18185 cannot ring mobiles

utilitybroker

They seem to have capacity and routing problems in some areas.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=846491

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=790699

werlynne

Thanks for the replies, this is definitely a pre recorded message that answers the calls, I have had it too many times and the same script, someone at 18185 must know something about it as it occurs to many subscribers. I would like to see how this goes for the next few days then I will contact 18185 customer service.

pvsol

We are a business user with 5 lines, it probably happens a couple of times a day and only when ringing a mobile number, I wonder if the call is being intercepted somehow - the "message" is definitely intended to keep you holding on the phone...... we now just hang up but when it first started we used to hang on for ages..... will email 18185 tomorrow and report back

BexTech

Quentin wrote: »

If you are able to listen in to CNN you might be able to save some money - no need to pay a sky subscription if you can pick up the CNN news for the cost of a 18185 call.

Wonder if anyone else will come forward?

CNN is a Free To Air channel, you don't need a Sky subscription to receive it.

alan99_2

pvsol wrote: »

This keeps happening to me when I call 18185 and then a mobile number, no matter who you ask for then you get the "hold on" a tv in the background and sometimes a dog barking - VERY STRANGE !!! Sometimes it sounds like an American programme - something like CNN News. Someone is obviously making some money out of it.

Yes I get this as well sometimes , twice now.
I phoned someone on a mobile via Primus. Both times I got a foreign sounding guy on the phone saying something like "hold on" , television on giving the Japanese Nikkei stock market report and an apparantly mad dog barking his head off. Both times the same program ,dog ,and guy.
I thought it was background noise at my callees eclectic shared house.:D

Alan

atticgirl2003

I have been trying to ring a mobile tonight via 18185, the line just goes dead after the ring tone stops. Very strange. No problems sending text messages.

System

I had exactly the same shouting, TV in background, and mad dog after calling two mobile numbers I had for a builder. I hung on for several minutes, thinking he was having a lie-in and had acquired some strange housemates! I've asked 18185 customer services to remove the charges for the two calls. Somebody must have set up the television and dog recording, and something must be routing every 20th (or whatever) call dialled to a UK mobile to the recording instead. If we don't get rebates, and a convincing explanation, from Finarea, looks like a reasonable suspicion of a scam, which we should ask Trading Standards, or Ofcom, or the police, to investigate.

harrisgx

18185 has saved me a lot of money but I can no longer use the service from my mobiles. Everytime I prefix my required number with 18185 I get the response that the number is not available but I can get the number if I use one of my fixed lines. Unfortunately it does not appear that one can get any advice from 18185 as to what is going wrong. I have emailed what I think is their customer services several times without response. Does anyone have any ideas about what is wrong?

MARTINS_DOLL

I registered with 18185 2 or 3 months ago, and I've never been able to ring out from my mobile via 18185.
I just keep getting a pre recorded message telling me about content lock, and how to remove content lock. I don't have content lock, in fact I'd never heard of it before I tried ringing from my mobile...

I did register my mobile number and landline when I initialially registered with 18185.

redux

For both of the last two posts:

Prefixes like 18185 and others aren't supported on mobile networks. You instead dial a London access number, and some rates are slightly different.

Instructions on the left of this page. Don't bother with the freephone number, which isn't free on mobiles. And you are using your mobile's inclusive minutes

http://www.18185.co.uk/mobilerates.php