One of our values statement says, "We do not condone toll-free number theft or conversion, deceptive consulting or licensing practices, spare-pool number brokering, or cyber-squatting Internet domains that map to numbers owned by others."

Most of this statement is self evident, but we've coined the term, "spare pool brokering" to describe the practice of licensing or brokering numbers obtained from the spare pool for a fee, where the user requesting the number could have obtained it for free from the one of the carriers.

We feel that our group provides a unique service -- the licensing of world-class toll free programs -- and that this petty practice is unethical. The user has the clear expectation when requesting a toll-free number that the "phone provider" is working on their behalf, not self-dealing. If a number is available for free from the spare pool at the moment of the request, then the user requesting it should "own" it. 

This principle extends to the practice of "flipping" numbers out of the spare pool or numbers that should have gone spare, like those blatantly and illegally listed and sold on eBay.

Last updated on October 23, 2009 by Most Evil Genius!