WARNING: NON-CRYPTOPRIVACY-RELATED QUESTION FOLLOWS: Are there any fast, quick, reliable methods of forestalling phone disconnection due to failure to pay the bills, and the ugly reconnection fee which ensues thereupon? Being a professional deadbeat, and having given up phone phreaking since my nasty bust--I did get off better than poor Phiber, though--, I find phone rates extortionate. This is not to say that I do not intend to pay the phone bill; I have no choice, since there is, as in most areas, only ONE phone company for local service. What might have been called a 'vertical monopoly' in the days of the robber barons, who have been reincarnated as phone company magnates. In either case, does anyone know of any federal laws which one can cite to delay a phone service shutdown? I only need about two or three weeks before I can pay in full (I'm waiting on some blasted residuals on work I did months ago). I've kind of stalled on this, and now have until Friday before the axe-man cometh. If you believe that your answer to THIS question would be relevant to the list at large, please post. If not, send it to me personally. But please hurry; by Friday, I may not be able to receive your mail. [Oh, and for a partial answer to the second question, for anyone in the same circumstance: try 'sickness in the family' and be vague. If you've had a cold, it's more or less an honest excuse. When the representative of the phone company goes silent, after asking for the minimum you can pay immediately, do not say anything. They are instructed to remain silent (as are any salesmen, myself included) and wait for an answer. Just stay on the line and not say anything. I waited five minutes. Eventually they start to talk; THEN, you've won the silence-battle. Get them to cough up the absolute minimum, and send THAT to them. Complain about the disconnect notice, saying you just got it, and it was for days ago. Then ask how you can pay it before the time allotted, since if you sent it out today, it might not be there for days. Get an extension. Send them less than you said you would, claiming any full-bore lie you can imagine; I used "car repairs," which was half-true. With similar half-truths you can forestall disconnection for months. However, I have reached the point where the phone company is rapidly losing patience, and I want to know of any sure-fire methods of delaying them.] Thank you for your kind consideration and indulgence.