Professor. Phone Buster

Nov. 23, 2009

So, you think it's a rip-off to have to pay AT&T $5 a month just to have an unlisted phone number. Help is on the way!

To increase your privacy, I suggest you change the name of the account from your name to some other name.

Call ATT and create a "joint account" with a fictional person (cat?/dog?) and then guarantee the payment.

A week later have your name removed from the account completely -- except for the guarantee. The records will only reflect the other name. Your name only appears in the internal accounting database, not the shared public/semi-public listed person database. Then cancel the non-published status to save the monthly non-published fee.

You could also leave your number "unlisted" but "published". There's a big difference in both service type and fees. Usually, "unlisted" is a free service; "non-published" is charged for. "Unlisted: means that your name won't appear in a physical directory, either printed or on the Internet look-up, but if directory assistance is called on the telephone in your area code (which costs the caller $$), your name will be provided to a caller. So, to reach you, someone has to know your area code & city and the exact name, and then has to pay upwards of $.95 to $1.95 for the directory assistance call.

In addition, you can always instruct the phone company to suppress your address at no charge, even if your number can still be obtained from the operator under the non-list service as described above.

Change the service to be in the wife's name. No charge to do this with ATT. Drop her full name. Use only her first name's initial. Commonly done -- especially by women -- with the phone company to increase their privacy.

If you use an answering machine, announce the call: "Hello, you've reached xxx-xxxx (telephone number). There's no one here to take your call at this time. Please leave your name and phone number after the tone. Thank you." (That is, don't mention any names on the recorder, just the phone number). Have the wife or one of the kids record the message to blind the voice. Or use the neutral default recording announcement built into all new digital answering machines.

If you've now got the new ATT number running, consider changing your "grade of service" to lifeline" service only (usually $5/month) -- or the lowest-cost limited/measured use service (usually $10/month) -- for your ATT line.

Then order VONAGE.com service to make all calls through. Consider the ATT line as a FAX line or for emergency use only when the Internet fails.