On 25/02/2012 14:30, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:11:57 +0000, Tim Lamb wrote:

I have a mobile no for my local BCO but would not expect to contact him
outside the normal notification hours.

Yeah but you are sensible and intelligent person who has respect for
others and their privacy. Many of the great unwashed don't and want
their trivial problem sorted out *NOW* and if the information they
are *demanding* isn't forth coming that instant become personally
abusive. You know the sort of people I mean, the ones that call 999
for instructions on how to roast a turkey.

I get calls at 10:45pm, 06:45am and had one at 07:45 on a Sunday morning.

Nothing urgent like major floods, just normal jobs.

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The Medway Handyman wrote:

On 25/02/2012 14:30, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:11:57 +0000, Tim Lamb wrote:

I have a mobile no for my local BCO but would not expect to contact him
outside the normal notification hours.

Yeah but you are sensible and intelligent person who has respect for
others and their privacy. Many of the great unwashed don't and want
their trivial problem sorted out *NOW* and if the information they
are *demanding* isn't forth coming that instant become personally
abusive. You know the sort of people I mean, the ones that call 999
for instructions on how to roast a turkey.

I get calls at 10:45pm, 06:45am and had one at 07:45 on a Sunday morning.

Nothing urgent like major floods, just normal jobs.


Do you turn the ringer off outside of sane hours?


--
Tim Watts

Helpdesk: Good morning. Are you having a good day?
Me: It's not going too well actually.
Helpdesk: Oh.

[Default] On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 06:19:12 -0800 (PST), a certain
chimpanzee, Owain , randomly hit the
keyboard and wrote:

Then they should be using a VoIP extension over a secure VPN into the
council's phone system.

You're joking, surely? My council is only just upgrading our PC's to
XP. VPN sounds like twenty-first century technology, which on previous
experience, is three years away.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have I strayed"?

On Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:40:13 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

I get calls at 10:45pm, 06:45am and had one at 07:45 on a Sunday
morning.

Nothing urgent like major floods, just normal jobs.

Do you turn the ringer off outside of sane hours?

If I was running a business like TMH I'd have a dedicated work mobile
and either turn it off so it dumps straight to voicemail or set a
short and silent divert on no answer to voicemail. The latter may be
preferable as you would have a record of "missed calls". Easy enough
to set a phone "profile" and just switch between "on duty" and "off
duty". I should imagine a smart phone can switch profile
automagically based on day of week and time of day.

Are mobiles with two numbers (or sims) available in this country? I
know there are else where.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:34:49 +0000, Peter Johnson wrote:

Helpdesk: Good morning. Are you having a good day?
Me: It's not going too well actually.
Helpdesk: Oh.

Wrong answer from Helpdesk. It should have been "I guess that's why
you are calling then?"

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:33:18 +0000, Alan wrote:

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like
myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

And with todays technology why can't the company PABX present a
number that when called checks your CLI against a list of calls made
from the PABX and connect you through to the phone that called you?

Perhaps not 100% for A&E departments but then the PABX could route to
the A&E reception not an "operational desk".

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:10:13 +0000, Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:33:18 +0000, Alan wrote:

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like
myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

And with todays technology why can't the company PABX present a number
that when called checks your CLI against a list of calls made from the
PABX and connect you through to the phone that called you?

Good idea. Interesting, though...whose fault is it if that fails because
the original callee now witholds CLI? .-)




--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

Dave Liquorice wrote
Alan wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

And with todays technology why can't the company PABX present a
number that when called checks your CLI against a list of calls made
from the PABX and connect you through to the phone that called you?

Because not everyone calls back from the number that is used to receive calls on.

I recieve calls on my POTS number and call back using
my voip service, because that costs me a lot less to call,
like 10c for the entire call anywhere in the country, and
to the 3 major foreign countrys I call, Britain, US and China.

Perhaps not 100% for A&E departments but then the PABX
could route to the A&E reception not an "operational desk".

True, it would be useful for many.

But you could also just present a direct indial number when anyone
in the company calls out, so anyone could just return the call to that
direct indial number too. Any decent modern PABX can do that.

"Dave Liquorice" writes:

Are mobiles with two numbers (or sims) available in this country? I
know there are else where.

AIR Ebay says so. I even saw a description of a 4 SIM phone somewhere.
--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:50:06 +1100, Rod Speed wrote:

Dave Liquorice wrote
Alan wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like
myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

And with todays technology why can't the company PABX present a number
that when called checks your CLI against a list of calls made from the
PABX and connect you through to the phone that called you?

