PSO woes: Feasible explanation for using minutes on an incoming 800#?

May 7, 2013 5:30 PM

I've recently started working as a phone sex operator, and I love it. I'm wildly successful, pick my own hours, and don't have to worry about money for the first time ever. It's fun, enlightening, and I'm damn good at it. Unfortunately I'm a total moron and forgot that incoming calls show up on my phone bill and consume minutes on my parents' family plan. I plan on playing for the minutes and I have a new skype number to use in the future, but I'm not ready to come out of the sex worker closet to my parents. What's a feasible explanation for spending 900 some odd minutes on an incoming 800#?

I don't think they'll research what I tell them too heavily or would disown me if they found out the truth, but it would be a pretty awful conversation to have because sex worker stigma and all that. I've looked at online tech support jobs and those seem plausible, but any convincing details or companies would be helpful. I want something to tell him ASAP before he sees the bill so he won't be surprised or god forbid search for the number. Thanks in advance, I feel like I'm trapped in a wacky sitcom situation. We are on sprint if it matters at all. I'm not sure about other details of the plan.

email throwaway [e-mail]

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (11 answers total)

Contract remote tier-1 tech support. Any local temp-agency that does tech staffing will do.
posted by mhoye at 5:34 PM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]

Overseas friend who calls you using a Skype-like service that shows up as a domestic 800 number.
posted by a halcyon day at 5:35 PM on May 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

Remote temp work through Odesk.com, doing phone tech support/customer service - make up the name of the company you are contracting for, or pick a real one. The incoming tech support calls get routed to you during your remote "work hours", and you help with basic questions.

And you are making such great money! So you can explain why you are suddenly able to buy your mom such a nice mother's day gift.
posted by amaire at 5:40 PM on May 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

Maybe they'd be happier if you we're working as a phone psychic?
posted by bq at 6:02 PM on May 7, 2013 [5 favorites]

You're conducting a phone survey for a friend and tacked the 800# up around town? Then that also explains why the 800# calls will suddenly drop off "when the survey is complete"/when you get your Skype number.
posted by jabes at 6:26 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Here in L.A. there are a few companies that book extras that put all their work listings on a call-in number...I tried it out when I first moved out here but quit pretty soon...do you know how annoying it is to listen to a bunch of classified ads for jobs that really pay crap for a ton of hours? Totally not wasting my time with that anymore, mom and dad!
posted by sexyrobot at 6:36 PM on May 7, 2013

Telephone sales. The company (pick anything you like) uses a predictive dialer to find people who're at home, then calls you to connect you. You go through a script to sell vitamins, but few people are buying and you're stopping.
posted by tyllwin at 9:01 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

English language conversational practice for non-native speakers.
posted by KathrynT at 9:39 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Telephone surveys! People call in to an 800 number and you take down the answer to marketing questions!
posted by DarlingBri at 5:35 AM on May 8, 2013

If your father simply dials the number won't it become immediately obvious? Honestly I would just say you used the phone a lot, pay for the usage, and hope he won't look too closely at the bill. I wouldn't tell any stories about it, true or untrue, unless he asks.
posted by vsync at 9:54 PM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

came back in to change my answer to 'phone psychic'...there's also another reason this is good...what if, despite what you tell them, they decide to call the number and get the phone sex line? Then you can say 'oh well yes...they do that also...I just do the psychic bit!' ...there's very few businesses other than 'psychic hotline' that would also be in the phone sex business...it's believeable even in your 'worst case scenario' where they actually call the number...
posted by sexyrobot at 1:20 PM on May 9, 2013 [1 favorite]