call forwarding

neilsolaris

Hi,

I've got a question regarding forwarding calls from a UK mobile phone to a Skype number. I understand that if someone calls my mobile phone whilst I'm in the UK, the cost of forwarding the call will be included in any minutes I have as part of my call package.

However, if I go abroad to Qatar and then switch on my phone, what would happen if someone calls my mobile phone? As I've set call forwarding to go straight to my Skype phone, will it just come off my available minutes as before, at no extra charge? Or will it now charge me the cost of a call from Qatar to my Skype number?

I hope I've explained this clearly enough!

Thanks for your help.

Silk

neilsolaris wrote: »

Hi,

I've got a question regarding forwarding calls from a UK mobile phone to a Skype number. I understand that if someone calls my mobile phone whilst I'm in the UK, the cost of forwarding the call will be included in any minutes I have as part of my call package.

However, if I go abroad to Qatar and then switch on my phone, what would happen if someone calls my mobile phone? As I've set call forwarding to go straight to my Skype phone, will it just come off my available minutes as before, at no extra charge? Or will it now charge me the cost of a call from Qatar to my Skype number?

I hope I've explained this clearly enough!

Thanks for your help.

I would think that as your phone is in Qatar you would be charged the cost of the call from there.
It would work the same as if you left your voicemail on when abroad the call goes through the phone and then patched through to voicemail so you pay twice incoming and outgoing.
Would be best to ask the network concerned to check the charges

neilsolaris

Thanks Silk, that sounds logical. I did ring the Three network (the network I'm thinking of transferring to), but the guy didn't know! I'll have to phone them back and hope to speak to someone more experienced.

There is always the option that I take the sim card out of the phone before leaving the UK airport, but I thought it would be useful to receive any texts. On that front, does anyone know of a text forwarding service that I could use?

Thanks again.

redux

I'm not so sure about paying for incoming and outgoing calls with voicemail. This was stopped a few years ago for while roaming in Europe, and I have a suspicion this has been extended for while roaming anywhere.

However that doesn't matter too much for your case.

What counts here is whether the call diversion is permanent or conditional; the latter means if for example if it rings and you don't answer in time then it goes to voicemail.

The thing to so is divert all calls to the Skype number before leaving the UK (which it sounds like you probably have done). You could still take the phone with you and occasionally switch it on for sending and receiving texts, or making outgoing calls, but it would not ring or charge for incoming calls.

afzaal1988

As far as i know once your phone is connected to foreign network you are assigned temporary number in that country so any calls to your uk number go to that number and call forwarding is same aswell even if you switch you phone off it will still charge you the same rate as calling from Qatar.
You keep paying that rate for call forwarding untill you phone registers back at home network or to some other country.

Bytheway there is no way to find out the local number assigned to your phone.

neilsolaris

Thanks guys for your advice.

There seems to be differing opinions, so I'll err on the side of caution and assume that I'll still be charged in the way that efzaal described, until I can confirm it with the mobile company. As I'll be away for most of the year, I'll still have to pay for a UK contact I think, because call forwarding is not possible for pay as you go.

Ypaymore

neilsolaris wrote: »

I'll still have to pay for a UK contact I think, because call forwarding is not possible for pay as you go.

Call Forwarding on 3 payg is available, you just need to make sure you have enough credit to cover the costs.

Silk

redux wrote: »

I'm not so sure about paying for incoming and outgoing calls with voicemail. This was stopped a few years ago for while roaming in Europe, and I have a suspicion this has been extended for while roaming anywhere.

However that doesn't matter too much for your case.

What counts here is whether the call diversion is permanent or conditional; the latter means if for example if it rings and you don't answer in time then it goes to voicemail.

The thing to so is divert all calls to the Skype number before leaving the UK (which it sounds like you probably have done). You could still take the phone with you and occasionally switch it on for sending and receiving texts, or making outgoing calls, but it would not ring or charge for incoming calls.

Agree about the EU but as far as I'm aware it still applies to the rest of the world including Qatar as per the OP's post.


Thinking it through though I agree if it was an unconditional divert ie the call was routed to another number before it even tries to locate the sim it would be safe to take the sim abroad and turn it on for making calls and texts (although the Qatar extortionate charges would apply)
That said I would be rather tempted to leave the sim at home with someone trustworthy, just in case the divert went down and needed reinstating as otherwise it would be back to routing calls through Qatar.

redux

afzaal1988 wrote: »

As far as i know once your phone is connected to foreign network you are assigned temporary number in that country so any calls to your uk number go to that number and call forwarding is same aswell even if you switch you phone off it will still charge you the same rate as calling from Qatar.
You keep paying that rate for call forwarding untill you phone registers back at home network or to some other country.

Bytheway there is no way to find out the local number assigned to your phone.

We need to clarify that the OP is talking about diverting all calls unconditionally, i.e. not call on no answer or on not available .

That call diversion is done at the home location register of the subscriber's network, not the visited one. Yes, the HLR knows where the phone is, and the VLR has allocated a temporary local number as you say, but the HLR isn't going to send incoming calls to it.

So there will be no roaming fee for incoming calls as there aren't any, and also no fee for diverting the incoming at outgoing roaming rates as they haven't arrived in the country.

If there is not full-time call diversion, then the call does go to the visited network, and conditional diversion may happen if the phone is not answered in time, but that wasn't what this question was about.

redux

Ypaymore wrote: »

Call Forwarding on 3 payg is available, you just need to make sure you have enough credit to cover the costs.

and giffgaff, though of course their rates are higher per minute for use without a bundle

afzaal1988

redux wrote: »

We need to clarify that the OP is talking about diverting all calls unconditionally, i.e. not call on no answer or on not available .

That call diversion is done at the home location register of the subscriber's network, not the visited one. Yes, the HLR knows where the phone is, and the VLR has allocated a temporary local number as you say, but the HLR isn't going to send incoming calls to it.

So there will be no roaming fee for incoming calls as there aren't any, and also no fee for diverting the incoming at outgoing roaming rates as they haven't arrived in the country.

If there is not full-time call diversion, then the call does go to the visited network, and conditional diversion may happen if the phone is not answered in time, but that wasn't what this question was about.

I can understand it should not really matter where the phone is if its diverting all calls. But networks sometimes do charge you just because they can or by mistake and try arguing that with 3 network(how call diverting works). You would be better of banging you head against the wall.