If you've got a phone - answer it.

[Bearbonesnorm]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... fGMM578BBc

[In Reverse]

That's a tricky one tbh. I never answer my phone to unknown numbers. Surely they must have left a message or sent a text?

[Lazarus]

I answer unknown numbers it's not like it's hard to hang up ( perhaps get 10 a year at most )!

[AndreR]

Is this an age thing? If I call my kids they wait for me to ring off and then message to ask what I want! I am old enough to remember party lines an how excited people got when answer phones were invented.

[whitestone]

I got a couple of calls from Mauritius (I assume that the Nigerian Prince has managed to get out of the country) at something like 2am so I disabled unknown numbers.

The solutions are either for the MRTs to have public numbers that you can add to your contacts list or for those numbers to be exempt from the call blocking.

[psling]

Is this an age thing? If I call my kids they wait for me to ring off and then message to ask what I want!

Ha ha, this is so true!

I would most probably have my phone switched off unless I was expecting a call. Having said that, I would have rung anyone expecting my arrival by a certain time to explain the situation beforehand.

[gairym]

Not that tricky really, I'll continue to ignore unknown numbers.....unless I'm lost in the hills, close to death and hoping for rescue - then I'll answer.

(Obviously I'm being flippant but come on, it's not that hard to do one thing sometimes and another thing other times)

[ScotRoutes]

Not that tricky really, I'll continue to ignore unknown numbers.....unless I'm lost in the hills, close to death and hoping for rescue - then I'll answer.

(Obviously I'm being flippant but come on, it's not that hard to do one thing sometimes and another thing other times)

This would be my approach too.

If I'd reported myself lost then I'd be expecting a call back from someone and so would answer.

If I was a bit delayed/behind schedule and hadn't reported myself lost then I'd be a lot less likely to, though I'd more likely accept a call from someone I knew.

In any case, if I was lost and thought I might NEED my phone to call for help, why would I drain the battery by answering some unsolicited calls?

[fatbikephil]

In the sort of places I'll become lost / broken enough to need help, there won't be a phone signal....

[TheBrownDog]

Reading through the article the guy seems to know that he'd gone off track but also seemed to know how to get himself unlost. I'm pretty sure if he wasn't that confident and had a signal, he'd have got in touch with someone to ask for help.

I never answer calls from unknown numbers because they are 99% power dials from scammers wanting to tell me I owe a big tax bill and need to transfer £2000 somewhere, or that they want to talk to me about the car accident that wasn't my fault, and which never happened.

[Alpinum]

I don't answer unknown numbers either. If somebody needs you to answer, they will try again or write a message.

Now I've read it... well, they seemingly have tried repeatedly. There you go.
It's easy.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I'm asking this as someone who doesn't have a mobile ... what's so bad about answering a call from an unknown number and would you do the same on a landline?

[Pirahna]

I'm asking this as someone who doesn't have a mobile

I could explain but you wouldn't understand.

[Alpinum]

what's so bad about answering a call from an unknown number and would you do the same on a landline?

Nothing, just can't be arsed.
Yes.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Well I think you're all mad. I answered a call just last week from a nice Nigerian lady who I've helped out securing her uncles fortune. Apparently, it was lost in a shipwreck and me sending her £2000 means that they'll be able to hire a diver to retrieve it and best of all, for helping out, she's going to send me £30,000 when they find it

[belugabob]

Well I think you're all mad. I answered a call just last week from a nice Nigerian lady who I've helped out securing her uncles fortune. Apparently, it was lost in a shipwreck and me sending her £2000 means that they'll be able to hire a diver to retrieve it and best of all, for helping out, she's going to send me £30,000 when they find it

I predict that the postman won't be able to find your place...

[ScotRoutes]

would you do the same on a landline?

Yes. Ours has an answering machine where the caller can leave a message.

TBH, I'd happily remove the landline anyway. There's only two folk we know who call us on it. And they are both my wifes family.....

[Tonto]

Why didn't the rescue service send him a text as well?
A lot of folk don't answer unknown numbers.

[The Cumbrian]

Well I think you're all mad. I answered a call just last week from a nice Nigerian lady who I've helped out securing her uncles fortune. Apparently, it was lost in a shipwreck and me sending her £2000 means that they'll be able to hire a diver to retrieve it and best of all, for helping out, she's going to send me £30,000 when they find it

My favourite one was an email about a Nigerian who was the first African in space, but he was stranded on the ISS because Nigeria's space agency had gone bust and they couldn't afford to return him to Earth. He's been up there for ages and was desperate to get home, and if I helped him reactivate his account where his considerable back-pay was, he'd reward me handsomely when he returned.

[Dave Barter]

Well I think you're all mad. I answered a call just last week from a nice Nigerian lady who I've helped out securing her uncles fortune. Apparently, it was lost in a shipwreck and me sending her £2000 means that they'll be able to hire a diver to retrieve it and best of all, for helping out, she's going to send me £30,000 when they find it

It wasn’t in the sea of Muff was it?

[AndreR]

Well I think you're all mad. I answered a call just last week from a nice Nigerian lady who I've helped out securing her uncles fortune. Apparently, it was lost in a shipwreck and me sending her £2000 means that they'll be able to hire a diver to retrieve it and best of all, for helping out, she's going to send me £30,000 when they find it

It wasn’t in the sea of Muff was it?

[Lazarus]

.why would I drain the battery by answering some unsolicited calls

You are waiting to be rescues dnd it's one call and I doubt you will stay on that long to drain.
Find it odd you have a phone but won't really use it. IME hospitals say private number and don't leave a number to call back on for example.
I find the refusal to use a phone quite odd..at least a few calls a year from unknown numbers are useful.
Edit school is another one that says private number and cannot text me. Tbh it takes more time(and battery) to listen to a message than take the call

[whitestone]

In this instance the individual hadn't called out MRT and wasn't aware that anyone was looking for him so the calls were just "unknown". From the article we don't know if they had informed their hotel of a return time, if they had then personally I would assume that such calls might be someone checking on me.

Also, how did MRT have his number? From the hotel, a relative? Why weren't they trying to contact him then at least it would be from a known number.

As I noted in my previous reply there needs to be a means of providing local MRT numbers that can be added to your contacts list or for them not to be blocked in the same way that emergency numbers (999 911, etc.) are still accessible on a "locked" phone. I've never taken a call from emergency services so don't know if it would appear as "999"

[ScotRoutes]

.why would I drain the battery by answering some unsolicited calls

You are waiting to be rescues dnd it's one call and I doubt you will stay on that long to drain.

If I was waiting to be rescued then of course I'd answer. In the scenario linked, he wasn't waiting to be rescued. He had no idea he'd been reported as overdue.

[Lazarus]

. my previous reply there needs to be a means of providing local MRT numbers that can be added to your contacts list or for them not to be blocked

Or you could just answer/not block numbers which is an extremely simple solution to the problem which is created by your decision ( no offence meant there ).
I still don't get why you all won't answer your phone it's 10 seconds then hang up if its pointless/spam.