Can I speak to your mother?

[NbyNW]

I once answered my door thinking it was a delivery and instead it was some random person who was asking for donations/selling something. But they didn't get very far with me by asking if my mother was home. I'm well into my 30s and my mother doesn't live with me!

I politely told them my mother wasn't home and they wished me a good day and went away.

[Pax]

My ex has the same name/phone book listing as a local Sociology professor, we used to get calls in the middle of the night during midterms and finals asking for extensions on papers, test retaking, and general oh-please-god-don't-flunk-me. We used to tell them they had the wrong number and try to go back to sleep...after the umpteenth wake up call of the night one time I just started telling the kids "sure, I'll give you another week on that paper".

[Aggie_Ama]

I once answered my door thinking it was a delivery and instead it was some random person who was asking for donations/selling something. But they didn't get very far with me by asking if my mother was home. I'm well into my 30s and my mother doesn't live with me!

I politely told them my mother wasn't home and they wished me a good day and went away.

This happened to me more than once after we bought our house. I was 25 when we moved in two years ago and look very young for my age. I am often told I look like I am about 16-18.

I either say my parents are unavailable or lay into them with a tirade "I am the home owner, far past living with my parents, would you believe I am old enough to have completed a four year degree, worked a couple years and then bought this home?!" or "Since you are looking for my parents, they live in _____ try to sell to them because I am not buying anything for MY home from you." I really hate solicitors.