Virtual phone numbers

[Daryn]

Hi everyone,

Just after your thoughts and advice please.

I'm a taxi driver and after a sale of an office has fell through looking to start my own up in a area where there is no other companies.

I asked locals in this upmarket area if they would like a taxi office in there area, the replies were no thanks although they would like a local company that they could use but without an office.

Great saves me money straight away.

Next I had a contract with Vodafone and found they had virtual numbers which would redirect to my phone, all looked great until I started asking simple questions that the girl dealing with me couldn't answer, MMMmmmmmmm not very professional. So Im leaving and in the middle of using other mobile phone providers to see which one is the best.

So Im wondering do I need a local number now or would I get away with just using my mobile number for this new venture.

If a local number would be better then whats the best and cheapest way to do this, obviously I haven't and clients as yet so don't want to be paying out every month for nothing.

So whats the best way to go, who should I use, I need reliability and low costs, I have other questions as well as using it as a virtual taxi office, is it possible to use a company as a geographical virtual phone for the future if it does work out, basically a company that would redirect a call to the nearest car to the caller, not sure if this is possible but an interesting subject.

Many Thanks in advance,

Daryn

 

[doi_swilkinson]

Hi
You need a number that follows you around speak to my friend Ross @
http://www.proactiveits.co.uk/

01922830000

Regards

Stefan

 

[simonclark123]

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Hi[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']As an Orange/EE dealer, I can supply you with a sim-only contract sim (24 month contract) for just £13.13 + VAT per month monthly equivalent.[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Each sim comes with unlimited* UK standard calls (standard UK prefix 01,02,03,07) + unlimited* standard UK texts + 4GB of data.[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'](*fair use policy applies - no 'machine' usage etc).[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Because it is on EE, I can set this up on a temporary number and I can port in an existing mobile number later.[/FONT][FONT='Arial','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'](The reason EE are offering this is mainly to get market share from O2 and Vodafone as the Iphone 5 will not operate on O2 4G or Vodafone 4G but it will operate on EE 4G!)[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']An interesting ‘optional extra’ you may wish to add is Pocket Landline (extra £10 + VAT) ie the ability to get a ‘Virtual Landline Number’ which maps onto your mobile number, so people calling you can therefore call you at Landline rates instead of Mobile rates (outgoing calls from your mobile will still show the mobile number).[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'](You may wish to use this landline number in a different way, as you can make it ‘whisper’ to you that the call is coming from the landline number before you answer the call so, for example, a business person could run two businesses using this facility and so answer the call appropriately).[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']I can add Pocket Landline for an extra £10 + VAT per month and I can usually port in an existing landline number if you wish (assuming that it is an original BT number ie not ported from Virgin).[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'](Please pm me if you'd like to know more - or search on 'premicell' on Ebay and you'll also find me that way!)[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Best Regards[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Simon Clark[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Business Telecoms[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'][/FONT]

 

[simonclark123]

Hi Daryn

Apologies for the mess above - it looked fine until I posted it!

Most of my customers are actually taxi drivers - as well as solutions like the above I supply them with Burnside 'Follow Me' Terminals and GSM Taxi Freephones etc.

Best Regards

Simon Clark
Business Telecoms

 

[Daryn]

Thanks for the replies guys, still got a bit too do before I get to this point, just trying to piece everything together at the same time. Takes me ages to do research etc before I delve into something.

May thanks again and sure I will be in touch for more info.

 

[leemason]

You could have a look at registering a number with voipfone and then having that diverted to your mobile. You will pay for the portion of the call to your mobile but the number is very cheap (I think about £3.00 per month).

 

[cjd]

This explains how we do it:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/Call_Forwarding_And_Divert.php

(it's £2 pm +VAT for the number and 10p per min for the divert.)

......is it possible to use a company as a geographical virtual phone for the future if it does work out, basically a company that would redirect a call to the nearest car to the caller, not sure if this is possible but an interesting subject.

