Dear LPG,

I read a piece that was your news post on May 2^nd  this year and I recently found myself at the other end of a call inspired by what DL suggested,  but as a result , I was left with a bit of a dilemma and wanted to know what LPG would have done in my situation. 

I received a telephone call from a friend who I have not heard from for years and it was really nice to catch up.  We had worked together at one time but I had not heard from this old work colleague for at least fifteen years. 

We were talking for about forty minutes before I realised the point of the call.  The person on the other end of the line asked me if I had heard from another work colleague that we both worked with back then and our conversation then began to focus on that person and our memories of working with them.   Then we got to the crux; I was asked if I had the phone number of the ex-work-colleague and if I could pass it on.

I am in contact with the person whose number I was asked for but got a bit worried about giving someone else’s contact details without that person’s permission.    I lied and said that I did not have it, and now I am worried that my blatant lie will come back to haunt me because we had lots of other work mates from that time and, as other telephone calls are made, I am sure that those two are bound to get together, at which point, it is inevitable that my lie will come back to haunt me. 

Does anyone out there have any idea how I can defuse the situation and save face?

EA, Dulwich

 I just want to stress that this is how I would deal with the situation and say that I don’t necessarily speak for the rest of LPG…

I would advise that there are a few things that can be done. Perhaps the answer is to phone the person whose number is wanted, and ask if it is all right to pass it on.  If yes, phone the first colleague back and say that you have found it; if no, offer the number of the person enquiring and ask them to call.

These days we live in a world where any scrap of personal information should not be given away lightly,  and I agree with EA that it would have been wrong to have given the number away on request.  I think that it is always best to ask for permission before giving anyone’s telephone number to someone else, so perhaps the best course of action is to take the number of the person asking and pass that on to the person whose number is wanted so that they can call back if they want to.  I think that it should be easy to give the reason for what you are doing when first asked the question because most enquirer’s would empathies at that point and understand your action.  

Maureen B

(LPG)