Hi
When I try to call an Irish (Vodafone) mobile from my normally-billed UK landline (using 18185 or similar prefix providers) , I get this message...

"You do not have sufficient credit to make this call...."It goes on to suggest I top up!!!!
If I call through my basic provider (Onetel ) it connects. I don't have this problem using these prefix providers on other calls

Has this happened to anyone else had this happen?
Can anyone explain what is going on & how I remedy this?
Thanks
Eljay

~ Edited by Dave: Thread title amended

Sounds like a problem with 18185 when calling Irish mobiles - may or may not be limited to Vodafone Ireland.

This is a recurrence of a problem reported earlier here: http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1207732499

It seems that Finarea use one or more dodgy suppliers in routing calls to mobiles. And possibly the 'not enough credit' message arises because Finarea are late paying a supplier?

Hi Nicholas,

(1) I didn't find anything that would help me in that thread.

(2) I don't know what Finarea is, or how I could avoid it?

(3) Does anyone have an answer? I have to call this number frequently so it's really an expensive "glitch".

(4) This happens if I try to use 18866, 18185, or any of the 0871 providers listed on the Money-Saving-experts page. Is there a way of successfully contacting any of them??? I tried the 18185 contact and only get any error message when I try to send the email.

Thanks

Eljay

Eljay wrote on Jun 5^th, 2008 at 12:23pm:

(2)I don't know what Finarea is, or how I could avoid it?

Finarea is the company which operates 18185, 1899, 18185 and other dial through providers, so it's highly likely they all use the same providers to route calls you make with them.


Eljay wrote on Jun 5^th, 2008 at 12:23pm:

(3)Does anyone have an answer? I have to call this number frequently so it's really an expensive "glitch" .

Use another provider.


Eljay wrote on Jun 5^th, 2008 at 12:23pm:

(4)This happens if I try to use 18866, 18185, or any of the 0871 providers listed on the Money-Saving-experts page. Is there a way of successfully contacting any of them??? I tried the 18185 contact and only get any error message when I try to send the email.

The question of contacting Finarea companies is answered elsewhere: Not very easily.

I frequently get this same message when ringing UK mobiles on 18185

Is that to any particular network mobiles?

My problem is actually contacting an Irish O2 mobile, as it turns out; but the message I get tells me to top-up with a Vodafone card!

Eljay

Since seeing this, I've tried ringing an Irish O2 mobile a few times, without a problem, though the phone rings a few seconds later than the ringing tone when called from 18185 on the landline

I've heard of a similar problem of  people calling some UK mobiles from America using other providers, the message about not enough credit

It's only a guess, but I'm wondering if it's a different kind of issue, and if the number has been ported or is there some other oddity could that occasionally behave like this. I don't know how porting works, but I assume that a caller's  network doesn't have a record for every single ported number and therefore the call is first sent to the original network and then forwarded.

Eljay wrote on Jun 5^th, 2008 at 10:37am:

Hi When I try to call an Irish (Vodafone) mobile from my normally-billed UK landline (using 18185 or similar prefix providers) , I get this message... "You do not have sufficient credit to make this call...."It goes on to suggest I top up!!!! If I call through my basic provider (Onetel ) it connects. I don't have this problem using these prefix providers on other calls Has this happened to anyone else had this happen? Can anyone explain what is going on & how I remedy this? Thanks Eljay ~ Edited by Dave: Thread title amended

Hi

It may be worth trying one of the non Finarea dialthro numbers.   Try another company italk247. Or try one of the Callax stable: 05pence, 4CheapCalling, Abroadphone or Cleverates.  All on the moneysavingexpert site. They all cost 10p a min though to Irish mobile.
PS Another non Finarea site is Dialnow. It charges 9.4p to an Irish mobile. You will need to add credit  in advance with them though.

Alan

Thanks Alan.
I tried all the 08...prefixes on the moneysavingexpert site. Same message on each, except occasionally I get "Your call cannot be connected".
I'll try italk247 and Dialnow tomorrow and let you know.

I did get "replies" from 18185 and another prefix I emailed.  I got  vague responses about technical problems that their technical teams are working on. Can't say I'm hopeful , this issue has been around a long time.

eljay

I just tried 18185 and still got the stupid message about topping-up.

So I tried italk247 and it worked!!!!!

(Thought I had tried it the other day, but maybe I missed it)

Thanks for that suggestion Alan

Eljay

Oops No!  icall247 gives me the same ridiculous message now! :(

Eljay

So, I can't use Finarea and Callax companies to call this Irish mobile, without getting the "insufficient credit" message.
I tried registering with DialNow, but before I buy credit I need to know if I can get it back if they also fail to provide this call successfully.
But, I can't contact their "Customer Services" without Logging-in, and it rejects my password/Username even though they are valid and as per the reminders.

Stuck, does anyone know of another company???


eljay

Hi Eljay

You not having a lot of luck are you?

Maybe you can try phoning at a less busy time, the cheaper lines may be congested. I know it says "you have run out of credit" but you never know.

How much do Onetel charge you for a call to Irish mobile ? out of interest. Arent they now part of Talk Talk? Don't Talk Talk have cheap deals to international  nos where you dial a prefix . Have you asked them.

You can try webcalldirect  com. But again you need to buy credit. But maybe you could use it for other calls. They give "free" calls to UK landlines and others.
Easy to use , no headphones , gear or downloads needed. Callee doesnt need computer.

JaJah com work similar to webcalldirect. In fact try them before webcall. They give a free trial call , but not sure if to a mobile. However their prices are higher than webcall.

As a last resort, from me anyway, you can try a phone card.
http://www.1st-phonecards.co.uk/
http://www.thephonecardsite.com/
or others ,
not italk cards.  
But phonecard from my experience are not brilliant and sometimes have hidden charges. I can't see you getting a refund from any of these!

Not saying any of these will work ,but options for you.

Good luck , let us know how it goes.

Alan

Thanks Alan,

Webcalldirect etc. require XP or later. I've got win98SE, and I don't support Microsoft's aggressive obsolesence policy any more than I support big boys like BT when they are expensive.

Onetel charge 40p/min to call an Irish Mobile. To get a better rate means paying a regular extra subs.

eljay

Hi Eljay

Not sure if you have tried  jajah com, but if you havent it may be worth a try. (Not jahjah as I incorrectly spelt last time). They say you need no downloads. They also give a trial call(not to mobiles though)
This FAQ may be useful
http://www.jajah.com/support/faq/general/#10

You could consider Jajah Direct.

I am a bit confused re Webcalldirect. In the past you needed no downloads , it worked straight from the web. Their instructions  page says no downloads needed, yet they have a download page ! They have a free trial 3 min call (unfortunately not to a mobile) Does it work without a download?

Or are you saying you need XP to use webcall etc straight from the web , even without downloads.

Good luck

Alan

Wow!
I've just got my Onetel bill and all those dial-attempts through these cheap providers cost me over £20!!!

Obviously they charge from the moment you connect to their service. that's all very well....if they are providing a valid service. But since they were providing a fault of their own making (I could connect on BT or Onetel) I believe this should be refunded.
Any ideas haw to contact Finarea and Callex?
Any ideas how to get my money back?

eljay