A call to a manchester number could be automatically directed to a car that normally works in manchester and so on, but the system wouldn't know if the car had a long distance fair to liverpool - the divert would have to be changed to liverpool manually by your taxi director, which is simple enough, just a couple of mouse clicks.

 

[TODonnell]

It's a toss up, IMHO.

- A virtual number costs per minute to redirect BUT it can be a local number WITH repeating digits which people know is cheaper to call and is more memorable.

- A cabbie with a mobile number is fine. It tells people: it's a tradesman. An 0207 number would mean: "It's his office or home number". An "07525" number means "I can contact him direct".

- If there's a COMPANY involved, then that will have to have a local, geographical number.

So it's down to the impression you want to convey. The truth, with the best possible sheen, is probably best.

 

[Daryn]

Thanks for all the replies guys, just to give you an update I'm trying out Voipfone, seemed like the cheapest way to start and has many write ups without any complaints that I can see.

I've just set up zoiper and trying it out, I've got this on my computer as well as mobile phone and all seems to work great. I'm still experimenting ATM but got a pretty good memorable number for free, well over the moon.

I've spoken to support and they are very professional and don't rush you at all, explaining things really clearly.

Still not ruled out the others yet but for now if it works don't try to fix it that's my moto.

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

HI,

Sorry I'm a bit late but also check out sipgate.co.uk
They offer free numbers (local or national).

Best,
Uwe

 

[Daryn]

Thanks I will do as I need a couple of more numbers, just got this side of the business running first

 

[Daryn]

The sipgate 1000 minute package looks good not that I need that but it is good value, I cant find how much it is to forward calls to a mobile phone or landline

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

It is similar to Skype which means that you can do 4 things:

(1) Download a software and receive calls on your PC => Completely free
(2) Download an app and receive calls on your mobile phone => Completely free
(3) Buy a Voice-over-IP phone and receive your calls just like you would with your BT landline => The only expense is the one-off price for the phone (< GBP 100)
(4) Redirect the number to a landline or mobile phone number => They charge the same as if you would make a phone call to a landline or mobile phone number => You only pay when you receive a call

Best,
Uwe

 

[CompuGlobal-Hyper-MegaNet]

I found this thread whilst searching for a solution for my needs.

You may be able to trump the lot with this idea:

Get a 4g phone
Get a large data allowance (or unlimited data)
Get the Skype app
Get a service for Skype called 'SkypeIn'
(can't post the link yet but it's easy to find)

£3.35/month inc VAT.
You get a local phone number that customers can call you on. The call routes through Skype, and if you're signed in to the app on your phone, you can answer it on the go through the 4g data. It uses around 1mb/min according to skype's FAQ.

I'm very keen on this idea and haven't found a better alternative (although I haven't searched around much). If you live in a good 4g coverage area and have lots of data, it should work out.

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

I found this thread whilst searching for a solution for my needs.

You may be able to trump the lot with this idea:

Get a 4g phone
Get a large data allowance (or unlimited data)
Get the Skype app
Get a service for Skype called 'SkypeIn'
(can't post the link yet but it's easy to find)

£3.35/month inc VAT.
You get a local phone number that customers can call you on. The call routes through Skype, and if you're signed in to the app on your phone, you can answer it on the go through the 4g data. It uses around 1mb/min according to skype's FAQ.

I'm very keen on this idea and haven't found a better alternative (although I haven't searched around much). If you live in a good 4g coverage area and have lots of data, it should work out.

Hi CompuGlobal-Hyper-MegaNet,

As mentioned above, check out sipgate.co.uk as it does exatcly the same but for free

Have a great weekend,
Uwe

 

[snakeeyes121]

I use sipgate, free local numbers, an app on my Android phone called acrobits and the calls come straight to my mobile over my data connection, so costs nothing for redirects etc get free voicemail etc it's not got all the bells and whistles like some others, but for free I can't comolain

Works really well, guess itsvnot for large companies etc that require more features, but for my needs it's fine.

