DEAR ABBY: I recently bought a new cellphone and was assigned a number by the company that sold it to me. I have been receiving calls and messages for the person who had the number before it was given to me. While the number of the person calling or texting comes up, I do not know the numbers of all my friends and associates, so I have been accepting the calls or texts.
At first, I would let the caller or texter know that the person he/she was trying to reach no longer had this number. However, it takes up my expensive minutes to make those replies. Am I under any obligation to contact these folks, or can I just ignore their contacts? -- POLITE IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR POLITE: No rule of etiquette "compels" you to respond to these callers and texters, so consider yourself off the hook.