas fault?
Maybe the numbers are extremely close & the people calling it are making the mistake?

The OP claims that because of the arrangement of numbers for his phone this mistake is almost impossible.

tuxy

tuxy wrote: »

The OP claims that because of the arrangement of numbers for his phone this mistake is almost impossible.

Not sure how he could make that assumption?

tuxy

bubblypop wrote: »

Not sure how he could make that assumption?

I know, it's a highly illogical statement but that is what has been claimed.

prinzeugen wrote: »

Its not an easy mistake to make. As I said my number is so, so simple.

ForestFire

OP is dose not make any difference how easy your number is , and how hard it is not to make a mistake when dialing your number, but maybe someone with a similar number can easliy end up dialing your number.

Can you not put you number pattern here is the form of random letter or symbols like mine below:--

087 &WW$$>>

ohnonotgmail

ForestFire wrote: »

OP is dose not make any difference how easy your number is , and how hard it is not to make a mistake when dialing your number, but maybe someone with a similar number can easliy end up dialing your number.

Can you not put you number pattern here is the form of random letter or symbols like mine below:--

087 &WW$$>>

that is what i think is happening as well. My own number is 5551234 (well not really but that is the pattern). if somebody wants to dial 5512346 but they accidentally dial 55512346 then they will get through to me. the network will ignore the 6 at the end as it only expects 7 digits. I've had people get bull thick with me accusing me of stealing their friends phone.

ForestFire

Okay People....STOP RINGING ME!!!:p




Only joking:D

endacl

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Or take the opposite approach - answer every call and faithfully promise to sort out the matter and call out to visit the caller with more details and waive all the tickets or whatever they are asking you to do - then do nothing.

Can’t do that though. In representing himself as a Guard the OP would be committing an offence.

Peregrinus

prinzeugen wrote: »

As The title says, a member of the Garda keeps giving my mobile to people rather than their own.

I have, what must be, one of the simplest mobile numbers in the country. You would need to be an idiot to get it wrong . . .

Obviously speaking to them didn't work so who do I go to next? GSOC or the Data Protection Commissioner?

The thing is, they're not getting your number wrong; they're getting the guard's number wrong.

You assume that the guard is giving out the wrong number, but this seems unlikely to me; he presumably knows his own number. Far more likely is that some of the people he gives it to make a mistake, and inadvertantly change it in their minds or in their fingers to your simple, elegant, memorable number.

I had this problem with a credit card once; just switch two digits and the number was strikingly apt and pleasing. And when I was giving my credit card number over the phone, no matter how clearly I spoke people would constantly make that switch, the transaction would be rejected, and I would have to persuade them that they had made a mistake.

If that's anything like your situation, there's nothing GSOC or the Data Protection Commissioner can do about it. You can ask your provider for a new, less elegant number, though I appreciate that's a colossal pain.

nothing

Could you not set your voicemail to something like "Hi, this is prinzeugen, if you've rang looking for garda x, you have the wrong number"

is_that_so

Isn't this a golden opportunity for a TD to make representations on behalf of a constituent? In fact, contact all of the local TDs!

CitizenFloor

Go to the station with a T-Shirt with "GDPR Police" written across it in big writing, and make a deal with the Garda....Ask them to port your number and buy you a new phone. Worth a shot. Say your number is out there now, and its the only way to stop people calling you.

They might actually do it

CitizenFloor

CitizenFloor wrote: »

Go to the station with a T-Shirt with "GDPR Police" written across it in big writing, and make a deal with the Garda....Ask them to port your number and buy you a new phone. Worth a shot. Say your number is out there now, and its the only way to stop people calling you.

They might actually do it

Just to clarify, I am actually serious, minus the part about the T-Shirt.

prinzeugen

ForestFire wrote: »

OP is dose not make any difference how easy your number is , and how hard it is not to make a mistake when dialing your number, but maybe someone with a similar number can easliy end up dialing your number.

Can you not put you number pattern here is the form of random letter or symbols like mine below:--

087 &WW$$>>

08X +++ +++=