Because not everyone calls back from the number that is used to receive
calls on.

I recieve calls on my POTS number and call back using my voip service,
because that costs me a lot less to call, like 10c for the entire call
anywhere in the country, and to the 3 major foreign countrys I call,
Britain, US and China.

Funnily enough, I do the opposite. Incoming calls to a range of VoIP
numbers, and outgoing calls automatically routed via POTS, at 5 pence per
call (no limit on duration) for all calls to the UK.



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 24 Feb 2012 18:39:28 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:40:28 +0000, Mark wrote:

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:42:58 +0000, Nightjar
wrote:

On 24/02/2012 01:07, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
...? I must think up some response which is going to take half an hour
to explain with no opportunity for interruption, but I haven't done
that yet....

Mine is 'I don''t take cold calls. Goodbye', followed by putting the
phone down. I don't see the point in wasting any more time than that.

And I omit the "Goodbye" and hang up straight away. But I don't usually
answer calls with no displayed CLID.

No-CLID calls here put the caller into a menu.

If you are a telemarketer, press 1
If you are conducting a survey, press 2
If we have won a holiday, press 3
For anything else, press 4

Real callers persist, the rest don't seem to.

The problem I have is that, sometimes, real callers don't persist.
Some do and some don't. I have missed important calls as a result.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:33:18 +0000, Alan
wrote:

In message , Hugo Nebula
wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

But they do. Often they really believe it's a good idea.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

On 27 Feb 2012 00:36:36 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

And with todays technology why can't the company PABX present a
number
that when called checks your CLI against a list of calls made from
the
PABX and connect you through to the phone that called you?

Good idea. Interesting, though...whose fault is it if that fails because
the original callee now witholds CLI? .-)

B-) but the callee then has a choice to release their CLI.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:24:12 +0000, Bill
wrote:

In message , Bob Eager
writes
On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 10:41:39 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

In article .
com, Owain scribeth thus
On Feb 24, 9:54*pm, Bob Eager wrote:
Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like
myself.
Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.
I just wonder what mechanism you would employ to *not* hide numbers..

Some form of "presentation number"

which might be the DDI of the council switchboard extension or a general
number. There's unlikely to be a problem presenting a BCO number, but in
some cases the council would not want to reveal that eg social work had
phoned, if they couldn't speak to the person they wanted.

Owain


It isn't really a problem they can preset a CLI of their switchboard
reception number like they do here in Cambridge.

01223 457000

And in a big organisation, the switchboard wouldn't have a clue who to
put them through to.

Sorry Tony,
I agree with Bob on this one. Not only do the switchboard get inundated
with calls that they don't know how to route, because the caller doesn't
know who called them, but also imagine that you have just been to the
STD clinic, ( to get it back on topic for phone systems!!) and they
call you at home, your wife comes in, does a 1471 and then how do you
explain the hospital calling you? Fast thinking is not always easy!!

If you want to keep such secrets from your wife then you could give
the STD clinic a mobile number ;-)

I spend a fair bit of time in a hospital, as you know Tony, and the
above are the 2 main reasons why they do not show CLI, we have discussed
it a few times when I've been in the switchboard.

Thankfully I haven't had to spend much time in hospital but, if they
have a reason to call me, I would want to see a valid number otherwise
it would be likely that I would not answer it.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

On 27 Feb 2012 06:49:50 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

and outgoing calls automatically routed via POTS, at 5 pence per
call (no limit on duration) for all calls to the UK.

*All* calls? Inc mobiles, really no duration limit. Who is that with?

I have a BT tarrif with cappped calls at 10p each to landlines and
25p to mobiles IIRC but with a 1hr limit (redial possible) but TBH
the 1hr limit isn't a problem, getting the "call fee" down as low as
possible would be nice.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 03:42:56 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:

On 24/02/2012 21:54, Bob Eager wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:33:18 +0000, Alan wrote:

In , Hugo Nebula
wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

I just wonder what mechanism you would employ to *not* hide numbers..

Lots of cold callers spoof calling ID these days.

I haven't seen a lot of spoofing myself, most cold calls are shown as
"unavailable" or "withheld".

There was even reports
of one spoofing the number they were calling as their caller ID...

Yes. BT do this themselves.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:19:06 +0000, Tim Watts
wrote:

The truth of how important a call is is whether they leave an answerphone
message...

