Cheapest way to divert calls to mobiles

foxyruby

Hi folks

I wonder if I could call on your extensive knowledge to help me wade through the overwhelming options I've found with redirecting calls?

I've just set up a new business and need to divert business calls from my landline to two mobiles, so that my friend and I can share answering calls separately, wherever we are in the UK. We can make do with diverting to one mobile at a time, if necessary, but we need to be able to switch between the two mobiles and/or back to the landline at unpredictable times each day.

I have a TalkTalk domestic landline (I switched from BT recently) and a Vodafone mobile. My friend's mobile is with 02 but we could of course get another Vodafone sim (I'd prefer Vodafone because the other networks don't work well in my home). At the moment I have a fax/answerphone hooked up to my landline, but the blasted thing doesn't even seem to let me check my phone messages remotely.

I could use my existing landline number for the business, or set up a new number (not 0800, but one of the 03 numbers would be okay). We don't usually go online through our phones, or take our laptops out with us. We are currently on Pay As You Go. Could any of you moneysavers help me to work out the cheapest way of diverting the calls? Sorry if I sound a bit slow with this, it's not an area I'm familiar with. I'd be really grateful for your help. Thanks!

Buzby

For what you want you require flexibility, and the VoIP providers can do all this and more. Firms like sipgate offer you the chance to port your landline number (or their own free geographic number). You can then set up the diverts to BOTH mobiles, with the first person to answer handling the call, ensuring a good fallback, and then voicemail if nobody takes it - just remember to turn OFF voicemail on the mobile!. Sipgate also provide a good call audit online so you can see the CLI of the incoming call and where it went.

foxyruby

Hi Buzby

Thanks for your very helpful reply. I've looked at Sipgate's site but am still trying to get my head round the VOIP idea. I do have broadband at home via TalkTalk, but I use an Apple Mac. Would that be compatible? And would I still need to buy a special device and hook it up to the computer?

I'm also still a little confused as to who pays and for what, coz the Sipgate site says £0 for this and £0 for that! Am I right in thinking that the caller pays a per minute charge? Or would the person receiving the call i.e. me, pay? And would the rate per minute vary depending on whether I answered the call on my landline or on my mobile?

Finally, would I have to have a geographic number, or do you know if it's possible to get a non-geographic one e.g. and 03- one?

Sorry to answer your reply with more questions, I just want to be clear about it before I go ahead. I've emailed Sipgate customer services and am waiting for a reply from them, but I would really like to have your take on this, and the advice of any other moneysavers. Thanks a lot!

foxyruby

Hi again

Sipgate support has come back to me as follows:
you need to use a MAC compatible SIP-client such as NCH Express Talk.
You can set up call forwarding, but you can only forward to one number.

In other words, they are saying I can forward calls but only to one number, but Buzby said I can divert to two mobiles. Can anyone throw any light on this?

benjus

Well I've logged into my Sipgate account and I can't see any way to set up forwarding to two numbers simultaneously... I'd be interested to know how that can be done.

Just to clear up on Sipgate charges... it is free to:

1. Open a Sipgate account and be assigned a telephone number (geographic or 0845/0870 I think - not sure if they offer 03 numbers).
2. Receive calls using either SIP compatible software on your computer, or a SIP telephone plugged into your internet connection, or an ordinary telephone plugged into a SIP adapter plugged into your internet connection.
3. Listen to voicemail messages or have voicemail messages forwarded to your email address.
4. Make calls to freephone numbers or other VoIP numbers.

You have to pay to:

1. Make calls to normal telephone numbers
2. Have your calls forwarded to a normal telephone number

The person calling a Sipgate number will pay their normal tariff for calling the type of number concerned (geographic, 0845 or 0870).

Since many of the Sipgate services are free you can sign up to try it with no risk.

foxyruby

Thanks Benjus, this all helps. Seems like this VOIP system is great if you want to make calls really cheaply in the UK and abroad, but what I'm really looking for is how to receive diverted calls cheaply, or for free, from a landline to two mobiles.

I'm now wondering if the cheapest way would be to look for an ordinary home phone for my Talk Talk line (with an answerphone facility when it's not on divert) that lets me phone into it when I'm away and to set up diverts remotely. Wouldn't it be free to receive diverted calls this way, apart from the initial cost of the appliance?

Heinz

foxyruby wrote: »

I'm now wondering if the cheapest way would be to look for an ordinary home phone for my Talk Talk line (with an answerphone facility when it's not on divert) that lets me phone into it when I'm away and to set up diverts remotely. Wouldn't it be free to receive diverted calls this way, apart from the initial cost of the appliance?

Not unless your Talk Talk calls package gives you free calls to mobiles (the diverted part of the call would be charged to your home number).

foxyruby

Ah, thank you Heinz, I hadn't thought of that. Then that still leaves me wondering what's the cheapest way to divert from a landline to two mobiles. Would you or anyone else have any more ideas here?

benjus

foxyruby wrote: »

Thanks Benjus, this all helps. Seems like this VOIP system is great if you want to make calls really cheaply in the UK and abroad, but what I'm really looking for is how to receive diverted calls cheaply, or for free, from a landline to two mobiles.

I'm now wondering if the cheapest way would be to look for an ordinary home phone for my Talk Talk line (with an answerphone facility when it's not on divert) that lets me phone into it when I'm away and to set up diverts remotely. Wouldn't it be free to receive diverted calls this way, apart from the initial cost of the appliance?

It's never going to be free to divert a call from a landline to a mobile. Think about it, the person that's calling you is dialling a landline number, so is paying for a call to a landline (which may well be free) but is actually calling your mobile. Someone has to pay for the difference in call cost - i.e. you!

Sipgate is certainly one of the cheaper ways to divert calls from a landline to a mobile. People on this forum often recommend Primus Penny Mobile (see this thread for example http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=598206) which charges 20p for a call of up to 20 minutes. However, I think you need a BT line for this (I may be wrong).

I don't actually know of any way to divert to two mobiles simultaneously and let the first one who answers take the call - I expect it can be done with the kind of systems used to control office phone networks, but that's not the sort of thing you're looking for.

foxyruby

Now that you've explained it like that, of course I can see that someone needs to pay for the connection between the landline and mobile. So like you say, it boils down to which way is going to be cheapest. I'll look at the forum link you included, thanks for that. And if anyone else can advise on whether it's possible to divert calls from a landline to two mobiles, and/or what's the cheapest way of doing it, I'm all ears!

Paul_Varjak

You could get an 0871 number from a company such as FLEXTEL. The number is free and all diversions to UK landlines and UK mobiles are free. In effect, your customer pays for the diversion as part of the 10p/min. charge for calling the 0871 number.

You can re-route at will by logging onto the FLEXTEL site or make use of the DIVERT ON BUSY/NO REPLY.