What right does the phone company have to charge me to NOT publish my private information?

The phone company charges $2.50 per month to NOT list my number in the phone book. That's $30 a year to maintain my privacy! This should be illegal! Other companies have an obligation to protect my private information without charging for it. They might be civilly liable for being careless with private information. So why are phone companies permitted this form of extortion? A phone is a necessary utility. Does the electric company or water service blackmail us this way? The phone company says, "Pay this fee, or we'll publish your private information for everyone to see -- salesman, telemarketers, criminals and everyone else we GIVE it to (and we give our phone book to everyone)". So what gives them the right? Shouldn't this practice be illegal?

This was my complaint years ago. My solution, when I got nowhere with complaining to the phone company, was to go cellphone only and disconnect my landline.

I do not miss it, or the snotty phone company.

But I bet they'll miss my money.

.I agree with you. They are ripping you off and it shouldn't be allowed. Maybe if everyone complained things would change - start a campaign!!!

In England I don't think you have to pay for this "service".

Maybe they could justify a small one time charge but a monthly fee is daylight robbery!!! Once the book is printed there is no other work involved that I can see in maintaining it on a monthly basis.

Contrary to popular opinion Dial tone is not a god given right. When you do not publish your number you are going against the process which means they have to manage the unpublished numbers.

Nothing requires you to get a phone through them.

The system is automated, so that everyone in the system gets dumped into a big list that gets printed by the phone book. If they want to price gouge you as part of the service you are paying for, that's unreasonable and unfair, but not illegal.

Maybe. You can always try suing on the grounds you have mentioned, that because of the necessity and effective monopoly of the phone network, it's unconscionable to force you to pay extra to protect your privacy by having an unlisted number. Or at least, having to pay more than a one-time fee to mark your number as unlisted.

It could work -- but it would be a very long and expensive suit.

Because taking you out/off of the listing requires that someone do that which is a labour cost that all of the rest of the people on the list do not cause the phone company to incur.

P.S. your phone number is not considered private information unless you have a private number which is why you pay for that EXTRA service.

its the price of privacy, would you not agree thats a small price to ensure privacy? why get all bent out of shape, if you owned the phone company and you could make extra money doing what there doing what do you think you would do, give free services? Its called corporate america for a reason and year end profits are zillions of dollars theres a reason for this...how about banks double dipping when using atms, how about gas companies arbatrarally raising gas prices beacuse the ceo felt a stiff breeze, how about the bush government wanting to send 8500 more troops to iraq, bud there are some other more serious issues that should concern you, not 30 dollars a year to give you something you asked for in the first place.