How important it is to *them*. Which may be completely different to
its importance to *you*.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

Dave Liquorice wrote:

I have a BT tarrif with cappped calls at 10p each to landlines and
25p to mobiles IIRC but with a 1hr limit (redial possible) but TBH
the 1hr limit isn't a problem, getting the "call fee" down as low as
possible would be nice.

Have you had a look at 18185 rates?

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:56:46 +0000, Chris J Dixon wrote:

I have a BT tarrif with cappped calls at 10p each to landlines and
25p to mobiles IIRC but with a 1hr limit (redial possible) but TBH
the 1hr limit isn't a problem, getting the "call fee" down as low
as
possible would be nice.

Have you had a look at 18185 rates?

Hum, looked at their printable rates page "include 17.5% VAT" and
"For the latest rates, please check our website:" that's where I just
came from...

UK Fixed at 0.0p/min looks interesting but it wouldn't take many
calls at 7p/min to mobiles to upset the apple cart. Might need to
download a few recent bills in spreasheet format and do some number
crunching.

Can the be a preselected provider or do you have to remember to dial
their prefix before hand? Dialling a prefix would not happen here.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:34:51 +0000, Dave Liquorice wrote:

On 27 Feb 2012 06:49:50 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

and outgoing calls automatically routed via POTS, at 5 pence per call
(no limit on duration) for all calls to the UK.

*All* calls? Inc mobiles, really no duration limit. Who is that with?

No, not mobiles, sorry. All 01, 02, 03 calls etc. 18185.co.uk

I have a BT tarrif with cappped calls at 10p each to landlines and 25p
to mobiles IIRC but with a 1hr limit (redial possible) but TBH the 1hr
limit isn't a problem, getting the "call fee" down as low as possible
would be nice.

The mobile fees aren't bad - take a look. I still use them for mobiles.
It's a 5p connection fee for all calls, then 0p/min for landlines and
other rates for mobiles.

Of course, at weekends I use the POTS line (as it's free) and limit calls
to an hour, with advance warning to the caller at 5 mins, 2 mins, 1 min
to go...



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:04:22 +0000, Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:56:46 +0000, Chris J Dixon wrote:

I have a BT tarrif with cappped calls at 10p each to landlines and 25p
to mobiles IIRC but with a 1hr limit (redial possible) but TBH the 1hr
limit isn't a problem, getting the "call fee" down as low
as
possible would be nice.

Have you had a look at 18185 rates?

Hum, looked at their printable rates page "include 17.5% VAT" and "For
the latest rates, please check our website:" that's where I just came
from...

UK Fixed at 0.0p/min looks interesting but it wouldn't take many calls
at 7p/min to mobiles to upset the apple cart. Might need to download a
few recent bills in spreasheet format and do some number crunching.

Can the be a preselected provider or do you have to remember to dial
their prefix before hand? Dialling a prefix would not happen here.

You dial a prefix. It's all handled automagically here by the Asterisk
box, though.



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

Mark wrote:

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:19:06 +0000, Tim Watts
wrote:

The truth of how important a call is is whether they leave an answerphone
message...

How important it is to *them*. Which may be completely different to
its importance to *you*.

Almost never important enough for me to stop eating my supper.

Anyone I care about will write if there is a problem (eg insurance).

Everyone else - it is either mutually important enough for an answerphone
message, or I don't care.

If it's a trader calling, then more fool them for not leaving a message...

--
Tim Watts

Dave Liquorice wrote:

Can the be a preselected provider or do you have to remember to dial
their prefix before hand? Dialling a prefix would not happen here.

It needs a prefix, but my DECT phone adds that automatically, and
has been told which calls to leave to BT.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

In article o.uk, Dave
Liquorice scribeth thus
On 27 Feb 2012 06:49:50 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

and outgoing calls automatically routed via POTS, at 5 pence per
call (no limit on duration) for all calls to the UK.

*All* calls? Inc mobiles, really no duration limit. Who is that with?

I have a BT tarrif with cappped calls at 10p each to landlines and
25p to mobiles IIRC but with a 1hr limit (redial possible) but TBH
the 1hr limit isn't a problem, getting the "call fee" down as low as
possible would be nice.


POTS in VoIP out here.

Mobiles and some landline calls on the 600 spare mins on the mobbie...
--
Tony Sayer

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:25:58 +0000, Tim Watts
wrote:

Mark wrote:

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:19:06 +0000, Tim Watts
wrote:

The truth of how important a call is is whether they leave an answerphone
message...

How important it is to *them*. Which may be completely different to
its importance to *you*.

Almost never important enough for me to stop eating my supper.

But you won't know if you don't answer it ;-)

Anyone I care about will write if there is a problem (eg insurance).

