I take it you divert your 0870 number to a mobile whilst out.

Their a number of suppliers that will provide you with a 01/02  geo number that can either point at existing geo number,voicemail,or mobile.

One such supplier is www.orbtalk.co.uk who i use and can recommend. The 01/02 number is free you pay for divert,calls to their voice mail are free.

To keep the costs down i capture callers number and ring them back from mobile as i have lots of inclusive minutes.

Another supplier is http://www.coms.com you often get the chance here to pick a reasonable number.

Thanks for the replies so far, just to help this is how my 0870 number is setup >>

1 - Upon calling they are greeted with a welcome message then asked to hold while they are put thru
2 - The system then tries my main mobile, secondary mobile (incase first goes flat or is out of range) then VoIP, then finally landline
3 - After trying the first number it automatically gives you the option to leave a message. and if you don't choose the option it continues to the next number in the list.

It tries each number once, then finally forces you to leave a message. I have it setup like this so that when I am in, the mobiles get turned off, and when I am out they get turned on. This then forces the system to use the other available numbers.

As yet I havn't personally found another service which offers that.

Plus it has the advantage that every part of the call right from prompts to hold music can be customised. Plus all the voicemail gets dropped right into my email, which my PC and main mobile auto retrieve.

Not to mention the number also supports incomming faxes.

Also nearly forgot to mention, this thing that I have now is completely free, so I don't pay monthly fees or diversion charges.

That could be true, the callers might well be picking up the cost, but at least I am not having to cover costs from advertising comapnies who want to sell me something I simply don't need.

And sorry about the email part, just re-configured the email server. Should work perfectly now

If I had such a strange attitude towards potential customers, why would I be on here looking for alternatives? and why would I submit the direct dial numbers to this site?

Oh and to clarify, my adverts, buisness cards, letters, etc etc all have the 0870 and the direct dial numbers on them. So I give potential customers the choice, phone the 0870 and actually get to speak to me, or try the other numbers in the hope of catching me.

Also not sure if I am right on this, but doesnt it cost more to phone a mobile than it does to phone an 0870 number?

This has been copied from a previous post I made, many moons ago, but instead of being linked to, it is being repeated so that it may be updated using currently correct info.

Here's how I currently get around that problem. It is necessary to understand my phones are for business, with social calls as an extra. It's my firm and so therefore my bills.........

1 - I have a normal BT landline. Advertised number
2 - A box, explained on their site, purchased from Burnside Telecom (www.burnsidetelecom.co.uk) £300
3 - An 0800 number from Dolphin Communications (www.call08.com) £5 + vat monthly  Advertised number
4 - A 12 month contract O2 (UPDATED) chip at 250 mins for £15 upon renewal after asking to leave, and because I don't need the phone (the chip goes into the box at line 2) they offered me £100 credit against the bill. Thus 12 * £15=£180 - £100=£80 /12=£6.67 per month = 2.67p per min(end update)
5 - My contract Orange that is the target phone.  Advertised number

Here goes.........

The customer can ring the 0800, which is sent to the BT phone. I get 500(UPDATE, was 800) mins per month inc for my £5.85. Then any extra at 2p per min any time of day.
The Burnside box has the 12 month Free line rental chip in it. This box sits between the wall connection and the landphone.
(Updated) The 12 month chip has 250 inc mins  monthly. (End u/d)
The box, when set up correctly, diverts the call to my mobile (or any other phone), using the inc mins.

You have to bear in mind BT call divert is about 19p per min + a monthly service fee of about £3.

So........
Assuming I use the inc mins correctly (and get another contract when I start to exceed those mins)

Year 1
Box        = £300.00              (I can even change the divert target by text whilst out on the road)
0800      = £  70.20
Bt line    = £126.00
O2 chip  = £180.00
Inc mins = FREE

Rewritten
So 3000 mins per year, 250 * 12months (50 hrs, 2.08 whole days) diverted to the mobile £676.20. ALL TAX DEDUCTABLE

The BT route would cost 3000*0.19= £570 + line rental £126 + service charges of £36. Total £732
At the end of the 12 months, no magic box, and the prospect of the same cost, at least, next year. Whereas I'll have the box which means £676.2 - £300 = £376.2 compared to £732 at current rates.
I know that's tax deductable also, but look at the money I would get to keep for myself, even after paying tax on the difference.

So customer has the option of 0800 free from landline
or mobile number, using their inc mins
or the Bt number if they didn't get the others.

I don't miss a customer, and hopefully gain more by using the 0800.

Oh yes. And using the landphone, dialing a mobile goes out via the box using the inclusive mins, so that call is free.
I can ring the mobile chip in the box, and after it's been programmed, it will go out via the landline. Not sure why I would want that, but I'll figure a way to use it to an advantage.

Did I make that sound easy? It works for me anyway

End of rewrite.

And not much money is wasted on sales persons calling, because quite simply they get either cut off, or given an 0871 number I've obtained for free, just to give out to these parasites. My numbers are for my customers, and no-one else.