No Change!

[VeRetired]

On a similar theme. I have a mobile phone solely for emergency purposes, and I very seldom use it ( No! it's not because I haven't got any mates)
I have realised that if someone does phone me while I'm out on my morning walk, for instance, my wife. The call goes direct to voice mail and I hear a little 'beep'. The display tells me that I have a message and it was received 10 mins prior, so I connect and listen to my wife telling me 'I've done your porridge, darling' accompanied with heavy breathing (but that could be because she's asthmatic).
No seriously, That's two paycalls! Do you think that because I buy pay as you go credits and do not use the phone regularly. My calls are redirected to a voicebox thereby ensuring that I will respond, which means I pay again. So that the cellular phone companies can claw back some of the money that they overpaid for the franchise.

 

[swelec]

This has been my chief bone of contention for ages with answering machines in general

In the old days, you rang someone up, they were not there, hang the phone up to try again later = NO COST

Now a moronic voice tells you "sorry we are not here to take etc etc"

Cost - 1 phone call charge to tell me there is no-one there

WHY - before if no one was there, no one answered - SIMPLE

Now I have that BT system where if anuone has Left a message, you get the interupted dialling tone. so you ring 1571 to see who left a message - EXTRA COST

Then you phone them back

Three calls for the price of one

Why are we so gullible

 

[AdamW]

Ve, I used to have that happen, both on Vodafone PAYG and the Orange "Virgin equivalent" tarriff... funnily enough it doesn't happen now I have a contract phone and pay plenty of money...

I started to wonder if maybe it was on purpose, especially when I had full reception, turned off all diverts (therefore shouldn't have gone to voicemail EVER).

 

[pna]

Had the very same thought about answer machines.

As I am travelling a lot by train at the moment, I see lots of people use their mobiles to say 'I've just got on the train now' and then 'I'm just about to arrive at XXX'. Why does the person on the other end of the phone need to know (they are usually not asking to be met at the station BTW). Life was less complicated (and cheaper) when we didn't have mobile phones.

 

[jasy]

Had the very same thought about answer machines.

As I am travelling a lot by train at the moment, I see lots of people use their mobiles to say 'I've just got on the train now' and then 'I'm just about to arrive at XXX'. Why does the person on the other end of the phone need to know (they are usually not asking to be met at the station BTW). Life was less complicated (and cheaper) when we didn't have mobile phones.

Hmm this sounds like someone who has a lot of time on their hands

 

[securespark]

Ve

I too suffer from the same problem, but at least I don't pay for accessing voicemail. Get your number "ported" over to Virgin and at least then you don't pay for the voicemail...

It is infuriating. It's funny you should post on this topic, but today, I was sitting in the car looking at the mobile display - lots of bars indicating a good signal. Seconds later the phone beeped. I access voicemail:

You have 1 new message sent today at 12.35pm (when I was watching the phone......)

Arghhhhhhhhh!!

 

[pipme]

If my wife is training it to a conference etc, we may have agreed that she ring, perhaps having made the train we thought she may have missed, then again, upon arrival at her destination .... certainly my daughter to and fro to Uni with two connections required.
These calls may sound frivolous, but can be reassuring to the recipient.
Apart from that ..... Big rip off, by far overpriced !

 

[securespark]

Pip

You have to beat them at their own game.

I pay 40ppm with Virgin for M to M calls.

I also have a Tesco sim (don't larf!) which offers 20ppm for M to M calls or 10ppm to a nominated mobile number. So whenever I have to make these calls, I switch over to the Tesco sim (I have a dual sim cover for my 3410).

This way, I can have the last laugh- hehe!!

 

[pipme]

Have been keeping close records £2-00 per wk moby txts & calls -- Don't think tis worth messing with for me - light user !
I am thinking more of the youngsters - cannot resist chit chat - whoever is paying !! I think they are being ripped ...