A man targeted by marketing companies is making money from cold calls with his own premium-rate phone number.
In November 2011 Lee Beaumont paid £10 plus VAT to set up his personal
In the U.S., these are "976" numbers. Does anyone still offer them?
Bill Horne Moderator
I don't think so. And apparently the last carrier that was willing to bill for 900 numbers no longer does, so there aren't any more 900 numbers, either.
It's very interesting how different "cultures" use the telephone system. If you go to the Netherlands you will see "0900" premium call numbers all over the place and see precious few 0800 "free phone numbers." Even to call the police unless it's to call for emergency pretty much anything and everything has a premium rate call affixed to it from calling for "as seen on TV" ads for merch to calling your mobile phone provider they pretty much universally have a premium rate number. To also give you an idea on how they treat freephone numbers a few of them have four digit freephone numbers! I guess they must be getting a big enough kickback from people calling it's what's the "norm" when I consider that my toll-free number costs me all of $2.00 per month plus a few cent a minute to receive the calls I wonder if freephone in the Netherlands is that expensive or whether people just like getting a kickback from KPN the telephone provider.
I've asked locals what they think of this and by and large they don't see anything wrong with it and see it as quite normal.
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