Can’t Dial 211?

Are you having problems connecting with 211 Kern County?  You may be unable to reach the 211 Call Center for one of the following reasons:

 

1. Calling from a Cell Phone in Kern County

Currently 211 Kern County is not accessible for cell phone users.  As providers make 211 accessible we will make this information available to residents.  All cell phones can reach the 211 Call Center through our toll free number, 800-273-2275.

 

2. Calling from a Kern County Workplace

211 is a new dialing code in Kern County and may not be accessible from the phone systems of certain agencies, government entities and companies, which may have restrictions on outgoing calls.  If you are unable to access 211 from your work phone, contact your technical department as they will need to change the permissions in the phone system to allow 211 dialing access. 

 

For further assistance please contact our technical department at 661-336-5236 ext. 186.

 

3. Calling from a Kern County Home

If you are unable to access 211 from home, contact your telephone service provider’s repair number.  You may be experiencing one of the following situations:

  • Your telephone service provider has not programmed 211 as part of the service.
  • Access to 211 has been programmed by the telephone service provider but it is not working properly.

 

4. Calling from a Payphone in Kern County

211 was previously used by payphone providers as a way for callers to receive a refund for money lost while trying to place a call at a payphone.  You may experience problems accessing 211 using a payphone if the payphone provider has not programmed 211 calls to route to our Call Center.  If you are unable to access 211, please write down the payphone number and its location/address and send to 211@capk.org so we can work with the payphone provider to resolve the problem. 

 

In the meantime you can reach our 211 Call Center from payphones using our toll-free number, 800-275-2275, when you need assistance.

 

5. Kern County Payphone Refunds

211 was previously used by payphone providers as a way for callers to receive a refund for money lost while trying to place a call at a payphone.  For refunds, contact the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Consumer Affairs Division at 800-649-7570 and press 0, Monday – Friday, 9am-3pm.  The CPUC would not be able to connect your call, but can send you a refund by mail.  You will need the following information when requesting a refund:

  • Date and time of call
  • Payphone address and number
  • Number dialed
  • Amount lost
  • Customer call back number, name and mailing address

 

Although neither the Federal Communication Commission nor the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) mandated a price for 211 calls dialed from payphones, the CPUC did urge all payphone operators to recognize that 211 calls are, in many cases, an alternative to 911 calls, and asked that payphone providers refrain from charging callers dialing 211.