Will they? Will you find out whatever you need to know in time?
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

Mark wrote:

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:25:58 +0000, Tim Watts
wrote:

Mark wrote:

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:19:06 +0000, Tim Watts
wrote:

The truth of how important a call is is whether they leave an
answerphone message...

How important it is to *them*. Which may be completely different to
its importance to *you*.

Almost never important enough for me to stop eating my supper.

But you won't know if you don't answer it ;-)

Anyone I care about will write if there is a problem (eg insurance).

Will they? Will you find out whatever you need to know in time?

Never been a problem in 40 years

I also throw suspcious looking mail in the bin unopened (ie not bearing my
proper name, or not bearing some logo - unless handwritten, in which case
it's someone I know).


--
Tim Watts

Mark wrote
Nightjar wrote
Andrew Gabriel wrote

...? I must think up some response which is going
to take half an hour to explain with no opportunity
for interruption, but I haven't done that yet....

Mine is 'I don''t take cold calls. Goodbye', followed by putting the
phone down. I don't see the point in wasting any more time than that.

And I omit the "Goodbye" and hang up straight away.
But I don't usually answer calls with no displayed CLID.

Thats a dangerous approach. Sometime it could be the hospital
saying that someone you care about has just been run over etc.

And one time I had the cops call me one Saturday morning saying
that they had grabbed a couple of stupid kids who had quite literally
been walking around the streets late at night, filling it with what they
could find in the cars they came across and suggesting I might like to
come down to the cop shop and pick up what they had got from my car.

I'd managed to leave the passenger's door unlocked because I had
bought some beer at a drive thru bottle shop on the night before.

Alan wrote
Hugo Nebula wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

Plenty do, including the cops and hospitals etc.

Owain wrote
charles wrote

there is also the possibility that the person who called is working
from home. They cetainly wouldn't want to give out their home number.

Then they should be using a VoIP extension over
a secure VPN into the council's phone system.

Not everyone gets to insist that the operation they work for does things in a particular way.

Mark wrote
Bill wrote
Bob Eager wrote
tony sayer wrote
Owain wrote
Bob Eager wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

I just wonder what mechanism you would employ to *not* hide numbers..

Some form of "presentation number"

which might be the DDI of the council switchboard extension or a
general number. There's unlikely to be a problem presenting a BCO
number, but in some cases the council would not want to reveal
that eg social work had phoned, if they couldn't speak to the
person they wanted.

It isn't really a problem they can preset a CLI of their
switchboard reception number like they do here in Cambridge.

01223 457000

And in a big organisation, the switchboard wouldn't have a clue who
to put them through to.

Sorry Tony,
I agree with Bob on this one. Not only do the switchboard get
inundated with calls that they don't know how to route, because the
caller doesn't know who called them, but also imagine that you have
just been to the STD clinic, ( to get it back on topic for phone
systems!!) and they call you at home, your wife comes in, does a
1471 and then how do you explain the hospital calling you? Fast
thinking is not always easy!!

If you want to keep such secrets from your wife then you could give
the STD clinic a mobile number ;-)

I spend a fair bit of time in a hospital, as you know Tony, and the
above are the 2 main reasons why they do not show CLI, we have
discussed it a few times when I've been in the switchboard.

Thankfully I haven't had to spend much time in hospital but, if they
have a reason to call me, I would want to see a valid number
otherwise it would be likely that I would not answer it.

You might regret that approach when someone you care about
has just been runover and you refusing to answer the call means
that they die without being able to say goodbye etc.

They wont necessarily send the cops around until
after they have died if you dont answer the call.

On Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:44:48 +1100, "Rod Speed"
wrote:

Mark wrote
Bill wrote
Bob Eager wrote
tony sayer wrote
Owain wrote
Bob Eager wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

I just wonder what mechanism you would employ to *not* hide numbers..

Some form of "presentation number"

which might be the DDI of the council switchboard extension or a
general number. There's unlikely to be a problem presenting a BCO
number, but in some cases the council would not want to reveal
that eg social work had phoned, if they couldn't speak to the
person they wanted.

It isn't really a problem they can preset a CLI of their
switchboard reception number like they do here in Cambridge.

01223 457000

And in a big organisation, the switchboard wouldn't have a clue who
to put them through to.

Sorry Tony,
I agree with Bob on this one. Not only do the switchboard get
inundated with calls that they don't know how to route, because the
caller doesn't know who called them, but also imagine that you have
just been to the STD clinic, ( to get it back on topic for phone
systems!!) and they call you at home, your wife comes in, does a
1471 and then how do you explain the hospital calling you? Fast
thinking is not always easy!!

