Since this new bulletin board has a Poll facility I thought I'd see whether it could be used to do a survey on how long people are kept on hold on 0870 or 0845 numbers.

I don't know if the system will let you, but, if you can, make an entry each time you make a call to an 0870 or 0845 number.  But please only record one entry per call.

If this works, it could be left for perhaps a month to see what the results look like.

Only problem may be AJR that most of the users here do not usually call such numbers, so your sample will not be representative nor a randomly valid sample?

I don't think it will allow more than one vote per person. I just went to vote for 3 calls today and yesterday, but it told me I'd already voted. 2 calls to DVLA answered on 2nd ring yesterday, but today I got a completely different menu system.

Yes, I think you're right. But I think you can choose more than one option at a time. So if you have one call at 15 minutes and another at 25 you can register both of those.

Then you can sign off and have another go as a guest! But it seems to recognise you (from your IP number I would guess) so it seems you can only have one go (with multiple selections) as a guest too.

United Utilities 0845 746 1100, date March 05.  
Total length of call: 31 min 32 seconds  
Time on hold (with music): 25 min 30 seconds


(amended; see below [Tanllan], I did)

Try 01925 23 4000 - from this site database.

Does this include if we use GN as well?

Cos ive been on hold listening to greensleves or whatever its called, for 20 mins waiting to speak to firebox. Didnt really worry seeing as I was on 18866.

My idea was just to track how long people are kept on hold when calling 0870 or 0845 numbers.

Dialaphone, for at least 20 minutes!!

And yes it was 0870, because they are one of the worse abusers of blocking geo numbers.

Their freephone sales line (answered immediately) absolutely refuses to connect 0870 calls, or give a geographic number.  All old geographic numbers have been blocked.

However it's not just being on hold, but having to enter so much info before they will even put you in a queue.  It took 10 minutes of menu options, and having to SAY your date of birth.  Their voice recognition failed 3 times in a row, so they then asked for telephone entry.  Now if I had survived that long on the call with all the menu options before, why ask for voice commands.  Answer, plain and simple, keep the call running as long as possible on 0870.

And when the call is answered, guess what, they need to ask this security info once again!!  I have no objections to it, but I would have preferred to be placed in that queue 5 minutes earlier without answering it to a machine!!

The reason for my call, I bought a phone online, and was promised a £10 cashback.  The cashback has yet to be paid, so I had to call to chase up £10.  Naturally, anyone calling their 0870 number is requiring after sales service, and it makes no difference to them if the customer gives up on the call.  Of course their 0800 freephone service is for new customers and gets answered immediately.

Thankfully my 0870 call was made using my O2 inclusive minutes in the evening but had I been dealing with it during the day at a cost of 8p per minute, you begin to wonder whether it's worth spending half an hour on the phone, and running up a phone bill which dialaphone keep some of the cost, for the sake of £10!!