To prevent drug dealers using pay phones, were the dial numbers removed?

[Kellogg Kitt]

976/900 numbers were used to provide information or services and allow the caller to pay for the content of the call.  Some were a flat rate per call; others were charged by the minute.  A few were free to the caller if the owner of the service wanted to pay the costs.

976-XXXX were local services, and 900-NXX-XXXX were long distance, usually available nationwide.

I might be wrong, but I think I remember that a few cities had other prefixes in addition to 976.  Didn't New York City also have 450 and maybe a few others?

900 service first became widely known about 1980 when a news network did an opinion poll by 900 number before a presidential election.  Call this number to vote for Candidate A, or call the other number to vote for Candidate B.  The network was criticized because the results were from random callers, not a scientific sample, so it was not an accurate representation of public opinion.  For many people, this was the first time they had ever heard of 900 numbers.

Before Internet access was widely available, these numbers were useful for weather, horoscope, sports scores, stock quotes, etc.  Some of them were for entertainment.

In Atlanta, there was Dial-a-Joke, 976-4500.  We used to call it from work at 50 cents per call.  The jokes were silly, probably intended for children.

900-410-8463 would reach the live time announcement of the National Observatory Master Clock.  I used to call that one to set my clocks exactly right, to the second.

At some point, announcements were added at the beginning, announcing the charge and giving an opportunity to hang up.  "This call will cost 50 cents.  If you do not wish to incur this charge, please hang up now."  I think this was a regulatory requirement because of so many complaints about surprise charges.

These numbers started getting a bad reputation because of sex lines, tech support, and other "services" that charged extremely high amounts (sometimes $50.00 or more per call).  There was one called "Women in Prison."  (No, I never called it!)  Over time, "900 number" became associated in the public mind with "sex line" or scam, and this tarnished the service's reputation to the point where people became wary of calling any 900/976 numbers.

As more and more of the numbers became "questionable," some phone companies stopped taking collection action.  If the customer refused to pay, the phone company would remove the charge from the phone bill.  In that case, the content provider, would not receive the money, but could (and often did) attempt to bill the customer separately, even referring to a collection agency if necessary.

Eventually, as this went deeper into the gutter, AT&T and the other major carriers decided to wash their hands of it and stopped providing the service, and it became the domain of smaller, less reputable carriers.  Also, the widespread availability of Internet service furthered their demise, and few, if any, of these numbers exist anymore.

[Kellogg Kitt]

For those who are not familiar with 900/976 numbers, see these TV commercials.

Party Line 976-HOTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVL_SUE1j0A

Momma Jewel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNyeakEP-FI

Mrs. Claus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obj7R98qOoA

976-DATE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr0wCB3j80M

Cry Line (Even more crying happened when the bill arrived!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRiNuB_Y1qY

900-250-8888
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoI215HHYaw

Is Elvis Alive? (and several others)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHsszDrknx4

More:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL54900E46DB590644

[Robert Gift]

Did you check your Telephone Company's tariffs to find out whether that was allowed?

Assuredly it is not allowed.

But she was very poor.  Just considered it one of my extension telephones.
Were this when cordless phones existed, the base would be in my home and the satelite phone in hers.

Another trick was the home telephone at my residential address 2454.
The Measured Business telephone had invented service address of 2456.  Bill sent to 2454.
(Unlimited service and limited service could not be at the same address.)

[ChrisW6ATV]

Another trick was the home telephone at my residential address 2454.
The Measured Business telephone had invented service address of 2456.  Bill sent to 2454.
(Unlimited service and limited service could not be at the same address.)

I am curious why this was done. (I understand the basic idea, only make calls on the unlimited line but have two phone numbers for incoming at one location.)

Was a 1MB plus a single residential line less expensive than two "residential" numbers/lines at the same location? I would have thought that two numbers in one home was much less expensive than two numbers in two locations, but I have no idea. (Was there little or no discount for a second home line?)

Chris

[Robert Gift]

I am curious why this was done. (I understand the basic idea, only make calls on the unlimited line but have two phone numbers for incoming at one location.)

Was a 1MB plus a single residential line less expensive than two "residential" numbers/lines at the same location? I would have thought that two numbers in one home was much less expensive than two numbers in two locations, but I have no idea. (Was there little or no discount for a second home line?)

Chris

Manyears ago Unlimited Residential number, 77R-GIFT, in my house. (Numbers now disconnected)
Chim-Chiminey Sweeps, 77-SOOTS, had to be a Business number to be listed in the White Pages Business section of the telephone book.
Measured Business line (60 free outgoing calls/month) was much le$$ than Unlimited Business line.
Unlimited and Measured Service not allowed athe same address.

[Kellogg Kitt]

Was there little or no discount for a second home line?

This is not the same area or situation as R Gift described, but in my experience, no, there is no discount for a second home line.

I have at times in the past had 2 residential lines in the same home (with Southern Bell/BellSouth  and another company).  At times, I had them billed together on the same account; at other times, I received 2 separate bills (my choice).  Never was there a discount for the second line.

These were flat-rate, unlimited local calling.  Measured service was not offered in these areas.

[Robert Gift]

(Was there little or no discount for a second home line?)
Chris

No discounts.   We could get Measured Residential Service = 60 free outgoing calls/month.  Unlimited incoming calls.  No mo'.
Next best is Custom Ring at $6/month. Up to three additional telephone numbers on the originaline.  Each rings the telephones in a customer-chosen ring pattern:
- -  |  - ---- -  |  - - ----

[rcourtney]

We were required to be rotary dial to thwart DTMF access to the paging trunk.

[rcourtney]

Old post but I thought I would add a few comments.

Some non-telco companies tried removing the number card but depending on the public utilities commission, were required to have it posted.

Also, to thwart 800 dial-around calls, they replaced the keypad buttons with ones that were numbers only.
So that one could not dial easily 800-CALL-COLLECT.  This too was rejected by some PUCs.