If you want to keep such secrets from your wife then you could give
the STD clinic a mobile number ;-)

I spend a fair bit of time in a hospital, as you know Tony, and the
above are the 2 main reasons why they do not show CLI, we have
discussed it a few times when I've been in the switchboard.

Thankfully I haven't had to spend much time in hospital but, if they
have a reason to call me, I would want to see a valid number
otherwise it would be likely that I would not answer it.

You might regret that approach when someone you care about
has just been runover and you refusing to answer the call means
that they die without being able to say goodbye etc.

They wont necessarily send the cops around until
after they have died if you dont answer the call.

That's a bit of an extreme example. Since about 99.9% of anonymous
calls are cold callers I generally ignore it.

Legitimate businesses/organisations/people should *not* withhold or
otherwise hide their CLID.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

In message , Rod Speed
writes

You might regret that approach when someone you care about
has just been runover and you refusing to answer the call means
that they die without being able to say goodbye etc.

They wont necessarily send the cops around until
after they have died if you dont answer the call.



A slightly different twist on this happened to a friend of mine last
week. She had been taken into A&E by her husband the day before as she
was not at all well and had bloods taken and checked over and sent home.
The next day the house phone rang a few times, but as calls are always
for her husband, who was out at work she didn't answer. Sometime later
her mobile rang, which she answered as that is how her friends contact
her, and it was the hospital telling her to get back immediately as her
calcium levels were somewhere between dangerously low and terminal.
Fortunately the hospital had eventually contacted her GP who had her
mobile number. They said their next move was to have called the police
to see if they could gain access to the house as they assumed she was
already collapsed.
--
Bill
( A different one )

Mark wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Mark wrote
Bill wrote
Bob Eager wrote
tony sayer wrote
Owain wrote
Bob Eager wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

I just wonder what mechanism you would employ to *not* hide numbers..

Some form of "presentation number"

which might be the DDI of the council switchboard extension or a
general number. There's unlikely to be a problem presenting a
BCO number, but in some cases the council would not want to
reveal that eg social work had phoned, if they couldn't speak
to the person they wanted.

It isn't really a problem they can preset a CLI of their
switchboard reception number like they do here in Cambridge.

01223 457000

And in a big organisation, the switchboard wouldn't have a clue
who to put them through to.

Sorry Tony,
I agree with Bob on this one. Not only do the switchboard get
inundated with calls that they don't know how to route, because the
caller doesn't know who called them, but also imagine that you have
just been to the STD clinic, ( to get it back on topic for phone
systems!!) and they call you at home, your wife comes in, does a
1471 and then how do you explain the hospital calling you? Fast
thinking is not always easy!!

If you want to keep such secrets from your wife then you could give
the STD clinic a mobile number ;-)

I spend a fair bit of time in a hospital, as you know Tony, and the
above are the 2 main reasons why they do not show CLI, we have
discussed it a few times when I've been in the switchboard.

Thankfully I haven't had to spend much time in hospital but, if they
have a reason to call me, I would want to see a valid number
otherwise it would be likely that I would not answer it.

You might regret that approach when someone you care about
has just been runover and you refusing to answer the call means
that they die without being able to say goodbye etc.

They wont necessarily send the cops around until
after they have died if you dont answer the call.

That's a bit of an extreme example.

Sure, but its also one you might well regret if it happens.

Since about 99.9% of anonymous calls are cold callers I generally ignore it.

And that can bite you on the bum sometime.

Legitimate businesses/organisations/people should
*not* withhold or otherwise hide their CLID.

Thats just plain wrong. Plenty of places like the
cops and hospitals etc do that for a good reason.

I actually had someone call me from inside the loony bin, quite literally.
Turned out that he just wanted to know which DVD player he should get
his wife to buy for him that was region free, but it should be obvious why
the loony bin may not want lots of people calling them to talk to the loonys.

Rod Speed wrote:


I actually had someone call me from inside the loony bin, quite literally.
Turned out that he just wanted to know which DVD player he should get
his wife to buy for him that was region free, but it should be obvious why
the loony bin may not want lots of people calling them to talk to the loonys.

Well if they wouldn't give them broadband,. we wouldn't have to put up
with drivel, dennis and harry.

Tim Watts wrote
Bill wrote

Also some large companies do not display their number, otherwise the switch
board gets inundated with "someone called me 3 hours ago, no I don't know
who!" OK if they could forward a DDI No, but not sure that many can.

