Are your numbers sequential? 555-1213 and 555-1214, for example? The dialers go thru all possible numbers automatically.

one telephone cable per phone #...

susanjf, don't you mean one twisted pair per phone number? A telephone cable has at least 25 twisted pair...

SheilaJoyce, you might want to check the telephone box where the wires come into your house - it's probably on the side of your garage (depending on the age of your home). If water has gotten in there during a rain storm, it's possible that there is a cross-connect between the two lines.

You could also check your phone cords to anything on the phone line. Modems, telephones, CID boxes, answering machines, etc. A bad cord can do strange things. A bad jack could cause issues too.

Does it happen all the time or just occasionally?

Just occasionally, but three times today.

We have 3 landlines and all three will ring at the same time, it's always telemarketers and often times there is no one on the other end, but the caller ID is the same on all phones. My two office lines are one digit apart, but the third is nothing close. It usually happens a couple of times per month.

If it's happening frequently--and especially if nothing's showing up on the caller ID--I'd definitely want the phone company out checking the connections. That really sounds as if there's a problem with the wires, to me.

Are the phones your own, or phone co. rentals?

If your own, likely they are ones where they plug into a jack on the wall. If so, borrow someone else`s phones for a time to see whether they do, as well, as I fully expect that they will ...

... but you don`t want the phone co. visiting, claiming that it`s your phone, and sending you a big bill.

If you can find someone with a phone co. rental phone, try to borrow that for a time to see whether it does it with that phone.

ole joyful

Could be ...

... you're more popular than you realized?

o j

They need not be sequentially numbered phones and it has nothing to do with how many lines are on the cable.

A standard service drop line from the pole to the house has two twisted pairs to provide two lines.

They make telephone cables that have 750 or more twisted pairs but again, the fact that both your landlines ring in succession has nothing to do with the wiring.

Most people are only familiar with the standard telephone book that has people listed in alphabetical order by last name, but the phone companies also have telephone listings that are listed alpha/numerically by county,city & street address.

Most ppl using a telemarketing service prefer to solicit by using the street index. In that way they can solicit a small section of the community that could be serviced easily by a follow up rep in a day, thus saving communiting time if you opt to accept whatever service is being offered.

The telemarketing person you speak to on the phone has no real idea who they are talking to of where you may live. The supervisor inputs a list of leads or the parameters for a neighborhood canvas and the operator just sits in the chair and hits a button to start the dialer. When the phone answers they read information off the screen to you, and if you opt to want more info they have a long list of Q & A that they can respond back to you. The moment the call ends they hit a button to end the call and the auto dialer selects & dials the next number, which in this case is the next number listed by street address.

But no one is there when we answer.

Robo-callers are automated dialing computers that are likely causing your problem. A live human will pick up the line only if the phone is picked up and answered by a person. I bet if you waited 5-10 additional seconds or so you'd find out who it is.

This is an election year, so I am betting you are being robo-dialed for political candidates (they are exempt from the Do Not Call law), or perhaps a charity, which are also exempt. Companies you already do business with, like say your bank, can also telemarket you, even if you are on Do Not Call.