Trying to track down a telemarketer who uses a toll-free number is no easy task. Read this article for tricks and shortcuts, and to learn about the shady and complex way that these numbers are managed.
Who’s Hiding Behind That Toll Free Number? The Dark World of the SMS/800
Consider this scenario: It’s a Saturday afternoon, and you’ve been receiving calls from a mysterious 1-(800) number all morning. They keep telling you that you’re the lucky winner of a brand new 12-inch black-and-white television, which you will get as soon as you sign up for their special hassle-free, mega-rewards, Platinum Player credit card.
Each time you hang up, the same person calls back a few hours later, using a new name and speaking in a slightly different accent. Finally, when he starts the conversation with “’Ello mate, you’ve won a telly!”, you slam down the phone, utter a battle cry, and declare that you’re going to track this telemarketer down and destroy him.
Though a worthy goal indeed, the unfortunate truth is that uncovering the weasel behind that 1-(800) number will be far more difficult than you might expect.
Unlike many phone numbers, toll free numbers are not public information. Instead, they are administered through a mysterious and convoluted system, run by an organization that sounds more like a secret, underground terrorist sect than a telephone company: the SMS/800.
The SMS/800, which is shorthand for the far-less-cool “800 Service Management System”, is responsible for managing all toll-free numbers, including not only 800 area codes, but also 866, 888, 877, and the soon-to-exist 855 and 844. It is run by a management team made up of representatives from each of the Bell Operating Companies, namely Verizon, AT&T, BellSouth and QWest.
The SMS/800 decides which telecom companies can control and sell toll-free numbers, by designating them a “RespOrg” (another hip telecom term, which stands for “responsible organization”). To become a RespOrg, all you need to do is get trained, pass a certification test, and pay a fee. According to SMS/800, “any person, company, or organization that can demonstrate the required skills and financial responsibility can apply to be a RespOrg.”(1)
Once a company has achieved RespOrg status, they can sell toll free numbers to just about anyone, including the bozo who is trying to sell you that credit card. So figuring out the RespOrg who administers his 800 number is half the battle to tracking the culprit down.
To do this, you can call a company called AmeriTech (800-337-4194), itself a RespOrg, which has access to the SMS/800 database and offers a service that will tell you the identity of the RespOrg for any toll free number.
But the fight’s not over there. RespOrgs can be very tight-lipped about who owns the number—these are their customers, after all. So you have two options. One, you can try to lure them into giving you this information, with charm and perhaps some creativity (e.g. “I really want to get that television, but they’re just not calling me anymore! So… what’s their name and address?).
But even if your clever ruse fails, option #2 is to file a complaint directly with the RespOrg. This might only get you the satisfaction of complaining, but there’s also a very good chance that it’ll stop the calls.
There is, of course, option #3 (the nuclear option), in which you buy your own 1-(800) number and begin aggressively trying to sell the telemarketer some self-respect. But that one, we can’t openly recommend (www.tollfreenumber.org).