Invalid Phone Number Replacement When Loading VICIdial Leads

A bad primary phone number usually means a wasted Lead. But many lead files carry a second number tucked into the alt phone or address3 field. Invalid Phone Number Replacement is a loader option that notices the primary number is no good and quietly promotes one of those backup values into its place, so the record stays dialable instead of dying on arrival.

Like the other cleanup tools, it sits on the lead loader screen next to duplicate checking and the USA-Canada validity check. It is disabled by default, so you opt in when you know your files have usable backup numbers worth rescuing.

When the swap fires

You decide which conditions count as a reason to replace. The setting can act when the primary number is INVALID, when it is a DUPLICATE, when it matches an international suppression list, or any combination of those. If the chosen condition is true, the loader pulls the Alternate phone number (or address3) value into the main phone_number field for that record.

flowchart TD
  A[Load lead] --> B{Primary phone OK?}
  B -->|Valid| C[Keep primary]
  B -->|Invalid or dupe or DNC| D{Backup available?}
  D -->|alt_phone or address3| E[Promote backup to phone_number]
  D -->|None| F[Record stays as-is]
  E --> G[Lead dialable]

Clearing the field it borrowed from

There is a paired set of "empty rep value" options. When one is active and the loader uses a backup field to replace the primary number, it blanks that source field afterward. So if a bad phone_number gets replaced by a valid alt phone, the alt phone field is cleared once it has been promoted. This stops you from dialing the same number twice from two different fields, which would otherwise look like phantom contacts.

One important note: this feature only exists on the fifth-generation web lead loader, which is the default loader on a modern dialer. Older loaders do not have it. For the wider workflow of getting clean records into a campaign, see the lists and leads guide, and the companion what is a VICIdial list article if you are still mapping out the basics.

When it is worth turning on

If your purchased data routinely has a working second number, this option quietly recovers contacts you would otherwise throw away. Combined with a DNC (do not call) scrub and a duplicate check, your loaded list ends up cleaner and more dialable than the raw file. Just be deliberate about which conditions trigger a swap, since an aggressive setting can move more numbers than you expect.

VICIfast provisions a dialer with the fifth-generation loader in under 40 seconds, so every cleanup option in this post is there waiting when you upload your first file. Check the plans on our pricing page and start rescuing leads on day one.