How much do you dread calling your credit card company, your bank, or—sigh—a government office? Chances are you know from the past that in the process of making that call, if you’re lucky, you’ll go through a series of automated messages, and emerge a half-hour or more later having never exchanged words with a live human being. 

Thanks to the miracles of the Internet and the due diligence of Darlene Arden, writer and lecturer, you have the following contact list of phone numbers that will eventually save you hours, days, weeks, and even months of your life in futile phone calls and frustrating wait time. Instead of automation, you are treated to a human voice, live, at the other end of the line. If this isn’t the best news you’ve received today, you must be living a very charmed existence. 

Caveat: We cannot guarantee that all the following information is currently valid, but we can tell you that it’s well worth trying this list before instead embarking on one of those long and frustrating phone calls with robotic technology. 

Secret Numbers and Tips to Bypass IVRs and Speak to a Human:   

Finance

American Express: 800-528-4800. Press “0.”

ATT Universal: 800-950-5114. Press “###.”

Bank of America: 800-900-9000. Press “1” loan; “2” account; “3” investing; “4” info; or “00” directly to a human.

Bank One: 877-226-5663. Press “0.”

Capital One Visa: 800-867-0904. Ignore prompts and invalid entry warnings; press “0” four times.

Charles Schwab: 800-435-9050. Press “3,” then “0.”

Chase: 800-CHASE24. Press “5,” pause, then “1,” and then “4.”

CitiBank: 800-374-9700. Press “1” for online support; press “2” for bill-pay; press “3” for non-online; press “4” for credit card; or press “0” for a live human voice.

Discover: 800-347-2683. Press “***.”

E-Trade: 800-387-2331. Press “###.”

Fidelity: 800-544-6666. Ignore prompt for SS #; just enter “###.”

MasterCard: 800-MC-ASSIST. Press “000” on each menu.

MBNA: 800-421-2110. Press “00# “when menu starts.

Paypal: 650 864-8000. http://paypalsucks.com/PayPalPhoneNumbers.shtml

Sovereign Bank: 800-SOV-BANK. Press “1” for English; press “1” for personal; press “3,” then SS#; passcode, #; then “0” one to three times.

Sun Trust Banks: 404-588-7815. Say, “Yes.”

US Bank: 800-US BANKS. Press “0000.”

Visa: 800-847-2911. Press “000.” Ignore prompts saying that it's an invalid entry.

Wachovia: 800-922-4684. Accounts personal banking.

Washington Mutual: 800-756-8000. Any time after the announcement(s), press “00.”

Wells Fargo: 800-869-3557. Press “000”

Western Union: 800-325-6000. Press ” *,” then “##.“
 

Government

INS: 800-375-5283. After selecting English, (with a two-second delay in between, press “2,” 6, ”2,” and ”4.”

Social Security: 800-772-1213. Press “00,” which will confuse computer and send you to an agent.

Veterans Affairs: 800-827-1000. Press “10.”
 

Insurance

Aetna: 800-537-9384. Press "2,” then say "Operator."

Aetna: 800-680-3566. Press “*,” then “0” anytime.

AFLAC: 800-99-AFLAC. Press “***.”

Ameritas: 800-745-1112. Press “000.”

CIGNA: 800-516-2898. Say, “Regarding a bill.”

Cigna: 800-849-9000. Press “##.”

GEICO: 800-841-3000. Wait for a prompt, then press “615.”

Humana: 800-4-HUMANA. After entering insurance number and details, press “0.”

Medicare: 800-633-4227. After the opening prompt, say, "Agent".

Principal Life: 800-247-4695. Press “1” for English, “2,” then “0” several times until it redirects you to an operator.
 

Pharmacy

CVS: Local listing. Dial local store, then after prompt, press “6,” to connect to store manager.

Eckerd: 800-eckerds. Press “0” for pharmacy, then press “8*” for manager.

Rite Aid: Local store. Press “3” to speak to the pharmacy.

Walgreens Local store. Press “0” for a pharmacy employee.
 

Products

Bose: 800-444-2673. Direct to human!

Sonos: 800-680-2345. Press “1” for sales, then press “2” for support.

Sony: 800-222-7669. When prompted by the automated voice system to answer ANY questions, just say, "Agent."
 

Retail

Advance Auto: 800-314-4243. Press “0” when the automated message begins.

Amazon.com: 800-201-7575. See http://clicheideas.com/amazon.htm.

Best Buy: 800-365-0292. Press “00*.”

Best Buy: Local store, wait for extension prompt, then ext. 2021.

Circuit City: Local store, press “0” for customer service or “218” for store manager.

eBay: 800-322-9266. Press ”00.”

