bloggs, as NGM suggested somewhere near the beginning of this thread that I'm reading for the first time, you might think of voip companies to perform this call diversion for you. In fact I'm looking at one that can probably do this with no hardware bought by me at all, and no broadband connection either. Free 0560 number or rent a landline number; other companies may have free landline numbers.

Calls can be diverted for about 1p per minute to landlines, so between you and the people calling you, the cost will be much lower. You suggest why should you pay for the service - the others have answered that already - because you are the user of it. The same applies to companies that use 0870 numbers - why should I pay for their outgoing calls, which is how the cross-subsidy idea was sold to them in the first place?

I have an 070 number, never used. I got it a few months ago because of some information on call forwarding that has since changed. It could be diverted to a foreign mobile abroad, and I could let people pay that cost. People that don't care the cost of ringing foreign mobiles would actually find it cheaper from BT than direct at 36p or 44p per minute. Believe it or not, some people think that saving money on phone calls is too much effort, and I see their eyes glaze over - we probably all have friends that we've described 18866 et al to, whose first question is - what's the catch?

What would you do when roaming with your mobile, try and figure a way to get your callers to pay your roaming costs or find ways yourself to reduce them? I'd rather give people a cheap way to call me - an 0871 direct number to a foreign mobile (cheaper than a UK mobile from landline), or a 2p/min 0844 number, and pay a few pence on top myself, or divert the call abroad from my mobile from inclusive minutes plus a few pence.

As NGM suggests, most people have mobiles with easier call diversion facilities, and from inclusive minutes. I won't go as far as NGM to suggest you have a secret commercial agenda in favour of these numbers, but I will suggest that a mixture of selfishness and complacency is preventing you find better solutions for you and the people calling you. If you only gave me an 0870 number, I'd object too.

I also have one of those free 0870 fax numbers; I think that many ISPs have affiliate arrangements with eFax or whoever.

I believe you can subscribe to eFax for a geo number and more sending options, but I don't think I'm in a hurry; my only use so far was a test email they prompted me into as a marketing reminder.

I've got 2 mobile fax numbers as well - I think you get one automatically from 3 (never used it) - I've used the Orange one about 15 times, and got them printed at work or the local shop, but this 0870 will be better if ever needed and probably still only a 5p call anyway for single pages.


By the way, I haven't adopted the 0560 number idea yet - it is proving more than difficult to get the tariffs for them from mobile networks - they have no info about them.

I was referred this afternoon the the fact that it is a code for Kilmarnock, not in use at the moment - she could prove it - judging by the document they sent me to, it could have been defunct for 40 years

http://www.sigtel.com/tel_hist_earlystd.html

I nearly fell off my chair - [did anybody know that 0040, 0044, 0047 used to be STD codes for Outer Hebrides, and 0092, 0095, 0096 for Oxford - as I said to a friend on another forum, some people are bigger phone nerds than us]

Shiggaddi wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2005 at 5:22pm:


I still think you are wrong to have an 0870 though Shiggaddi as part of the revenue of each call you receive goes to BT, Cable & Wireless or Kingston Communications who terminate most of the 0870 calls.  So by having your own 0870 number you are simply further propping up the empire of these disgusting scamsters.

Are you not aware of the old business about "turning the other cheek".

What has happened to Bloggs?

Do you think he now realises that he has lost the argument and retreated with his tail between his legs?