1899 & 18866 getting crap?

JanS_3

It's happened to me three times and when I reported it to BT they said that it had nothing to do with them.
I had to pay!

The following is the e-mail I received from 118866:

To dial my company you dial 11 88 66. I can only assume that you are misdialling.
Regards
Andrew

sergeant121

It has to be remembered that most UK exchanges these days are configured to accept DTMF (tone) AND pulse dialling.

Pulse dialling is notorious for misdials because noise on the line is frequently interpreted at the exchange as dialled digit(s). That is why the emergency services get most of their ‘silent’ calls on the so-called Europe-wide 112 emergency number and much fewer on 999 (a single ‘click’ on the line can be seen as a pulse representing the digit 1 being dialled so ‘click’, ‘click’, ‘click-click’ dials 112). Conversely, 3 consecutive batches of nine clicks occurring is an almost impossible scenario so virtually all ‘999’ calls are intentional (although, unfortunately, not always genuine).

So, even if you have the 18866 prefix programmed into your 'phone for speed/memory dialling, a spurious 'click' on your line as you pick up (or as your line makes its connection at the exchange) could be the reason you are apparently dialling an additional '1' at the start of the call - and why you are being connected to the 118866 Directory Enquiry service.

JanS_3

sergeant121 wrote:

It has to be remembered that most UK exchanges these days are configured to accept DTMF (tone) AND pulse dialling.

Pulse dialling is notorious for misdials because noise on the line is frequently interpreted at the exchange as dialled digit(s). That is why the emergency services get most of their ‘silent’ calls on the so-called Europe-wide 112 emergency number and much fewer on 999 (a single ‘click’ on the line can be seen as a pulse representing the digit 1 being dialled so ‘click’, ‘click’, ‘click-click’ dials 112). Conversely, 3 consecutive batches of nine clicks occurring is an almost impossible scenario so virtually all ‘999’ calls are intentional (although, unfortunately, not always genuine).

So, even if you have the 18866 prefix programmed into your 'phone for speed/memory dialling, a spurious 'click' on your line as you pick up (or as your line makes its connection at the exchange) could be the reason you are apparently dialling an additional '1' at the start of the call - and why you are being connected to the 118866 Directory Enquiry service.

I do not use Pulse Dialling, I use touch-tone. If it is as you say, then why doesn't it happen each time I call?

Debs24_2

Does anyone know if it is possible to place a restriction on a particular number, so it is impossible to ring that number. I NEVER ring directory enquiries because of the exorbitant cost. I would always go online where you can find out a number for free. I would gladly block my phone from ringing that number if I could.

sergeant121

JanS wrote:

I do not use Pulse Dialling, I use touch-tone. If it is as you say, then why doesn't it happen each time I call?

It doesn't matter which dialling method you use, the point is (if my theory is correct) the exchange is 'listening' for either pulse or DTMF.

It doesn't happen every time you dial because 'noise' on the line is an intermittent phenomenon.

sergeant121

Error. Please ignore.

margaret_3

JanS wrote:

It's happened to me three times and when I reported it to BT they said that it had nothing to do with them.
I had to pay!

The following is the e-mail I received from 118866:

To dial my company you dial 11 88 66. I can only assume that you are misdialling.
Regards
Andrew

What I now do is enter the number and then press 'dial' so if your phone allows you do this it's an excellent way of ensuring that you don't get through to 118866.

Margaret

rose_hartopp

I have been trying to register with 1899, but every time they say that their capacity is full and not taking new subscriber. How long do I have to wait for the application to succeed ?

margaret_3

rose_hartopp wrote:

I have been trying to register with 1899, but every time they say that their capacity is full and not taking new subscriber. How long do I have to wait for the application to succeed ?

Gosh! I only signed up with them a couple of weeks ago.
Margaret

JanS_3

margaret wrote:

What I now do is enter the number and then press 'dial' so if your phone allows you do this it's an excellent way of ensuring that you don't get through to 118866.

Margaret

Thanks, Margaret, I shall do that. I used to do that, but admit I never checked to ensure that the correct digits were entered in the phone screen.