According to this BBC article, a guy set up the equivalent of a 1-900 number and uses it anywhere where he has to put his phone number. Authorities caution that there are regulations on said numbers, but they don’t seem too onerous, and could be accomplished by a boilerplate message before letting the call ring thought. Any other problems jump out at you?
Note, he’s made 300 pounds so far, so at least some companies will in fact call the number.
Very cool. Anytime telemarketers get screwed I am happy.
I especially liked the part where he put his number on twitter so that it would get picked up by marketing companies.
Yes!
Now I just gotta get a 900-number.
My hero! Four calls alone yesterday from those nitwits at card holder services. They kept calling and then hanging up. I would beat them to a pulp if I could.
I’d love to see phone companies offer consumers premium rate numbers like this, specifically for giving out to businesses. Just about every business wants to get the consumer’s phone number, and they all swear that they never, ever use it for telemarketing. While this wouldn’t stop sequential number dialing, it WOULD stop most telemarketers dead in their tracks, even the ones who are currently breaking the law by calling people on the DNC list.
Sure, have a little canned speech at the start. That’s fair. Let Rachel and Heather from Card Services pay for annoying everyone with their fantastic offers.
And have the option of giving friends and family a code to get past the premium rate.
How much does it cost to set up a 900 line in the U.S.? Can you set it up on a pre-paid mobile phone (‘burn phone’, ‘Trak-Phone’) so that you don’t have to pay for an additional line in your house? What is the monthly fee for having a 900-number?