Please help - advice needed for phone which can bar outgoing calls, but not texts

DentalPhobic

I am looking for advice for my sister. Her teenage daughter has managed to run up huge bills on her mobile and her mother is looking for a way to allow her to keep her phone, but bar outgoing calls, while still allowing her daughter to use her monthly free texts.


She has been advised by the provider that there is a way of setting the handset - in some models - to only allow Fixed Dialling - with acceptable numbers to call (home etc) However we have tried doing this on her Nokia 2680 Slide, but activating Fixed Dialling or Call Barring it stops all outgoing activity - calls and texts.

I still use an ancient Nokia Classic 6310i, and this DOES allow outgoing texts while barring outgoing calls in the Fixed Dialling function. While I am happy to lend it to my niece this phone is on its last legs, as the screen keeps going blank and the battery is on the blink.

So while I know this function is possible - allowing texting but not calling - I do not know which other phones support this, if any.

If anyone can advise me of any make of Handset they know of that allows continued texting while barring outgoing calls, I would really really appreciate the help.

hotkee

Most of the phones have divert settings but the first one I have noted whch has a password protection is my current phone LG Cookie - it seems to have call barring feature for outgoing calls which prompts for a password which you set. I have not tried it myself but its in the settings.

ultrak3wl

Availability of fixed dialing (FDN) is controlled by the SIM not the phone. Some SIMs have it and some don't. The spec deliberately bars SMS although some early phones/SIMs (like you found with 6310i) don't enforce it properly. It's a nuisance I agree.

DentalPhobic

Thanks for replies.

We have tried putting the SIM card from my nieces phone into my 6310i, and it works perfectly - blocks her outgoing calls but not texts. Perhaps I should just try to find another 6310i...I know they stopped making them but refurbished are still available.

Then we just have to persuade her to use such an old fashioned looking brick

Astec

How many texts does she send? Why not put her on PAYG plan with inclusive texts and the credit will limit her call spend?

DentalPhobic

Thank you Astec....but she took out a Dolphin 15 contract the day she was 18, and is now tied into 24 months at 15.00 per month. It seems a shame not to get the use of the unlimited texts, but she just cannot be trusted not to mount up another huge bill.

Blocking outgoing calls seemed the best solution.

However my sister has registered with Orange so she can check the account daily, and the minute if she goes over her minutes the phone will be blocked both outgoing and incoming - see how long it takes her to be totally out of the loop for her to start using it properly and thinking about her calls.

I have told my sister to take her hands off the reins and let her 18 year old grow up a bit, sort out her own problems, and not pay her debt for her - if she runs up huge bills she can sort it out with the bank herself!

macman

I think your last sentence sums it up. She is 18, legally an adult, agreed the contract and she is responsible for the debts. Your sister can't legally interfere if the contract is in her daughter's name. It's entirely up to her if she bails her out or not.
If she is that irresponsible, then changing her phone or blocking calls is not going to work, because she will simply go and get another contract phone, assuming she hasn't already got credit problems.