Home Depot: 800 677-0232. When asked for account number, keep hitting"#." After 5 or 6 attempts, a human voice responds.

Home Shopping Network: 800-284-3100. Press “0.”

Ikea: 800 434-IKEA. Press "0" repeatedly, and fast. If you do it only once or too slowly, it will repeat the menu.

K-Mart: Local store, press “0.”

Kohl's: 800 564-5740. After providing account info, press “0” three times.

Lowes: Local store, press “0” for customer service or “450” for commercial sales.

Old Navy: 800-OLD-NAVY. Press “0.”

Overstock.com: 800-843-2446. At the main menu, press “0” three or four times to bypass the menu.

QVC: 800-367-9444. Press “0.”

Safeway: Local store. As soon as voice prompt starts, press “1200” to get human.

Sears: 800-4-MY-HOME. Silence. Don't press numbers; do nothing and you will be placed at the head of the queue.

Target: Local store, press “0” during greeting.

Toys ‘R Us: Local store, press “0.”

Wal-Mart: 800-925-6278. Press “1” for directory.
 

Shipping

DHL: 800-225-5345. Press “150,” then enter your phone number.

FedEx: 888-GO-FEDEX. After message, say, ""Representative.""

UPS: 800-pick-ups. Press “00.”

USPS: 800-275-8777. Press “73200.”

 
Technology  

AOL: 800-827-6364. Press “0.”

Apple: 800-275-2273. Press "000;” if virtual rep answers, say "Operator."

Compaq: 800-652-6672. No fast track solution.

Dell 888-560-8324. Press “2” to order; press “3” for support; press “4: for purchase help; or “00” for a live human voice.

Dell Service: 800-624-9897. Press option “1,” extension 7266966, option “1,” option “4,” option “4.”

Earthlink: 888-earthlink. Press “1” to find a dial-in number; press “2” for billing; press “3” for sales; press “4” for support.

Epson: 800-922-8911. Say, “Yes.”

Gateway: 800-846-2301, Press “00#.”

HP: 800-474-6836. Say,"Agent."

HP: 888-560-8324. Press “00.”

IBM: 800-IBM-4YOU. You go into a “hold” queue immediately.

Microsoft: 800-936-5700. Always “0.” This is true for just about any MS number.

QuickBooks: 888-729-1996. Press “1” for purchase; press “2” for billing; press “3” for registration; press “4” for tech support or “0” for a live human voice.

Symantec: 800-441-7234. Press “00.”

 
Telephone

AT&T: 800-222-0300. Press “####,” then “1” for current phone, or “2” to enter other, or “3.”

AT&T Wireless: 800-888-7600. No fast track solution.

BellSouth: 877-678-2355. Press “*0.”

Cellular One: 888-910-9191. Press "4,” say "Agent," then press “#."

Cingular: 800-331-0500. For faster service, the option that you are looking for to close your account, you get the same ppl but an immediate answer.

Nextel: 800-639-6111. Press “0” five times.

SBC: 800-585-7928. Again, an (intelligent one, this time) IVR wants your phone number first.

Sprint PCS: 888-788-5001. If live person does not answer, press “00,” then say, "Agent."

T-Mobile: 800-TMOBILE. "Say "Representative" at any time.

Verizon DSL: 800 567 6789. "Say, "I don't know it," then "technician."

Verizon Wireless: 800-922-0204. Press “#00” or enter phone #, then “04.”

 
Travel

American Airlines: 800-433-7300. Press "00,” then say, "Agent."

Amtrak: 800-872-7245. Press "0” or say, "Agent."

Delta: 800-221-1212. Say, “Agent" four times—each time it asks for your response.

JetBlue: 800 JET-BLUE. Press “1” for flight status; press “2” for reservations; press “3” for vacation packages.

Kayak.com: 203 899-3120. Press “0.”

Northwest: 800-225-2525. Press “*00” after initial greeting.

Southwest: 800-435-9792. Calls answered by operator; during busy times you might have to hold.

United 800-864-8331. Do nothing; wait for live voice.

US Airways 800-428-4322. Press “4,” wait, then press “1.”

Walt Disney World: 407-824-4521. Direct line to Magic Kingdom Guest Relations.

 
TV/Satellite

Comcast: 800-266-2278. Customer service, but an IVR asks for your number first.

Direct TV: 800-347-3288. Press “0” repeatedly.

Dish Network: 800-333-3474. Press “0” during menu.

Sirius: 888 539-7474. Press “0.”

TiVo: 877-367-8486. Say, "Live Agent."

Xm Radio: 800-998-7900. Direct to live human voice!

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