Telephone Ring Duration

Grumpy_Old_Duffer

My mother, being elderly, is finding that the number of rings (6) her telephone makes before switching to, I believe, the 1571 service is not giving her time to reach the phone to answer a call particularly if she is in her garden.

Is there a way to extend the number of rings, or are they fixed by the 1571 service?

Heinz

Fixed.

Please get her to dump BT 1571 and buy her an answering machine for Chistmas (I bought my BT Decor 500 LST with answering machine - new - for less than £10 on ebay).

The reason I say that is because, IMHO, 'free' 1571 services are nothing more than a clever con by call provider companies to make money.

That's because, if you call someone who has the 'service' and they happen to be engaged on a call already, you go straight through to the 1571 'machine', your call is deemed to have been 'connected' and you are charged 3p connection and a minimum of 3p for the first minute (if you're on BT or whatever your own calls provider charges). So, even if you don't want to leave a message, that call costs you 6p. Trying again (and again, and again) might have the same result too.

The same applies if they take more than 7 rings to answer the phone - 1571 cuts in (it can't be turned off like an answering machine) and you have to call again.

If they were engaged on another call but didn't have 1571, you'd have heard an engaged tone, would not have been charged anything, would have realised they were busy on a call and would have tried again after a few minutes. Similarly, if they take more than 7 rings to answer, you don't get charged until they answer or, if they still don't, don't incur any cost and can call back later.

An answering machine set to answer after 8 or 9 rings is a far more 'friends and family friendly' device for when you're out - F&F quickly learn (or you can even tell them), that, if you haven't answered by, say, the fifth ring, you're not going to so they'll have the option of hanging on until the answering machine kicks in and leaving a message or hanging up and trying later.

BexTech

Grumpy_Old_Duffer wrote:

My mother, being elderly, is finding that the number of rings (6) her telephone makes before switching to, I believe, the 1571 service is not giving her time to reach the phone to answer a call particularly if she is in her garden.

Is there a way to extend the number of rings, or are they fixed by the 1571 service?

Dump 1571.

It's a nasty service on there to make money from callers.

Why should people pay because you can't get to the phone in time, or because you are already on a call.

We don't use 1571 or voicemail, as to us it's not fair that other should pay.

As Heinz has said get a answering machine, if it's really important that calls must be accepted when out, and simply ringing back is not good enough.

flossy_splodge

I have to say I find 1571 extremely useful. The problem with an answer phone for the elderly, they're all digital and to pick up a call or a message you have to press 'call' or 'talk' or somesuch. If anyone knows a phone that will ring at least 20 times before the answering system cuts in and then as soon as you pick up the handset you are 'through' to the call oh and yes obviosly a walk about phone so an elderly and hard of hearing person can have it in the room they need it in eg move it from lounge to kitchen then please share. I'd be delighted and you'll have saved me hours mopre work!:eek:

BexTech

With 1571 on a BT or cable line then there is no way.

On VoIP with Sipgate you can choose 10 - 100 seconds.

I always made sure I never called anyone with that nasty service 1571 or voicemail. No way was I paying just because they didn't answer in time, nasty service it is. If I found out they had 1571, that was it, I didn't ring them.

Now they have seen the error of their ways and most don't use the nasty service any more.