| Service Providers Recycling Phone Numbers |
|---|
David Lazarus (|
Service providers recycling cell phone numbers is a dirty little secret - David Lazarus
Would you pay full price for a used cell phone number?
Chances are, you already have.
In a little-known industry practice, wireless service providers routinely
Cell phone companies say they need to do this because there just aren't
But as cell phones increasingly are used to access the Internet and to
San Francisco resident Frank Therre learned this the hard way. And as
"I was very surprised to learn that cell phone numbers are recycled,"
In his case, he said his company signed up with Sprint in November to
Therre said he plugged in the new phone overnight and was greeted the
It invited Therre to send a text message to Cindy. He didn't bother
Therre said the cell phone was given to a company technician
The technician's fiancee happened to look at the phone one day. She
"This got him into quite a bit of trouble," Therre said.
Therre then checked his company's Sprint bill. He was startled to find
Therre said he called Sprint and was told by a service rep that he
Therre replied that he never signed up for any service from this
So he contacted SMS.ac, which turns out to be a San Diego firm that
The service also lets users purchase products and services via their
Therre said SMS.ac confirmed that his cell phone number had been
"I don't know anyone named Morales," Therre said.
He told me that SMS.ac promptly canceled the account and explained
An SMS.ac rep said it's the responsibility of the wireless carrier to
Greg Wilfahrt, executive vice president of SMS.ac, confirmed to me
n"It's something we're conscious of," he said. "It can happen."
Caroline Semerdjian, a Sprint spokeswoman, said the carrier makes it a
As such, she said she couldn't imagine how Therre's line was billed
But Semerdjian acknowledged that Sprint, like most wireless carriers,
"There aren't enough new numbers available for everyone who wants
A spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless said her company also recycles
Cingular waits at least 90 days before recycling numbers. A
A T-Mobile spokeswoman said her company also has a 90-day waiting
Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers' Action
"Each call can eat up your minutes, so there's a real impact," he
Therre's case, Shames added, only underlines how important it is for
The growing practice (especially among teens) of downloading ring
Therre told me he called Sprint back after resolving things with
"He said they try to do their best to clear accounts but made a point
I'm guessing there might be a lawmaker or two reading this who think
David Lazarus' column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Send tips
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/02/03/BUGA7GTHKM91.DTL
Copyright 2006 San Francisco Chronicle |