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Man Shares Story Of Random Guy Being Added To His Family Chat Instead Of His Actual Dad, 78K Tweeters Are Cracking Up

Man Shares Story Of Random Guy Being Added To His Family Chat Instead Of His Actual Dad, 78K Tweeters Are Cracking Up

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There is a particular kind of heart attack moment when you accidentally send a message or an email and then you realize that it’s the wrong person or that you have left in a huge mistake and there is now no way of reversing this decision.

Well, imagine that same feeling except it’s not one, but six months worth of messages and not just you, but multiple people in a family group chat. And you only realize that there is an impostor in the chat after those six months when someone asks to add ‘dad’ to it.

Imagine the feeling when you add a random person to your family chat and only notice it 6 months later?

Image credits: jonnohopkins

Meet Jonno Hopkins, a copywriter from Kentish Town in the Greater London Area, England with whom Bored Panda got in touch, who has gone to Twitter to share a little oopsie he experienced recently.

Around six months ago, Jonno created a group chat for his family. The family didn’t communicate well due to an unfortunate divorce, but this was a solution to fixing this and Jonno was excited about it.

For some unknown reason—like a moment of absentmindedness—Jonno created the group, but instead of adding ‘Dad’ to the group, he added ‘Peter,’ which is his dad’s actual name.

This is what happened to Jonno Hopkins who added a random guy to the family chat thinking it was his dad

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You see, instead of adding ‘dad’, he added ‘Peter’ which is his dad’s actual name

Image credits: jonnohopkins

It never really occurred to him that he had added the wrong person to the chat as dad was never really a chatroom person, nor did he make much of it when he confronted dad about it on one of his calls—he wrote it off as him just being old.

“I’m struggling to figure this one out myself. I was obviously having a Bart Simpson moment, but I never call my dad anything other than ‘dad’,” elaborated Jonno on why he ended up not noticing how he added a stranger to the chat. “I can only think that he was added in haste, during a momentary lapse in concentration. Nevertheless, I’ve learned from my mistake and will never add the wrong dad to groups again.”

The actual person who was added, now called ‘Fake Dad Peter,’ was actually a plumber that Jonno hired once before. He just read the messages, never chimed in on anything in the group chat. And now it’s obvious why.

Turns out, the person he added shared a name with his dad but was actually a plumber he called in once in 2013

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Image credits: jonnohopkins

Well, this would have continued for years if not for Jonno’s sister who asked him to add dad to the group chat. At this point, Jonno did a double take and understood that the Peter he added wasn’t actually his dad—the number was different—but the plumber.

“I could see in Whatsapp that Fake Dad Peter was viewing the texts, which is why I found it strange when my real dad would call and ask me about things that we’d spoken about in the group chat,” elaborated Jonno. “I just assumed he was being aloof, old and, well, dad-ish.”

“I can’t imagine what Fake Dad Peter thought of my family’s texts. It was all quite random stuff, like my mum talking about which colour carpets she was going to have in her house, pictures of my nephew playing in the snow, asking about switching emails. Very dull stuff.”

Well, one person swap later, Peter was gone from the chat and dad was in. “I’m not sure why, when setting up the group, I didn’t add ‘Dad’ and not ‘Peter.’ But now I feel bad for fake dad Peter and hope he enjoyed reading my mum’s messages about how she’d thought Coldplay’s album was called A Cold Hard Blow To The Head.” It’s actually A Rush Of Blood To The Head. You’re welcome.

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The avatar even had Peter’s plumbing company’s image on it, so it’s a mystery how Jonno didn’t notice

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Jonno also shared a picture of his actual family, not the one with ‘Fake Dad Peter’

Image credits: jonnohopkins

Jonno shared the story with Twitter, where it went viral. Nearly 80,000 people liked it, asking follow-up questions about Fake Dad Peter, like how he didn’t notice (“No Idea”) and wasn’t he in touch with Fake Dad Peter (“No. He really messed up some of our favorite clothes”).

“I was very, very surprised to see the tweets go viral. I always try (and fail) to be entertaining on Twitter, but didn’t think the story would get much attention as it was just a dumb thing that happened that my family all had a laugh about. I suppose part of the story’s appeal is that (to my surprise) it’s something that’s quite common,” said Jonno.

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“I’ve told my family they went very viral. They seemed nonplussed.”

