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And that is the reason why services such as BT's 1571 and Orange Answerphone are 'free'; because the telcos have connected calls which otherwise wouldn't have connected and therefore would have used their network but not earned them anything.

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I quite agree, but it's not in the telcos' interests. It's a case of this free market and competition which we are all told is so wonderful and makes companies provide us with what we want falls down!

These companies are busy spending their money on marketing these 'services', making people believe that they're giving them something!

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If you and your friends believe this, then why not opt to turn off mobile/landline voicemail.

What frustrates me is where I leave a message and the person tells me they don't bother getting messages are can't afford to (in the case of mobiles, ie not having enough credit.)

What's more, some of these mobile companies charge you to dial into your mailbox on their network!!! So they receive revenue from the caller who left the message and from you when you pick up the message and when you call the person back!

The 1571 & Orange answerphone may be free but not to the person calling.

The other thing that is annoying is when one dials a number, and one hears the first beep of the engaged tone, and before the second or third beep starts, a message stating that the line is engaged comes on, to try and get one to use dial back or whatever it is, maybe because the person one is calling doesn't have an answerphone.
At present one doesn't get charged for this, but one wonders how long it will take for this to happen.

What is the point of having an engaged tone in the 1st place?

We all know what it was for originally, to let one know that the person we are calling are using their phone.

Thank you Dave & Heinz for answering to this posting!

Vodafone are actually quite good at allowing the caller to terminate the call if they do not wish to leave a message.

If you call a vodafone mobile, and if it rings, then goes to voicemail, then just before voicemail, you can notice the divert taking place because it makes 2 higher pitch ringing tone prior to voicemail kicking in.

And of course if the phone is switched off, the ringing is the higher pitched ringing, which is different to normal ringing.  Of course you only have about 1-2 secs to hang up, but I have called vodafones quite a few times from my other mobiles inclusive minutes, and the call counter doesn't start until the voicemail is answered, and if I hang up before, then the call is not logged.

All other mobile companies switch straight to voicemail without warning, but at least vodafone gives you a couple of seconds to hang up.

I count the rings when calling a landline, and hang up before the 7th ring (which is where the answering service kicks in with BT). If I think the person might need longer to answer, I hit redial... hopefully they won't have just picked up the phone and dialled 1471 to see who it was.

What I really hate is when the line is engaged and the call goes straight to the answering service.

I refuse to have any voicemail service on my landline or mobile so as not to inflict it on others. I urge everyone to do the same.

I can't see the point of voicemail. If I wanted to leave a message, I'd have used e-mail, which is free! If I call someone, it's because I actually want a two-way conversation!

Our Ref: 2553185



31 Oct 2005

Dear Mr Hicks.

Thank you for your email to Ofcom.

The usefulness of answer phones and whether an individual objects to being charged does, of course, depend very much on the individual's point of view.  If the caller wants to leave a message then clearly they consider it to be a benefit.  If they do not then they will take the opposite view.

We have recorded the views you make about what answer phone messages should now say. 

Yours sincerely





Steven Parker
Ofcom Contact Centre



Ofcom are continually aiming to improve customer service levels, as such your details may be passed to a research agency who will be conducting some research for us. If you would prefer not to be contacted for research purposes you can telephone Ofcom on 0800 169 7670. Please note this is a voicemail service only and we will not be able to discuss your complaint or query on this number. Alternatively you can e-mail your Ofcom reference and full name with the message No contact to market.research@ofcom.org.uk



::Steven Parker
Telecoms Support
contact@ofcom.org.uk

:fcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
020 7981 3040
www.ofcom.org.uk

cavaliersteve wrote on Nov 11^th, 2008 at 1:46pm:

Information from O2 on CallAlert is here.

You and your wife can disable this service by dialling 1760. You might like to advise your friends to do the same.

If you withhold your number to someone who has this service on, you will not be charged. I assume that because you haven't given your number it can't and won't send them a text.

derrick wrote on Nov 11^th, 2008 at 2:18pm:

It can actually be slightly annoying when people drag up really old threads. There comes a stage when it's better to start a new thread on the same topic.

The worst is, I was looking through earlier messages in the threads and saw someone who seemed to have similar views to me when it comes to BT 1571. Then I realised that message was posted, in 2005, by a user called jrawle!