I signed up years ago though, and got some good sequential numbers that are easy to remember, think they've become less generous with such numbers now, mine are like (xxxxx)888441 (xxxxx)888442 etc

It's good to have numbers you can confidently print on all your marketing materials, knowing that you won't have to ditch them if you move premises, change providers and your numbers for whatever can't reason get transfered or get lost, take time to move etc

But, best of all, there's no landline charges or long contracts for our premises, we use a 3g connection for Internet and this for landline numbers, but then we are only a retail unit, with a small ecommerce website, but it gives us a fixed point of contact at no cost.

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

I don't know about the UK version of Sipgate since we don't need it, but I have some German friends who have larger companies (50+ employees across Europe) who use Sipgate Team I think.

 

[CompuGlobal-Hyper-MegaNet]

I was tempted after seeing the posts in support of sipgate, but a bit of research blew away any confidence in the service generated from these posts.
First of all, apparently sipgate.com closed a couple of months ago and the closure wasn't handled in a great manner. This means that the UK service may be in danger of the impending axe at any time. Things could get messy if the transition to an alternative is not smooth.
I also couldn't find an app for the service. Their website does claim it supports the service through smartphones by updating some settings, but they're a bit cagey about this and from what I can gather, iPad and iPhone apps have been removed from the app store and they've had legal issues in Germany.
It sounds like your experiences have been much better that what I've seen, but for the sake of £40 a year (especially considering how much I'm paying for the phone, rental and advertising my number), Skype sounds like the best way to get VoIP on a smartphone.

 

[theBagShoppe]

I have used Vonage, the service was good £5 a month, it was 5-6 years ago. Now their prices has been increased as well. Their service was good but they were not good at refund of security. They did created a hitch when I returned my device in first month of trial. I had to wind up my business. So I returned but they didn't refund me device security!!

 

[Daryn]

Hi everyone been a while since I got back to you about all this so thought I would bring you upto date. I purchased a local number from voipfone and everything went very smooth, I spoke to a guy from voipfone regarding other things I wanted to do and again the advice was clear and quick, no hassle at all. Ive now got 3 numbers with them, the redirects go straight to my mobile phone and everything works great, I can view where all my calls have come from and how much credit I have, I can forward the calls to any phone at anytime its brilliant and with it being so cheap I dont mind paying for it even when its not used much whilst Im building up my business. I do have one other thing I need to chat with them about and that will be done next week.

Business wise things are a bit slow at the moment but I only started it in December so plenty time to get it up and running fingers crossed.

Would just like to thank everyone on the forum for the help and information that I needed.

Would also like to thank CJD for being patient and replying to all my questions by PM regarding voipfone last year.

 

[CompuGlobal-Hyper-MegaNet]

Update from me too:
I bought a 4G phone (Nexus 5 was the best value one) which has my main business mobile number in it. (from Google Play Store this is £348.98 delivered inc VAT)
I signed up to Three's One Plan which gives unlimited 4G data for £15/month (inc VAT) (NB this goes up to £20 at the beginning of Feb 2014).
I bought a Skype In number for £40.25 inc VAT. You can choose your area code. I'm based in London and you get to choose your number to a degree. I got 0208-123-**** - a very decent marketable number.
I can receive calls on this number with no problem. I am also signed in on the Skype app on my personal phone in case of battery issues or whatever.
Have to say I'm very impressed and happy. A great and very affordable solution which I'd recommend to anyone.

 

[StevensOnln1]

I had a Skype landline number several years ago and one day Skype sent me an e-mail saying that they were taking my number back in 30 days as they had to give that block of numbers back to whoever they were being leased from. They offered me another number and some call credit but it's always put me off using a Skype landline number for business ever since. I'd stick with a member of the ITSPA if you want to avoid being left in a similar situation.