People started asking a lot of questions, so Jonno answered them in bulk to give more context

Image credits: jonnohopkins

Others also shared some of their stories of how they had sent messages to the wrong person or even got into someone’s car without realizing that it wasn’t a taxi and the dude was calm about it. All in all, everyone thought this was a pretty hilarious (and honest) mistake.

“I had a lot of comments from people who’d done similar things. I was genuinely ecstatic so many people enjoyed it. It was just a dumb thing, but I had hundreds of people reply to tell me that it’d cheered them up during a crappy time. That’s always a nice thing to hear and I’m glad it helped,” said Jonno.

Here’s the moment of realization

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Image credits: jonnohopkins

As of now, there’s almost 80k likes on the thread with loads of people sharing their own stories

Image credits: TadghofNewry

Image credits: marina_wert

Image credits: Andybhoy721

Image credits: mandylou26

Image credits: DigiLifeRescue

Image credits: pbeighton

Image credits: sarahlewismcd

Image credits: ___Ginge__

Image credits: marciahearne1

What are your thoughts on this? Have you ever sent a message to the wrong person (and on multiple occasions)? Let us know in the comment section below!

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be13jansen avatar
kaching12 avatar
Lexi Mitchell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s sort of a funny story, but the post was longer than it needed to be and the omg so relatable tweets from other people weren’t funny either.

Load More Replies...
rweaver-boredpanda avatar
Johnny
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If peter never responded, why do they think Peter was even getting those messages? Maybe he added Peter's landline and those messages were going nowhere, maybe Peter the Plumber's phone goes to a call center somewhere, or maybe Peter changed his number, or lost his phone or something.

craigthrice avatar
Gyro Pilot
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Peter probably began blocking the group text after the second or third message.

Load More Replies...
chimesstreet avatar
Tabitha L
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everyone in my family is named Nicholas. (That is hyperbole, not actually true). Irregardless, I have the names in my phone as Nicholas (brother). Nicholas (brother in law), Nicholas (cousin), Nicholas (uncle), Nicholas (nephew).....you get the idea. That way I rarely screw up.

craigthrice avatar
Gyro Pilot
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also a good justification for nicknames. At my work we're awash with Dans, so we have young Dan, old Dan, our Dan, dock Dan, and Sue's Dan. The alternative is to use first and last names but that's too formal and military for a some places.

Load More Replies...
shelbyp avatar
Shelby P
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

how come no one here is talking about how she consistently trashes the repairman Peter for "messing up her clothes" when obviously there was something wrong with the machine. I mean is it up to the repairman to to save clothes that have been eaten by a machine? I dunno... does fake dad really deserve this bad press?

dorabaptistadossantos avatar
Blossomstar
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once I messaged my mom that I was going to bed...then a realized it was a friend I hadn't texted in months. The worst part is that I didn’t realize till they messaged me later, needless to say I was VERY embarrassed.

jerryt avatar
Jerry T
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My wife has been included in an ongoing family email exchange for almost 7 years. Most of the emails focus on the weather and their various maladies but occasionally they are a little more in depth. At first she thought it was a scam but after all these years she doesn't know what to do. Every time she gets an email she is torn between just throwing it away, reading it or responding and letting them know their error. They are sweet and wholesome emails and she actually enjoys when they hit her inbox but she feels like some kind of voyeur.

paulina_prazmo avatar
Paulina Prazmo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m not cracking up. It’s not even that funny 🤦‍♀️

caseymcalister avatar
Casey McAlister
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The whole "story" is basically summarized in the title - someone accidentally adds the wrong person to the family chat. It doesn't get funnier or more interesting after that.

andersmiemietz avatar
AndersM
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well. Perhaps peter the Plummer never read your messages....

cheyennedemorest_1 avatar
hush
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

how dare they just kick out peter! peter is part of their family now. (but seriously, why and how did peter not speak up sooner?? and how did it take six months to notice the plumbing profile pic?? and how did the dad not say anything about being in the group chat?)

carolinemurphy_1 avatar
Caroline
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been terrible at adding names to my phone. Once when I got a new one, I thought I was texting my sister and I texted some personal things including jokes only she would understand. I realized after a couple of days asking why she wasn't replying, I realized I had been texting a guy I met once off Tinder

iamdanezhaface avatar
Among Us
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The guy Andy is pretty lucky the random guy didn't just drive off with them and yeet them into the woods.

miriamemendelson avatar
Mimi M
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I want to know if the laugh brought his family closer together...

