Toll Free Calls To The US - NOT
Feb 3rd, 2006 by Don Ray
I often want to call 800 numbers in the US and 800 numbers are not valid in Panama. Today I read on one of the Yahoo Panama groups that there is a way to dial the 800 numbers (not toll free), but at a reduced rate. I haven’t tried it yet, but I am going to remember the recommendation.
The conversion for the 800 numbers is as follows:
If it is:………………………………….Dial:
1-800-XXX-XXXX —————-> 001-880-XXX-XXXX
1-877-XXX-XXXX —————-> 001-882-XXX-XXXX
1-888-XXX-XXXX —————-> 001-881-XXX-XXXX
When I moved to Panama, I called all of my credit card companies, banking institutions, etc and requested a number that I could call collect. With the exception of my Credit Union and my Discover Card, all the companies/institutions provided a number that I could call collect.
If you do have to call a company direct in the US, remember the website that provides techniques to avoid the long computer redirection and will get you to a real person. Here is the IVR Cheat Sheet URL.
