Nuisance Call Blocking with more than one Phone
alycidon
Posts: 930 Forum Member
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Because of the proposed charge by BT for the 1571 service, I am considering buying an answer phone with nuisance call blocking which will be one of four handsets dotted about the house.
Please, can someone tell me if nuisance calls will be blocked, or is it likely that the three other handsets will still ring - even if the new phone blocks the call?
Please, can someone tell me if nuisance calls will be blocked, or is it likely that the three other handsets will still ring - even if the new phone blocks the call?
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The other problem of course is that once the box has done it's business and verified the caller it will only ring the phone plugged into it. So if you are in a different room you might not be able to answer the call on the extension nearest you but have to go to the room with the call blocker in.
With a bit of basic knowledge and skill it would be possible to set it up so that all the phones are fed off the "Handset" socket of the call blocker instead of from the master socket as they probably are now. That would allow you to answer the call anywhere and also ensure that no phone rings until the call blocker passes on the call. Though whether the call blocker can handle having four phones hanging off it is another matter.
These nuisance callers have a lot for which to answer.
Does the nuisance blocking answering machine you have in mind work without caller ID?
I don't think any of the blockers work without caller ID and the only way around it is to use a answering machine and monitor the calls but it make me sick that BT are well aware of this and have decided to cash in on customers attempts to screen out all the scum that seem to ring us day in and day out.
BTW, I'm not actually with BT but with TalkTalk and where BT lead TT will follow.
If you remove the lower half of a master socket you reveal the test socket and on the back of the faceplate is a BT style plug that normally mates with the test socket connecting the line to the socket on the front of the faceplate and the extension wiring that is connected to the back of the faceplate. You could plug the Truecall unit into the test socket then plug the faceplate into the phone socket on the Truecall unit (perhaps with a very short extension lead to make it slightly more convenient.
A neater method would be to remove the extension cable(s) from the back of the faceplate and pull them out of the back of the socket. Use a simple connector block alongside the phone socket to join those cables to a lead plugged into the Truecall unit, with maybe a two way adapter so you can plug a local phone in as well.
Or you could replace the corded phones with a cordless system with a single base station and multiple remote units that connect wirelessly back to the base station. That way you only need the base station connected to the Truecall unit to protect all the phones.
Not sure about that - so it is something else to consider. Thanks.
I don't think Caller ID is essential to the call blocker but it severely limits how well it works. The Truecall unit for example (and others I've seen) allows you to compile a "white list" of callers who always get through. Without caller ID the unit can't identify these callers so every call gets blocked and has to go through the "please identify yourself" procedure. Though from reading the manual you can give trusted callers a code they can use to bypass this. But still more hassle than just basing blocking on caller ID.
And of course without caller ID you can't also use the "black list" feature which dumps calls immediately if they are on that list.
I was just re-reading your post and if I read it right it seems is the way I have my system working for which I will try to explain.
Phone line goes into the BT box that I have a double connector connected, one line from the BT box connects to my call blocker (http://www.cprcallblocker.com/ ) and that in turn is connected to my DECT answering machine phone base station with 2 DECT phones connect, the other line coming from the BT box is connected to a standard phone with caller ID.
In this configuration I have one phone that is not being blocked but has its ringer turned off so this phone serves as a silent monitor that tells me who has called just as a back up encase I accidentally block a wanted caller.
Now if I receive a call that has been put into the call blocker previously the phone not connected to the call blocker will ring but of course I don't know its ringing because the ringer is turned off but I do get see whose rang by their number ID and my everyday DECT phone just remains silent because the blocker has done its job.
If I were to use a answer phone instead off the standard phone then whoever had called would still have the option of leaving a message like in the case of withheld numbers but the DECT phones would remain silent but experience tell me scammers or robot callers rarely leave messages and just hang up straight away.
It will remain free after 4th January if you agree to a 12 month contract!
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumer/edw/freecallerdisplay/?s_cid=con_FURL_freecallerdisplay
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24712206
They already do, but it is a dam sight cheaper than BT. Also I will be saving a helluva lot more in money than I would with BT. My bill will drop by a tenner for the first 9 months and after that I save a fiver when I move to Plusnet. That includes Fibre Broadband upto 76Meg, line rental, unlimited call package and caller display. It is much better been in my pocket and not in BT.
www.talktalk.co.uk/help/report-scam.html
The thing is though, my annual Line Rental saver doesn't expire until February so I wonder how that fits into their "new 12 month contract" equation?