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On Thu, 2009-07-02 at 19:38 +0100, Gordon Henderson wrote: > On Thu, 2 Jul 2009, Martinus Scriblerus wrote: > > > 2009/7/2 Gordon Henderson <gordon+dcglug@xxxxxxxxxx>: > > > >> However - http://www.saynoto0870.co.uk/ is still a good place to get > >> alternatives. > > > > There is some misleading information for the organisation I work for. > > We use an IN to distribute calls to various centres around the country > > to reduce queuing. There are a series of numbers quoted to allegedly > > get through to the office for different areas. Probably just some poor > > so and so whose direct line number has leaked out, and most likely > > somebody who has their own job to do. > > One thing that really really got my goat was the whole scam applied to > 0870 and 0845 numbers being "sold" to businesses (and places like doctors, > dentists, local councils, etc.) due to the ability to queue a call "in the > network" rather than at the premises. > > Well - to some extent that's true, and arguably needed for mega-corps > handling 100's of calls a minute, but for the most part it was (and still > is) a huge rip-off, and the "owners" of these revenue generating numbers > don't care. A report was published recently about the revenue generated by > some companies - I'll see ifI can find it, but I recall that British Gas > was taking in millions a year from them - all because they can answer the > call at the network level then put you on hold in a queue - while you pay, > and they trickle in the cash. You can have 1000 calls on hold to a > 100-person string call centre. > > Now I've no issues about using the telephone service as a revenue > generation, or micro payment system, but at least people could be up-front > about it, and I really don't see why I should pay to complain to someone > like british gas or my bank )-: > > For the average SME (1-250 staff), call queuing at the network level > really should not be justified at all as it's really not hard to get the > number of lines required into a building to support the erlang number of > them making/taking phone calls. > > And I can network Q using 01/02 numbers - so why can't everyone else? Oh, > no money to be made that way, silly me... > > Oh - and while saynoto0870 is good, it's not always possible to get an > underlying 01/02 number for an 0845 number... I can allocate them with no > underlying 01/02 connected at all... > > Gordon > Can I suggest a New piece of Hardware or Linux Based phone that when a caller phones and asks to speak to "the Owner Of The Business?" wanting to Sell them Some cut price Utility. I say "Please Hold whilst I transfer you......" to a 0870 or some such premium rate number that will replace the lost revenue time I have spent answering their persistent calls. I get up to 10 per day at least. I know when they are on the line now, as you get a 5 sec delay from answering to them saying " Am I talking to the Owner of the Business?" I give them 4.5 secs and replace the receiver. Regards Kevin Lucas Minions Post Master(Sub) reprieved (possibly!) Po House, Minions, Liskeard Cornwall PL14 5LE 01579363386 -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html