3 ms·

This is my pet hate. There are too many places which require a phone number and won't take no for an answer. Some of them you can lie to, entering something tha

This is my pet hate. There are too many places which require a phone number and won't take no for an answer. Some of them you can lie to, entering something that's obviously invalid like 0, but others do rigourous validation and simply won't let you enter something that's not a phone number (Google Play is an offender here). I usually end up entering 012345678, but that's actually a valid UK number, and I don't like doing that. But you have to wonder about any online form which requires you to lie to complete...

jessaustin 11y ago
In North America, I've always used "<valid area code>-555-1212", which is one of the numbers for directory assistance. The area code may be varied based on whatever location seems plausible. Unless the service insists on sending a text or verifying the number with your credit card company (the latter seems less common now than it used to be) there are no problems. I wouldn't worry about "012345678"; if they didn't want that number they'd probably have changed it by now. Maybe they want "867-5309"?
- justincormack 11y ago
  There are reserved fictitious phone numbers in most countries you could use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_telephone_number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_telephone_number
  - david-given 11y ago
    The problem with fictitious numbers is that they normally don't look invalid. I don't want to supply them with a contact number which merely doesn't work; I want to supply them with a contact number which is obviously not a real number at a glance. Hence why I use 0 where possible. Ideally I'd prefer them to allow me to leave the number blank, of course.
jordigh 11y ago
My usual solution here for the most stubborn web forms that won't take no for an answer is to find the contact number of the organisation that is demanding a phone number and I write their own number on the form. If you want to phone someone, try phoning yourself!

jessaustin 11y ago

In North America, I've always used "<valid area code>-555-1212", which is one of the numbers for directory assistance. The area code may be varied based on whatever location seems plausible. Unless the service insists on sending a text or verifying the number with your credit card company (the latter seems less common now than it used to be) there are no problems. I wouldn't worry about "012345678"; if they didn't want that number they'd probably have changed it by now. Maybe they want "867-5309"?

justincormack 11y ago
There are reserved fictitious phone numbers in most countries you could use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_telephone_number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_telephone_number
- david-given 11y ago
  The problem with fictitious numbers is that they normally don't look invalid. I don't want to supply them with a contact number which merely doesn't work; I want to supply them with a contact number which is obviously not a real number at a glance. Hence why I use 0 where possible. Ideally I'd prefer them to allow me to leave the number blank, of course.

jordigh 11y ago

My usual solution here for the most stubborn web forms that won't take no for an answer is to find the contact number of the organisation that is demanding a phone number and I write their own number on the form. If you want to phone someone, try phoning yourself!