However, these free sites have their limits, and they can not always give you what you need. They find and list information that is easily found, but may not have any information on cellular phone numbers, which are listed in multiple directories separate from land line listings. This is when fee-based sites are valuable. They may find names, addresses, and sometimes other information associated with cellular phones when the free sites fail you in your search.
Cellular phones are frequently the most troubling numbers and therefore will require that you to pay a fee because the information is harder to find and report. These fee-based cellular databases are updated often, and the information found there has been hunted down by many people.
When looking for such information, there is time and money involved, and it's impossible to do that without charging. There are some instances when a site may not have the information you need, but they will go out and find it for you - which is frequently required of cellular phone numbers because there is no single database with all the numbers and finding the right one is often hit-and-miss.
They may find this data on public cell phone records, but there are often charges involved with accessing that information. This might be the only source for information in some cases.
When you find a number through the white pages or the yellow pages, your search will be easy if the number is listed. However, this is not possible with cell phones.
Furthermore, if you are getting what you would consider to be harassing calls, the cell numbers aren't going to come right up. Those who would call and harass you are well aware of caller ID and other methods of finding information, and they will do all they can to prevent you from identifying who they are.
Finding such information is a lot tougher, and that is when a fee will be worth it. Your fee saves you the time and effort and allows someone else to search for the number for you.
While it is true that public records are indeed public, they are not always free when it comes to cellular phones instead of land lines. Even the information that is not fee-based has costs involved. Think of this example: if you send for a copy of your own birth certificate, you have to pay a fee. This same issue applies when it comes to many other types of records - especially the more challenging ones such as cellular phone directories.
Not to mention the time that it takes the employees to actually gather the information. These aren't charitable, not-for-profit organizations. If they are going to be spending hours pouring through dozens upon dozens of cellular phone directories on your behalf, they will need to be compensated somehow. When someone has to go find records, or send away for them, money is always an issue.
You will find that there are different types of fees out there. Some reverse cell phone number search web sites will charge a one time fee for joining, and you won't have to pay again after that. Some will charge only when you need information, and they will probably offer you a refund if they simply can not find what you need.
Quite often, the willingness to pay a fee will depend on how badly the information is needed. When cheating may be going on within a marriage, or when someone is making what could be considered harassing phone calls, the fee is a small price to pay for finding what is needed. It is ultimately a personal decision.