Troubleshooting International Toll-Free Issues

Every country has its own version of toll-free numbers. Many countries use 0800, whereas others use a variant of it that uses one 8, along with the country’s prefix. Some countries have a unique prefix; Japan uses 00531-12 as its area code, for example. The prefix might also change, based upon the local carrier or geographic region from which the call is being dialed. For example, calling a toll-free number from Northern China requires you to dial 10-800-120 + the local phone number, but if you dial from Southern China, you need to dial the number as 10-800-712-XXXX. International toll-free numbers are unique creatures in the world of telecom with a double layer of toll-free numbers built within them, as shown in Figure 12-8.

Figure 12-8: Schematic of an international toll-free number.

International toll-free service (ITFS) is actually made up of two toll-free numbers. The first number is the toll-free number in the foreign country. This is the number that you dial in England, Tanzania, or some other country that is recognized by their national phone system as being toll free. The second toll-free number is here in the U.S. Its job is to receive calls from the foreign country and route them to your phone line here in America. The differences in troubleshooting an international toll-free number when compared to a domestic toll-free number are few:

• You can’t troubleshoot these numbers yourself.

• It generally takes twice as long to resolve the trouble ticket.

• You need to provide the call example with an origination number that looks completely foreign to you. It might seem to have too many or too few digits, but you will have to trust what the person in the foreign country is telling you and work with it.

• You have to refer to both the international toll-free number in the foreign country as well as the domestic toll-free number it translates to.

Aside from these nuances, the rest of the procedure is essentially the same. The carrier needs accurate and precise call examples, as always, and you need to write down the trouble ticket number, take notes, and push the issue through by calling for updates every couple of hours.