Well, that's just lazy.

Nope.

They could assign a presentation number which is answered by an
automated system (like most big companies have anyway) which announces
the company name[1] and offeres a simple menu system for sales etc.

Likely most would just let it fall thru to a human and tell the human
that someone called them earlier and the operation still has the problem.

That would offer just enough resistance to persisting which offering
a clean record of the comapny - and a number you could stick in your
phone's directory so it displays the company name next time anyone
from the company rings.

Sure, it does have that advantage, but most presumably wouldnt be
called often enough to bother to do that. I know I dont bother myself.

I don't autoblock withheld numbers, but if I'm busy and the phone
rings without displaying the name of someone in my directory - or
at least a number from one of the few area codes that may be of
interest, I'll not bother to pick up.

Mine can actually annouce calls that have a blocked ID so I can
choose to not bother to walk over to the phone to see whose calling.

Problem is that Skype-out calls come with the Caller ID blocked most of
the time and I do have someone who calls me that way calling quite a bit.

The truth of how important a call is is whether they leave an answerphone message...

Nope, because plenty, including me, usually dont leave a message.

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...


Well if they wouldn't give them broadband,. we wouldn't have to put up
with drivel, dennis and harry.


This is usenet, its designed for dialup.
I have used it on dialup through demon years ago.

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:12:49 +0000, dennis@home wrote:

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...


Well if they wouldn't give them broadband,. we wouldn't have to put up
with drivel, dennis and harry.


This is usenet, its designed for dialup. I have used it on dialup
through demon years ago.

It was designed long before consumer dialup....



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:52:46 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

Anyone I care about will write if there is a problem (eg
insurance).

Will they? Will you find out whatever you need to know in time?

Never been a problem in 40 years

Trouble is many companies are becoming very snail mail averse "to
save the trees", naw its the cost nine and two just to send a 1st
class letter!

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:40:39 +1100, "Rod Speed"
wrote:

Mark wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Mark wrote
Bill wrote
Bob Eager wrote
tony sayer wrote
Owain wrote
Bob Eager wrote

Which is a pain for real callers from behind switchboards like myself.

Reputable companies and organisations don't hide phone numbers.

I just wonder what mechanism you would employ to *not* hide numbers..

Some form of "presentation number"

which might be the DDI of the council switchboard extension or a
general number. There's unlikely to be a problem presenting a
BCO number, but in some cases the council would not want to
reveal that eg social work had phoned, if they couldn't speak
to the person they wanted.

It isn't really a problem they can preset a CLI of their
switchboard reception number like they do here in Cambridge.

01223 457000

And in a big organisation, the switchboard wouldn't have a clue
who to put them through to.

Sorry Tony,
I agree with Bob on this one. Not only do the switchboard get
inundated with calls that they don't know how to route, because the
caller doesn't know who called them, but also imagine that you have
just been to the STD clinic, ( to get it back on topic for phone
systems!!) and they call you at home, your wife comes in, does a
1471 and then how do you explain the hospital calling you? Fast
thinking is not always easy!!

If you want to keep such secrets from your wife then you could give
the STD clinic a mobile number ;-)

I spend a fair bit of time in a hospital, as you know Tony, and the
above are the 2 main reasons why they do not show CLI, we have
discussed it a few times when I've been in the switchboard.

Thankfully I haven't had to spend much time in hospital but, if they
have a reason to call me, I would want to see a valid number
otherwise it would be likely that I would not answer it.

You might regret that approach when someone you care about
has just been runover and you refusing to answer the call means
that they die without being able to say goodbye etc.

They wont necessarily send the cops around until
after they have died if you dont answer the call.

That's a bit of an extreme example.

Sure, but its also one you might well regret if it happens.

I am looking at the probabilities here.

Since about 99.9% of anonymous calls are cold callers I generally ignore it.

And that can bite you on the bum sometime.

Yes. I think I have missed out on free cavity wall insulation as a
result. I must remember to call them later to check.

Legitimate businesses/organisations/people should
*not* withhold or otherwise hide their CLID.

Thats just plain wrong. Plenty of places like the
cops and hospitals etc do that for a good reason.

I disagree. I would *always* want the CLID.

I actually had someone call me from inside the loony bin, quite literally.
Turned out that he just wanted to know which DVD player he should get
his wife to buy for him that was region free, but it should be obvious why
the loony bin may not want lots of people calling them to talk to the loonys.

Well, if you call it a loony bin ........

--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?