 

[Daryn]

Yep I considered Skype as Ive used it in the past computer to computer but I also read about lots of problems with it, lots of complaints, Im sure its now owned by Microsoft. But I find most people only write reviews when things go wrong so I don't really know but I went with my gut feeling after lots of research and lots of asking for peoples opinions first.

 

[MyBusinessStory.co.uk]

I use Tollfreeforwarding and also AQL.com the problem with AQL is that you need to top up with credit, if this runs out they cut you off, i had a sudden panic a moment ago when i read your post and realised i had not had many calls in a while and my credit might have run low

 

[MyBusinessStory.co.uk]

Thanks for the reminder, seems i had no credit,

 

[cjd]

I use Tollfreeforwarding and also AQL.com the problem with AQL is that you need to top up with credit, if this runs out they cut you off, i had a sudden panic a moment ago when i read your post and realised i had not had many calls in a while and my credit might have run low

I'm surprised AQL don't have an auto top-up feature.

We allow our customers to set an amount to auto top-up and a trigger level before it does it. So you could set a top-up amount of say, £10 and a trigger level of £2. That way your problem goes away.

 

[MyBusinessStory.co.uk]

Your right, they do have this feature but i does not work and never reminds me, i have told them this and they just say its set up correct....not very helpful.

Call forwarding is fine, sometimes low quality but thats expected when you forward to your mobile so cant complain about that

 

[cjd]

Your right, they do have this feature but i does not work and never reminds me, i have told them this and they just say its set up correct....not very helpful.

Call forwarding is fine, sometimes low quality but thats expected when you forward to your mobile so cant complain about that

Auto top-up isn't a reminder, that's the point - it tops up your account without any intervention. You only know it's happened when you get the receipt through for the payment.

There's no reason to have any quality issues on a forwarded call - other than what you get when your own phone hasn't got a signal. The forwarding part shouldn't add anything of its own. (So long as it's doing it correctly of course....;-)

 

[MyBusinessStory.co.uk]

sorry i misread, AQL have a service that auto tells you that your running low on credit, but this does not work.

if they do have an auto top up feature i cant find it

 

[cjd]

Switch to us then, it's simple enough ;-)

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/PB_Porting_Numbers.php

 

[MyBusinessStory.co.uk]

what about my current number its all over many websites it will be a lot of effort to change this nicely put in, wasn't expecting that lol

 

[cjd]

You don't need to change your number, that link shows you move it onto our network - it's called number porting.

 

[Daryn]

Go for it, I have mine set up to auto top up with voipfone when my credit gets down to £2, no need to contact me at all, they just charge it to whatever payment method you have chosen, its easy and simple, I can look at what calls have been made each way and when and also download a copy, I can cancel this auto top up anytime and cancel my non contract service anytime I cannot fault it.

In reply to another post I can actually receive calls on my mobile for free using a bit of software on my phone, this uses your data instead, the only thing that puts me off is internet data, losing signal or dropping out etc, quality of calls matter to me, I never lose a phone signal but the internet seems a bit slow. I would rather pay for a received call that has made me money than pay for data every month that might not get used, I use Ovivo for my mobile phone, its brilliant, a one off payment of £20 got me a sim card with £15 credit, on top of that I get 200 minutes which has now been upped to 250 minutes a month, 300 texts a month and 500mb data a month for no extra cost, yes just a one off payment of the £20, Ive been with them for months and they top me up without a problem and without any extra payment, my mother-in-law has this service and my mate had this service, it all runs on the vodafone network so another saving for someone reading this and using a mobile with voipfone or whatever company they decide to go with.

This has all give me a very cheap communication network for my business

 

[APOS Recruitment]

Not read the whole thread but in my opinion you won't go wrong with Voipfone.

£2 a month to have a landline and have calls forwarded on etc if needed. Queries get answered promptly. Plus get to choose what number you wish from a choice of 30.