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Calling a US - Toll Free number

meronhab
I'm a participant level 1
I'm a participant level 1

If I'm in Canada, and my plan does not allow me to call the US, will I be charged even if I call a US Toll free number?

 

1-855-245-3311 (ie. NY Citibike support)

1 REPLY 1

Cawtau
Senior MVP Senior MVP
Senior MVP

Hello Meronhab,

 

  Welcome to the community!

 

  Unfortunately, I don't think anyone here would be able to provide you with a definitive answer. While North American toll-free numbers can generally be called free of charge from Canada or the US, it depends on the designated area as determined by the business owning the phone number. In addition to restricting those numbers to either Canada or US, some businesses may also place additional limits on their free usage (ie only from certain states or provinces etc)(see here). It all depends from where they wish to accept the long-distance charges.

 

  Since the designated call area is determined by the businesses, it's not possible to know the availability of a particular toll-free number in specific regions just by the phone number itself. Since Canada and the US (and other countries) utilise the same North American Numbering Plan, those phone numbers all have the same format, regardless of their intended call areas. The only way to determine whether a business is willing to accept the long-distance charges for their toll-free phone number from a particular location would be to enquire with them directly. I understand the particular Catch-22 aspect of the situation. However, the company may have other means of communication to determine the company's designated call area (ie social media, email, etc).

 

  Since that number is for a service provided only in New York City, it's possible they might only accept the long-distance charges from the US (or even NY State). You might consider verifying whether they are willing to accept the charges on calls from Canada via their online support page.

 

Hope this helps 😀

 

Cheers