Finally moved into our new house yesterday and had BT come last week to connect up our new phone line (new build property).

The landline telephone number BT have randomly assigned us, is my gran's phone number who passed away 2 and half years ago!! 😯

Gave my new number to my mum (gran was her mother) last week and she did say that number looked familiar as did I, but it was my sister who realised the coincidence this morning! Weird.

As long as she doesn't answer the phone…

An ex of mine parents phone number was my old bank account number. Both dumped now for being shit.

Assuming it's the same area code followed by a six digit number, there's about a 1 in 1000000 chance of this happening.
Considering how many BT lines there must be, it's inevitable that it will happen to someone.
Still a bit weird for you when you're that someone.

I think you'll find the chance is a lot less than 1 in 1,000,000.

i) there's a fixed pool of numbers in each area code, which might still be linked to a specific geographic area – depending on how BT do their number management
ii) most don't get released and therefore can't be reallocated to someone else.

If 10,000 numbers got released over the last two 1/2 years, the chance would be down to 1/10000, which is a hundred times more likely than your estimate and it could be a lot lower. Also, a lot of different numbers would seem like an incredible co-incidence for a whole lot of reasons so you might end up with a much much more likely chance of hitting on an 'incredible coincidence' that you might think.

And yes I am stats geek. And I'm married to an even bigger one, who will laugh when she reads my geeky post later 😀

who will laugh when she reads my geeky post later

Just as well someone will 🙂

I would use the numbers for the lottery, you may get some divine intervention! 😉

Play the lottery tonight, just in case.

I said about 1 in 1000000 to allow for certain numbers not being used.
If you can dial a number in the same area code without dialling the area code, then no number can begin 999xxx.
Thinking about it a bit more, now that you've mentioned it, my area code, 01299, covers at least three towns. Bewdley numbers begin 01299 40xxxx, so yes, it is far more likely than I first suggested assuming both addresses are in the same town..

The prefixes are a throw back to mechanical local exchanges and higher order aggregation switches that would connect them together, but that's exactly what I was on about with the number management point.

I wasn't being critical btw, I just genuinely find stuff like this interesting.

1 in 1000000 ?………..1/10000 ?……….does it matter FFS ?

Because it was hardly what you would describe as "just a coincidence" 😕

Did you guys actually read the OP ? ……… he said that it was his gran's old telephone number – these things don't just "happen" you know.

Sounds to me like she's got something to say…….. I would drop Yuri Geller an email.

💡 Ask him if he's heard anything from Jacko, whilst you're at it.

The connection has been made. Pick up your phone and dial your own number.. wait for your Gran to answer….

JonT – Member
The connection has been made. Pick up your phone and dial your own number.. wait for your Gran to answer….

I'm scared now 😥 😀

Ian, I didn't take your reply as critical. You just made me realise how far out my original off the cuff estimate was.
If we knew the number of people who have a phone connected per year, the timescale between BT disconnecting a phone and reallocating the number, the number of elderly relatives, neighbours or work colleagues those people have and the number of usable numbers in an area, we could work out the probability of this happening.
It's probably quite common.
That's the thing with million to one chances. Nine times out of ten, they happen.

Spooky:
Last week I had dozed off in front of the footy, a neighbour was over watching the game with us and when I came to after 10 mins (?) I immediately turned to her and asked her if she was bleeding. I have no idea why I said this – an odd comment at the best of times !

She'd just been to the bathroom and as it's turned out had started her period 2 weeks early which lasted just one day. That's spooky – you should have seen the look she gave me – priceless!

<edges slowly out the room maintaining eye contact with Ti29er all the way>

NZ. Come back. I have much to tell you…..

I have an even spookier story to tell…

I've always been proper skinny.. but just recently.. during her maternity leave.. my girlfriend has started baking and decorating cakes.. she makes amazing creations for weddings.. birthdays and anniversaries and has also now started supplying local cafes and restaraunts with various cakes and muffins.. I have to add that I was her guinea pig a lot of the time when she was developing her recipes!

I thought this was great.. and it also strangely reminded me of my brothers godfather.. who loved a bit of cake but tragically died of obesity related issues..
Imagine how freaked out I was when I got on the scales this morning and realised that since we have all these cakes and muffins lying around the place every day.. I too have become a reet fat fecker just like dear old cake loving Uncle Colin!!

Is this coincidence? Or are there higher forces at work?
you tell me…. proper freaky though hey!

spooky Bt story ! yeah and if someone answers your phone other than you it will be your gran…. i have spooks in my house (i live in my nans old house.(she is deceased now)..i see wiered mists occasionally and the curtains move in waves (no door open) !
wish that John Edwards guy would come to England sometime…