Odd phone call...

[Anastasis]

We just received a phone call at 10.40pm which my wife answered. She heard very faint classical music in the background and then heard the phone at the other end dial 4 digits. She disconnected then tried 1471, but it was clear that the caller at the other end was still connected and she heard 4 digits dialled again. She disconnected a second time and then I tried with the same result.

I tried picking the phone up to dial 1471 several times, but there was no dial tone, the line still wasn't clear although I could hear no more digits being dialled.

I then tried phoning our number via my mobile and got an engaged tone. I repeated the same a few times but it was still engaged. I then tried once more and our phone rang.

Of course, there was no way now of dialling 1471 to try to find out who was calling, only my mobile number was stored.

Has anyone else had this? Is it a scam? Is there any way of finding out the number dialled before I dialled on my mobile?

Another question with regard to this - is there any way to clear the caller from the other end as typically I believe the line doesn't clear until the caller disconnects. Is there some way to do a hard reset?

Thanks in anticipation of your help with this.

[Graham M]

Sounds like a crossed wire to me?

Originally Posted by Anastasis

We just received a phone call at 10.40pm which my wife answered. She heard very faint classical music in the background and then heard the phone at the other end dial 4 digits. She disconnected then tried 1471, but it was clear that the caller at the other end was still connected and she heard 4 digits dialled again. She disconnected a second time and then I tried with the same result.

I tried picking the phone up to dial 1471 several times, but there was no dial tone, the line still wasn't clear although I could hear no more digits being dialled.

I then tried phoning our number via my mobile and got an engaged tone. I repeated the same a few times but it was still engaged. I then tried once more and our phone rang.

Of course, there was no way now of dialling 1471 to try to find out who was calling, only my mobile number was stored.

Has anyone else had this? Is it a scam? Is there any way of finding out the number dialled before I dialled on my mobile?

Another question with regard to this - is there any way to clear the caller from the other end as typically I believe the line doesn't clear until the caller disconnects. Is there some way to do a hard reset?

Thanks in anticipation of your help with this.

Doubtful. In such a situation pull the plug that should clear the line.

[Raistlin]

Originally Posted by Gogogo

Doubtful. In such a situation pull the plug that should clear the line.

Pulling the plug will have no more effect than hanging up the receiver.

IIRC the only way that the line will become cleared is if the person at the other end hangs up.

I could be wrong though...........

[GTD]

All telephone lines will drop the call when either the caller or reciever puts their phone down - it can usually take a few of minutes depending on where the call came from (different telephone operators have different exchanges with different thresholds set although they all use the same signalling system).
You would need to wait for this to happen before trying 1471 and hope that the originating caller passed on their CLI.
As mentioned, unplugging the phone does not actually disconnect the line.
Only other possibility is that you have a faulty phone that won't release the line every time..... unlikely if all has been fine up till now.
HTH