Ask me my name. Go ahead.

"What's your name?"

Self-aware biological organism with 23 chromosomes.

True, but it doesn't help much. Generic info. If you accused this entity of a crime. you'd involve a lot of individuals.

As a consumer you need to know something about what you're getting and who provides it. When this thing you've got is a physical object you can probably find out who made it by reading the label or the case or the instructions (not men, of course). But what if it's a concept - a service or something else incorporeal? An ethereal resource like your long distance carrier? How do you know what carrier you're actually using if the info is wrong?

As UCAN Blog readers know, there's a ripoff that's been around for some years called Slamming. This occurs when your long distance carrier is changed without your consent. Here are some links to more info on slamming:

http://www.ucan.org/telecommunications/landline/switching_local_toll_and_long_distance_carriers 

http://public.findlaw.com/consumer/long-distance-carrier.html

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/slamming.html

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:xsz0bfxyAlsJ:www.consumerlaw.org/in...

You should, from time to time, both look at your phone bill which will state who your long distance carrier is, and dial 1-700-555-4141 which will result in a recording saying the name of the carrier. You can also check to see where your Long Distance Operator calls go; that is, if you dial 00 (vs 0 which is your local "ILEC" carrier's Operator number) you will get your Long Distance carrier's Operator who can do things like make person-to-person and collect calls - they will identify themselves, and this info can be useful, too.

So we've got this nice tool to use but what if it returns useless information? I have Powernet Global as my carrier for my business line and my personal line (much to the dismay of Fraud Squad staffer Sue). Because Powernet is a wholesale reseller of another company's voice services (they being Williams Communications), I don't get told that my carrier is Powernet Global.  Here's what I exchanged with Powernet about this - and it's a case study in an organization not being helpful:

Question      When I dial 700-555-4141 from my 858-555-1212 phone number it just sits there, quiet. When I dial "00" it doesn't say "Welcome to PowerNet Global" or even "Welcome to Williams LLC, your long distance company's master carrier" [it says "WCLLC" - real helpful]

When I dial 700-555-4141 from my 858-555-3434 phone it says "Your long distance service is now active. 5 1 0 2" How is that useful? And "00" says the same thing as for my other number.

The whole point of 700-555-4141 is to let consumers ensure they have not been slammed. Whether this is Williams' problem or yours TECHNICALLY, as far as I'm concerned it's your problem because you're my carrier, not Williams

Answer    Thank you for contacting PowerNet Global regarding the underlying carrier.

We apologize for any inconvenience.   [ I hate it when businesses say that. It's so insultingly generic. Does anyone really think that they are really apologetic?] When you dial 1-700-555-4141 from your phone, it should say “You have been activated with 5102”. This is the correct message for Williams Communications.

Thank you for choosing PowerNet Global. We appreciate your business.

Question  My point is that you should tell WCLLC to make the recording say something useful so that the consumer actually gets some information. How many people do you really think understand "5 1 0 2"?

Also, today when I dialed 700-555-4141 from 858-555-1212 I got "All circuits are busy now". When I did the same from 858-555-3434 I got the 5102 message. Why wouldn't both say the same thing?

Answer    Thank you for contacting PowerNet Global regarding your account.

The 1-700-555-4141 telephone number is governed by local telephone companies. It is something they either offer or they don’t. The long distance companies have no control over the number itself.

As for the recording, we are sorry that the message is confusing to you. However, that is the recording you should receive.

So, it doesn't seem like PowerNet or Williams are interested in having the average consumer know if their long distance carrier has been changed. They just want to do the minimum to satisfy some kind of government mandate. 

 If you're not sure who your carrier is, and if you can't tell from the 700- recording or from your bill, please post what you've got HERE and we'll see if we can track them down for you.

Dr. T