BUREAUCRACY BUSTER

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kane'ohe resident Mike Reilly got frustrated when repeated phone calls in the middle of the night disturbed his family again and again but he couldn't find out who was calling.

As a financial services salesperson who works with people on the Mainland, Reilly first thought the calls might be from a misdirected computer. "It could have been an honest mistake," he said.

But after a month of the 3 a.m. calls that came in four-call cycles, he got angry. "It's ruining my life," he said.

He said he considered the obvious solutions but rejected them one by one. He didn't want to change his number because he's had it for 20 years.

He didn't want to shut off the ringers because his wife is on a list for an organ transplant, and that call could come anytime. Also, he's the emergency contact number for his 90-year-old mother who lives on the Big Island.

He couldn't get the number of the fax machine that was calling from the display on his fax.

Reilly called the Hawaiian Telcom nuisance call center in early May and was told that the call was coming from an AT&T trunk line, so it couldn't be traced.

He called police, and they told him to make a police report, but he kept getting the calls for weeks.

Reilly said the calls can be unnerving. "I don't go back to sleep. I'm laying there and I want to strangle somebody," he said.

After he called Bureaucracy Buster for help, the Hawaiian Telcom staff began having him transfer his phone to their lines from midnight until he is ready to take calls each morning.

Reilly hasn't solved the problem, but at least he's getting some sleep.

Nuisance calls can be a big problem for a lot of people.

Hawaiian Telcom spokeswoman Ann Nishida said the telephone company takes such calls seriously.

"We get between 1,100 to 1,200 reports of nuisance calls and complaints each month," Nishida said.

Nishida said Hawaiian Telcom's Nuisance Call Center receives complaints that range from "misdirected faxes and simple hang-ups to threatening or harassing calls to bomb threats."

She said complaints of hang-up calls are the most common and include automatic or computer-generated calls or intentional calls.

Nishida said many customers pay for a call-tracing service that allows them to capture the nuisance call, which is then reported to law enforcement authorities.

For safety and liability reasons, the telephone company provides the phone number only to authorities, not to the person who pays for the trace, Nishida said.

That didn't help Reilly, because it only works on local calls, and his came from out of state.

Nishida said when Call Intercept was introduced in late 2001, it reduced the number of complaints to the Nuisance Call Center.

Reilly said he was surprised that AT&T wasn't able to identify where the calls came from, either. "I know it's none of the companies I work for," he said.

Nishida hopes that forwarding Reilly's number will allow the company to reach the caller.

If the Nuisance Call Bureau receives a fax, notification to cease and desist is immediately sent to the originating fax number, Nishida said, which usually takes care of the problem.

The company offers tips for dealing with the troubling calls.

Some cost customers more.

They include:

• Call Intercept. This is a service that works with Caller ID to stop "unavailable" or "private" calls from reaching you unless the caller identifies himself or herself by name. If the caller does not identify himself or herself, your phone will not even ring.

• Last number identify. Callers with a touch-tone phone can dial *69 (1169 for rotary phones) to find out the phone number of the last person to call them. People pay 75 cents each time they use the service only if the calling number is identified, Nishida said. If the call is blocked or marked private, there is no charge.

• Call Trace, which costs $14 to have installed and $5 each month. Callers who receive a nuisance call dial *57 right after they hang up. Then they call the phone company, which will provide the phone number, if available, to law enforcement authorities.

• Reach the Hawaiian Telcom Nuisance Call Bureau Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at (800) 257-2969. If a customer receives nuisance calls after hours or on weekends, he or she should report the calls the following working day, Nishida said.

If you have a question or a problem and need help getting to the right person, you can reach The Bureaucracy Buster one of three ways:

Write to:

The Bureaucracy Buster
The Honolulu Advertiser
605 Kapi'olani Blvd.

Honolulu, HI 96813

Or write to: buster@honoluluadvertiser.com

Phone: 535-2454, and leave a message. Be sure to give us your name and daytime telephone number in case we need more information.