Some 'Dancing' Voters Call Wrong Number
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - An apparent phone number mix-up has voters for an ABC reality show calling a central Michigan answering service instead. Fans of "Dancing with the Stars" were mistakenly calling a toll-free 888 number to vote for the dance team lead by actor John O'Hurley, known for his role as J. Peterman on the sitcom "Seinfeld."
The phone number to vote for his team was an 866 number, according to ABC's Web site.
"People are saying that they are getting the number off the screen," phone operator Alannah Turnwald told the Morning Sun for a recent story.
Kathy Klein, owner of Mt. Pleasant Answering Service, said she was getting 200 to 300 mistaken calls on Wednesdays, when the show airs.
"You can tell when the show ends at every time zone because the phones ring off the hook at the top of every hour," she said.
Calls cost Klein's answering service 6 cents per minute, plus the cost of an extra employee she has been forced to hire to weed them out. She said she wants ABC to reimburse her for the calls.
The network learned of the mix-up Thursday and is investigating, said Lauren Tobin, a spokeswoman for ABC.
"It's clearly a case of people misreading the number on the screen," Tobin said.
Information from: Morning Sun,
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