michel_2 avatar
Marcellus the Third
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

James Veitch has an entire line of comedy based on accidentally being included (most of his is when deliberate -- conversations with scammers). My favourite one was where homeowners mistook him for a pool designer, and he kept making more & more outlandish suggestions. Or mistaken as a building's handy man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91UDa_gZSMI

craigthrice avatar
Gyro Pilot
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The ironic part is in business we trust copywriters to be the embodiment of perfection: correct word, spelling, grammar, etc. So who proofs the proofers? Knucklehead...

be13jansen avatar
kaching12 avatar
Lexi Mitchell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s sort of a funny story, but the post was longer than it needed to be and the omg so relatable tweets from other people weren’t funny either.

Load More Replies...
rweaver-boredpanda avatar
Johnny
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If peter never responded, why do they think Peter was even getting those messages? Maybe he added Peter's landline and those messages were going nowhere, maybe Peter the Plumber's phone goes to a call center somewhere, or maybe Peter changed his number, or lost his phone or something.

craigthrice avatar
Gyro Pilot
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Peter probably began blocking the group text after the second or third message.

Load More Replies...
chimesstreet avatar
Tabitha L
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everyone in my family is named Nicholas. (That is hyperbole, not actually true). Irregardless, I have the names in my phone as Nicholas (brother). Nicholas (brother in law), Nicholas (cousin), Nicholas (uncle), Nicholas (nephew).....you get the idea. That way I rarely screw up.

craigthrice avatar
Gyro Pilot
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also a good justification for nicknames. At my work we're awash with Dans, so we have young Dan, old Dan, our Dan, dock Dan, and Sue's Dan. The alternative is to use first and last names but that's too formal and military for a some places.

Load More Replies...
shelbyp avatar
Shelby P
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

how come no one here is talking about how she consistently trashes the repairman Peter for "messing up her clothes" when obviously there was something wrong with the machine. I mean is it up to the repairman to to save clothes that have been eaten by a machine? I dunno... does fake dad really deserve this bad press?

dorabaptistadossantos avatar
Blossomstar
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once I messaged my mom that I was going to bed...then a realized it was a friend I hadn't texted in months. The worst part is that I didn’t realize till they messaged me later, needless to say I was VERY embarrassed.

jerryt avatar
Jerry T
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My wife has been included in an ongoing family email exchange for almost 7 years. Most of the emails focus on the weather and their various maladies but occasionally they are a little more in depth. At first she thought it was a scam but after all these years she doesn't know what to do. Every time she gets an email she is torn between just throwing it away, reading it or responding and letting them know their error. They are sweet and wholesome emails and she actually enjoys when they hit her inbox but she feels like some kind of voyeur.

paulina_prazmo avatar
Paulina Prazmo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m not cracking up. It’s not even that funny 🤦‍♀️

caseymcalister avatar
Casey McAlister
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The whole "story" is basically summarized in the title - someone accidentally adds the wrong person to the family chat. It doesn't get funnier or more interesting after that.

andersmiemietz avatar
AndersM
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well. Perhaps peter the Plummer never read your messages....

cheyennedemorest_1 avatar
hush
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

how dare they just kick out peter! peter is part of their family now. (but seriously, why and how did peter not speak up sooner?? and how did it take six months to notice the plumbing profile pic?? and how did the dad not say anything about being in the group chat?)

carolinemurphy_1 avatar
Caroline
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been terrible at adding names to my phone. Once when I got a new one, I thought I was texting my sister and I texted some personal things including jokes only she would understand. I realized after a couple of days asking why she wasn't replying, I realized I had been texting a guy I met once off Tinder

iamdanezhaface avatar
Among Us
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The guy Andy is pretty lucky the random guy didn't just drive off with them and yeet them into the woods.

miriamemendelson avatar
Mimi M
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I want to know if the laugh brought his family closer together...

michel_2 avatar
Marcellus the Third
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

James Veitch has an entire line of comedy based on accidentally being included (most of his is when deliberate -- conversations with scammers). My favourite one was where homeowners mistook him for a pool designer, and he kept making more & more outlandish suggestions. Or mistaken as a building's handy man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91UDa_gZSMI

craigthrice avatar
Gyro Pilot
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The ironic part is in business we trust copywriters to be the embodiment of perfection: correct word, spelling, grammar, etc. So who proofs the proofers? Knucklehead...

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