Why am I paying the phone company for an unpublished, unlisted number?

For privacy, I thought. Yet, switchboard.com, which includes White Pages and Yellow Page among its search engines, turns up my name and address with a simple, free search.

Do I have a beef with AT&T? I pay extra for what I thought was an unpublished, unlisted number. If that were true, how would that information be available unless AT&T (formerly BellSouth) shared it with someone?

Or is this a danger of shopping online?

 

Here's my bosses solution ... she had her phone listed in another name. Now if people call for the fictional (male) person, she knows that they're telemarketers and cuts them off.

 

Great idea. Will your boss let me use her name?

 

I used to have mine unlisted so readers wouldn't call me at home. Then I figured why not save $70 a year and just tell them to fuck off if they called me at home to bitch. Nobody ever has.

 

JD,

Your new telephone name is - Orel Commitment.